ReadWriteThink
Sonic Patterns: Exploring Poetic Techniques Through Close Reading
Robert Hayden's poem "Those Winter Sundays" serves as the anchor text in a five-part lesson that takes the mystery out of poetry analysis by modeling explicit strategies for pupils to employ to conduct a close reading of a poem. After...
Curated OER
Beowulf: Songs of Ancient Heroes
Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...
Curated OER
Gift of the Magi LP3
Students read the story of "The Gift of the Magi" and identify the theme and elements in the story. They discuss allusions, situational irony, simile, metaphor, allusion, irony and plot structure. Students share about sacrifices they...
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Gift of the Magi LP2
Ninth graders read the story, "The Gift of the Magi" and identify examples of allusion and situational irony. They define and give examples of situational irony. Students plot sequence, structure, define allusion and give examples.
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The Gift of the Magi Lesson Plan Two
Ninth graders read, "The Gift of the Magi," discuss the multiple themes of the story and situational irony. Individually, 9th graders review questions from the study guide, explore the simile, metaphor, and allusion. Students prepare...
Independence Public Library
Unmasking the Truth Behind the Red Death
"The Masque of the Red Death" provides readers with an opportunity to research and plan a presentation about a topic related to Edgar Allen Poe's classic short story.
PBS
Discuss 22-year-old Amanda Gorman’s inaugural poem “The Hill We Climb”
Two poems by National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman are spotlighted in a PBS lesson. Young scholars conduct a close reading and watch videos of Gorman reading her inaugural poem "The Hill We Climb" and "The Miracle of Morning." They...
ELA Common Core Lesson Plans
American Romanticism
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...
Penguin Books
An Educator's Guide to The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Jack the Ripper terrorized London in the late 1800s. An educator's guide for the novel The Name of the Star places the historical figure in a modern context. Readers complete a pre-reading activity before answering a series of discussion...
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The Witch of Goingsnake
Young scholars interpret proverbs as part of an analysis of the book The Witch of Goingsnake. In this literary analysis lesson plan, students interpret a proverb and complete a KWL chart for the proverb. Young scholars then research the...
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Les Mis'rables
Students read, understand, and enjoy Les Miserables. They improve their skills in literary analysis, writing, and listening. Through the study of biblical and historical allusions, symbols, metaphors, and other figurative language, they...
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Of Mice And Men: Chapter 1 Reading And Study Guide
In this comprehension check worksheet, young scholars define 4 vocabulary words, define 5 literary terms, and respond to 20 short answer questions pertaining to chapter 1 of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in order to help them better...
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Her stories: African American folktales, fairy tales, and true tales
Pupils discuss the illustration's allusion to the myth, Pandora's Box. Students locate instances of folk sayings or expressions that make these tales seem authentic to the reader. Pupils draw a Venn diagram comparing Catskinella and...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches by...
Curated OER
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Students define from a word list for a literary selection. Using the literary selection, they read the vocabulary in context. They determine the definition of the word as used in context and create a crossword puzzle using the...
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Slices of American Pie: The 1960s Through Music
Eleventh graders examine political, cultural, and social movements through music. In this 1960s American history activity, 11th graders explore the music of the decade in order to better understand the complexity of the time period....
Curated OER
Language Arts, Music, Poetry: Blues Style
This lesson focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Students consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance of the poetry of...
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Teaching the Novel in Context
Students write a context paper. In this teaching the novel in context lesson, students view a primary sources to recreate the cultural and historical context of the novel. Students make the connection between the literary text and...
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Metaphor
High schoolers identify the distinction between literal and figurative language with a focus on metaphors. They complete a metaphor analysis chart, then practice expanding metaphors by composing their own comparisons of elements of the...
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Persuasion and Use of Language
Students discuss connotative language, hyperbole, allusion, and rhetorical question. In small groups, they read one section of the "Speech to the Virginia Convention" and analyze these devices. Groups present their results to the class.
Curated OER
Creating an Anthology
Student compile a poetry anthology. In this literature lesson, students examine notable poetry anthologies. Students then select a theme to build their anthologies of 10 poems pertaining to their chosen theme.
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Octavio Paz
Tenth graders read and analyze the poem, "The Street," by Hispanic author, Octavio Paz. They research the life of Octavio Paz and identify his literary contributions. They complete an online scavenger hunt and create an author map of...
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Voices of Tragedy and Horror: Remembering the Holocaust
Students consider the implications of the Holocaust. In this World War II lesson, students read the graphic novel Maus at the end of a unit on World War II. Students discuss the impact of reading about the Holocaust as well as theme of...
Curated OER
Julius Caesar: Act III Reading and Study Guide
In this reading and study guide worksheet, learners define 3 vocabulary words, define 4 literary terms, and respond to 21 short answer questions pertaining to Act III of "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare.