Good questions can help focus readers' attention on the elements writers use to add depth to their stories. The questions on this worksheet do just that and encourage readers to think critically about a story and author's purpose.

To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...

Readers of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings are asked to craft an essay in which they compare how Maya Angelou uses figurative language to depict herself and Mrs. Flowers. 

A teacher's guide to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness proves that it is not impossible to delve into the heart of darkness. Containing a wealth of information about Conrad, the Scramble for Africa, and the history of the Belgian Congo,...

This first in a series of four resources is designed for instructors to use Octavia E. Butler's Kindred in their classes. The packet includes an overview of the unit, a day-to-day calendar, links to background articles, and reading...

Here's a must-have guide for instructors who use Robert Frost's poems in their classes. The 24-page guide focuses on poems included in Frost's first two volumes of poems, background information on the poet, and what Frost thought was an...

Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

Writing can become one-dimensional if authors don't involve all their senses. First, scholars observe a strange object which, ideally, they can touch and even smell. Without using certain words (you can create a list or have the class...

Fourth graders identify literary techniques by participating in a class discussion. In this organization activity, 4th graders practice public speaking while presenting ideas for a story to their classmates as well as critiquing the...

Fifth graders write poetry using imagery and practice poetry presentation. In this poetry lesson, 5th graders listen as the teacher reads a humorous poem using different voice modulations and presentation techniques. They discuss the...

In this Romeo and Juliet worksheet, students complete a group project by creating a poem on an assigned topic relating to themes found in Romeo and Juliet.

Learners 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...

Students explore ways in which music can relay messages of peace and how popular songs can be interpreted as commentary on current issues and themes.

This lesson focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Young scholars consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance of the...

In this study guide for chapter 5 of A Separate Peace, young scholars complete 4 vocabulary definitions, 2 literary term definitions and 9 short answer questions. Finally, students respond to a given passage.

Students develop imagery in literary and art works. They discuss Jacob Lawrence's painting, the "Tombstones, 1942", which conveyed overcrowded tenements and families living in Harlem (New York, New York). They design picture stories...

Learners analyze the elements of poetry and jazz. In this critical thinking skills lesson, students take a closer look at the rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, form, free verse, lyricism, and imagery that exist is jazz as well as poetry. 

Students create a definition for the term resistance. Once a definition has been created, they create a visual image to correlate with their definition. Working in groups, students read several different resistance poems and classify...

Students, through two pieces of writing, identify poetic/language devices through the speakers, personification , imagery, metaphor, etc. They assess the patterns those devices are used in and analyze the theme of each. Each student...

Young writers read excerpts from Gary Paulsen's memoir to identify figurative and literal language that contain sensory details. They determine which selections are examples of sensory language and fi the language is used literally or...

After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...

Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...

Kids create cool clauses selecting a single starting sound. Ah, alliteration.