Whether new to teaching Beowulf or an experience pro, you'll find much to like in a richly detailed unit plan that asks readers to consider how the epic represents the difficulty in defining good and evil but also reflects the changing...

First drafted in the year 996, The Pillow Book contains reflections of those met by a lady-in-waiting in the Japanese court. A brief summary, historical context, and discussion questions are provided on the first two pages. Then, two...

Can authors speak to each other across works, genres, and centuries? Study the conversation between Christopher Marlowe in his poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love" and the responses by Sir Walter Raleigh and William Carlos Williams...

Everything you wanted to know about the history of English literature and language but were afraid to ask. From Beowulf to Canterbury Tales, the Knights of the Round Table to Robin Hood, Addison, Fielding, Shakespeare, Swift, and many...

To gain an understanding of Imperialism, class members read Rudyard Kipling's poem, "The White Man's Burden" and Mark Twain's essay, "To the Person Sitting in Darkness." Groups compare these perceptions of non-white cultures with the...

Students explore John Paul Jones. His sense of adventure brought him to America. His bravery made him the country's greatest naval hero.

Students, in pairs, develop two poems--one must be a haiku, the other must be a tanka. They recite their poems to the class.

Students explore the controversy surrounding performance-enhancing drugs. In this current events lesson plan, students discuss the prevalence of drug use in the sports world and create poetry about sports. Older students may design a...

Students examine the epic poem Beowulf. For this analyzing poetry lesson, student compare listen to the Will Smith song "Wild, Wild West" and read Beowulf. Students analyze the song and the poem. Students then research an influential...

Pupils examine the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They conduct research, participate in a discrimination simulation, write a poem, and create a collage.