Curated OER
Is Perception Reality? Writing Paradoxes in Poetry
Explore the paradox of the universe - or, at least, of popular music - with this lesson. Using the songs "Inaudible Melodies" by Jack Johnson and "She" by Green Day, your class will complete a graphic organizer to help them understand...
Curated OER
Careers on Stage And Air
Students create and perform a scene for play using a common fairy tale for the story line. They view and discuss a video on careers in stage and radio to identify the roles and responsibilities for each of their group members.
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 1
Watch your tone! Scholars take a close look at Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess. After listening to the poem, they work together to determine the impact of word choice and mood of the introduction. They then work independently on a...
Curated OER
Irony in Poetry and Prose (Fiction and Non-fiction Texts)
Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. In this figurative language lesson plan, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.
Curated OER
Latino Literature: Poetry
Under construction, this lesson focuses on Canto Familia, a collection of poetry about Gary Soto's experiences growing up in California's Imperial Valley. Representative of the experiences of many Latinos, the poems also address themes...
Curated OER
Style and Voice
Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.
Curated OER
Writing Process-- Revision and Editing
As guided practice, class members work together to revise a model persuasive paragraph. Then they practice independently with their own writing. The included rubric looks at prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, nonfiction text...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” Ambrose Bierce’s short story, is used to model how structural moves, the decisions an author makes about setting, point of view, time order, etc., can be examined to reveal an author’s purpose. Groups...
Curated OER
Bring Read-to-Learn Activities into Your Classroom
Shift your instruction from teacher-centered to student-centered, which requires learners to do the heavy lifting.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Impact of a Poem's Line Breaks: Enjambment and Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"
High schoolers analyze the Gwendolyn Brooks use of enjambment in her poem "We Real Cool." In this poetry analysis activity, students define common poetic devices and the examples of enjambment in the poem. High schoolers discuss the poem...
Curated OER
Come On, Rain!
Students read and analyze the story. In this language arts lesson, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Students research the...
Curated OER
Understanding Tone
Eighth graders define tone and determine the tone of a particular passage making a web of tone words on Inspiration. They write a journal entry expressing how a piece of music makes them feel and create a PowerPoint to share.
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Lesson 1: In Depth with the Full Spectrum
High schoolers study the ways in which an artist can use color. They view various images of artwork and discuss the effect of color on spacial dimensions, focal points, tone, and mood.
Curated OER
Literature Through Silent Movies
Students participate in an engaging, alternative assessment activity: making a silent film of an Edgar Allen Poe story. This project offers them an additional way to demonstrate their mastery of the topic.
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
Getting Ready to Write
Learners watch an online slideshow that shows Cornelia Funke's transition from an illustrator to a writer. They discuss her writing process from the way she gathers ideas to how and where she writes. Next, they work in groups to choose a...
Curated OER
Mapping the Brain
A virtual 3-D tour leads students to developing icons representing the function of various parts of the brain. These icons are then used to label hand-drawn maps of the brain. A worksheet, assessment, and detailed procedures are included.
Curated OER
Oliver Twist Goes to Hollywood
How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...
Curated OER
MTV's Poetry
Students use several strategies in poetry to convey tone and speaker. In this language arts lesson, students read and build vocabulary as they gain a larger understanding of how to write poetry. Students then work in groups in order...
Curated OER
Horse of a Different Color: An Introduction to Color in the Visual Arts
Students examine how artists use color to create a sense of depth in a two-dimensional space. They view and analyze prints, complete worksheets, and write a paragraph on how color is used to draw the viewer's eye to a central figure.
Curated OER
Literary Elements Worksheets and Graphic Organizers
Using graphic organizers can be an effective way to teach literary elements.
Curated OER
Pastimes
Students define and discuss personal pastimes, listen to the story Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, discuss owling as rural pastime, demonstrate comprehension by writing responses to story, and discuss how climate and geography often determine...
Curated OER
Short Stories Through Multimedia Presentations
Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...