Curated OER
Poetry Describing Ordinary Life
Students examine the cultural and historical context which a poem is written in or describes. In this poetry lesson, students listen to an online recording of Philip Larkin reading "The Whitsun Wedding." Students explore how the poem...
Curated OER
POETRY LESSON ON LANGSTON HUGHES AND THE AFRICAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Eighth graders read the short biographical sketch and selected poems of Langston Hughes, 8th graders examine the hardships historically faced by Black Americans through class discussion, interpretation, and journaling.
Curated OER
Anglo-Saxon Period: An Introduction
Young scholars read information about Anglo-Saxon rulers and literary techniques, then complete a worksheet to help them review. Students take notes about the oral tradition, Anglo-Saxon literary terms, and Anglo-Saxon poetry. Young...
Curated OER
Poetry Portraits
Students consider the attributes of heroes. In this literature lesson, students read selected poems from Hesse's Out of the Dust and then create their own bio-poems that feature themselves as heroes.
Curated OER
Out of the Dust--Appeals to Senses
Students list examples of appeals to the senses in the poem Out of the Dust. In this Out of the Dust lesson, students discuss ways that the author brings the story alive through appeals to the senses. Students discuss...
Curated OER
Child Survival Stories: Hope To Cope
Young scholars brainstorm a list of the various scenerios going on their family life at home. In groups, they read about different perspectives on survival and identify ones they could use in their own lives. They share their own...
Curated OER
Letters to Home
Seventh graders research historical events and everyday life in Texas in 1836-1837. They write a letter using Mr. Mitchell's perspective.
Curated OER
How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations
Students explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing poems...
Facing History and Ourselves
What Shapes Your Identity?
Sixth graders explore their individual identities. In this personal identity lesson, 6th graders write biopoems using the provided template. Students share their poems and respond to the poetry shared.
Curated OER
The Tabloid Ballad
Students explore the poetic ballad. They examine the rhythm of a typical ballad and listen to recitations of sample ballads. They choose an article from a supermarket tabloid and write a comical ballad using rhythms and structures...
Curated OER
Techno-correspondent
Students play the role of a correspondent and write a news article about a famous landmark. In this correspondence lesson, students use a computer template to build word processing skills. Students edit a story in order to...
Curated OER
Analyzing Poetic Devices: Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz"
Young scholars examine how Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke incorporate poetic devices to convey meaning in the poems, 'Those Winter Sundays,' and 'My Papa's Waltz.' They listen to audio clips, explore websites, and write an analysis...
Curated OER
Horatio's Drive
Students assess the literary quality and elements of Jackson's journey to write a ballad about his automobile adventure.
Curated OER
Sam Samurai
Students study the history and culture of 17th century Japan by examining samurai. They review the format of haiku poetry and examine renga poetry. They examine Kamishibai, the Japanese storytelling form and apply it five facts they...
Curated OER
The Great Migration
What a terrific lesson! Have your class learn about immigration using this resource. Fourth graders discuss the Great Migration in Ohio through art, writing, and discussion. Afterward, they create a presentation in which they tell their...
Curated OER
I am Special and You are Special Too #9
Eighth graders will explore the rhythm and rhyme of poems to understand the basic elements of poetry. In this poetry and literary lesson, 8th graders relate their love for rap music to poetry. Students will discuss...
Curated OER
Carl Sandburg's "Chicago": Bringing a Great City Alive
Students examine the historical and cultural context in Sandburg's poem. The poetic devices of personification and apostrophe are utilized in the poem and identified by Students.
Curated OER
Acting Like a Bunch of Animals: Fables and Human
The video "The Tales of Aesop" traces for viewers the history of fables and identifies their characteristics. The class then goes to the web site "The Fisherman and the Little Fish" where they examine the classic and a modern version of...
Curated OER
Lesson: Paul Chan: "Score for the 7th Light"
Music, art, and poetry coalesce in a single exhibition, and in a single instructional activity. Critical thinkers analyze the Fluxus art movement as it's seen in the work of Paul Chan's 7 Lights. They consider the use of poetry and...
Curated OER
The Sounds of Daydream
Based on the poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by Irish poet William Butler Yeats, this resource is well constructed and guides learners through examining the Yeats poem (rhyme, meter, content) to composing a poem of their own about a...
Curated OER
Rhyming With Pancakes
Students listen to the book The Great Pancake Escape as an introduction to rhyming and its use in storytelling. Provide examples of simple words that rhyme with other simple words and come up with rhymes with an end word from an earlier...
Curated OER
"Integrating the Internet with the Literature Lesson"
Students utilize the work of W.H. Auden Brugel's "Landscape with the Fall of Icarus" as an introduction to work on the Internet. The Web is searched for a Greek legend, a painting, and a virtual trip to support data about Brugel.
Curated OER
Critic's Choice
Third graders read three to five genres and choose one as a favorite. They write an essay persuading the class to read the genre. This lesson serves as a nice introduction to different styles of literature.
Curated OER
Poet for a Day
Fourth graders, while in the computer lab after reading the poem, "H is for Hoosier," create an acrostic poem about Indiana. They list words that are unique of Indiana and choose one of those words to create their acrostic poems to share...