Unit Plan
Curated OER

Literary Lingo

For Teachers 6th
Students make connections between reading and writing. In this language arts lesson, students explore literary elements as they examine a number of texts and practice implementing figurative language into their writing.
Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Problem Solvers: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 4)

For Teachers 4th Standards
How can you teach a text to a group of readers who struggling with the language? The second in a set of three ESL lessons related to Theme 4: Problem Solvers engages English language learners by introducing vocabulary and grammar...
Writing
Wordpress

The Inn of Lost Time

For Students 6th - 8th
Test understanding of "The Inn of Lost Time" by Lensey Namoika with an assessment that includes true/false, multiple choice, vocabulary, short answer, and essay questions. The test is not entirely traditional since, for the first 10...
Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Give It All You’ve Got!: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 2)

For Teachers 5th Standards
Go beyond the textbook to gain a better appreciation for the English language. A series of ESL lessons help expand the concepts found in Theme 2: Give It All You've Got. The second lesson in a three-part unit incorporates strategies such...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Introducing the Concept of Theme: Survival in A Long Walk to Water (Chapters 1–5)

For Teachers 7th Standards
Teach the class how to survive! Scholars work together to learn the meaning of theme and determine the message  in A Long Walk to Water. After the class discusses possible ideas, they work to identify one central theme for the text....
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Introducing a Thematic Concept in This Unit: The “Invisibility” of Captives during WWII (pages 170-181)

For Teachers 8th Standards
Scholars discuss the phrase identity is erased and how it relates to the theme of invisibility. They use their Understanding Invisibility note catcher to identify how invisibility may occur within a person. They then work on a Gathering...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Introducing a Thematic Concept: Becoming Visible Again after Captivity

For Teachers 8th Standards
Share your thoughts. Scholars use Think-Pair-Share to answer questions related to Louie in Unbroken. The class completes the Becoming Visible Again anchor chart to understand the text's theme better. They write an example of Louie...
Lesson Plan
Alabama Learning Exchange

J. Alfred Hyperbolizes

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
Mermaids will sing to your class members as they engage in an activity related to T.S. Eliot's famous dramatic interior monologue. After engaging in a socratic seminar about literary devices in the poem, individuals choose one...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Back to School: Style Analysis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...
Activity
Curated OER

Peter and the Starcatchers: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Are you preparing to teach Peter and the Starcatchers? If so, you'll want to take a look at this analysis of the text, which describes plot and literary elements in-depth and explores potential implications related to diversity and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Old Man and the Sea: Anticipation Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Begin your unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea with an anticipation guide. As kids read 12 statements that relate to the novel's themes, they decide whether each is true or false in their own opinion.
Handout
Novelinks

Wuthering Heights: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis

For Teachers 8th - 12th
New to using Bronte's Wuthering Heights in the classroom; check out this overview of themes, characters, settings, and project suggestions.
Handout
Novelinks

Wildwood Dancing: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis

For Students 9th - 12th
Considering including Juliet Marillier's young adult novel, Wildwood Dancing as part of your language arts curriculum? Check out an overview that examines some of the themes and issues presented by the novel. 
Activity
Curated OER

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Make sure you are well-informed before embarking on a study of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This resource includes an analysis of the text that a teacher can use to prepare a unit of study. It covers plot elements, themes,...
Handout
Curated OER

The Last Lecture: Concept Analysis

For Students 9th - 12th
Designed as an overview for instructors using The Last Lecture for the first time, this packet provides an overview of Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow's book.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Using the Interactive Model to Explore an Authentic Written Text

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Bring literature to your Spanish classroom! Small groups will read one of the selected texts from Cuentos De Eva Luna. After analyzing the text, learners will create mini-quizzes for their classmates and create a presentation discussing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Identifying Themes in Children's Literature

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Identifying themes in literature is the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. Learners read short pieces of fiction and practice the skill of identifying the themes present in each one. The bulk of the lesson consists of...
Lesson Plan
CC Homestead

Summarize

For Teachers 3rd
Designed for third graders but appropriate for older learners as well, this packet of materials underscores the necessity of teaching kids how to summarize, how to identify main ideas and supporting details, and how to ask questions...
Lesson Plan
3
3
Maryland Department of Education

The Concept of Identity Lesson 5: Motivation - Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs provides the lens class members use to analyze and evaluate the motivations of the characters in Sylvia Plath's "Initiation" and scenes from Mean Girls. Readers then select a character from A...
Activity
Novelinks

The Good Earth: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Designed for teachers, this resource provides an overview of Pearl S. Buck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Good Earth. Information about the organizational pattern of the story, issues and themes addressed, historical background on...
Unit Plan
1
1
EngageNY

Grade 12 ELA Module 2

For Teachers 12th Standards
The second module in a series for high school seniors focuses on tracking the central idea of a text across genres and from multiple author and character perspectives. Twelfth graders read a speech by Benazir Bhutto entitled "Ideas Live...
Unit Plan
Roald Dahl

George's Marvelous Medicine

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Six lessons comprise a unit about Roald Dahl's George's Marvelous Medicine. Over time, scholars explore themes such as the power of words, exciting writing, and mixed feelings. They examine the writing's literary devices, persuasive...
Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Macbeth: Influence of Supernatural

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Something wickedly wonderful this way comes in a lesson that focuses on Macbeth. After a close reading of the play, class members craft a literary analysis essay in which they use evidence from the text to show how Shakespeare uses the...
Activity
Novelinks

The House of the Scorpion: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Considering using Nancy Taylor's award-winning science fiction novel The House of the Scorpion as an option for book circles or as a whole-class reading? Check out this packet that includes background information, information about the...