Should identifying a tragic hero be based on a universal definition or a definition based on the morals and values of a specific culture? As part of a study of Things Fall Apart, class members read Sylvia Plath's "Colossus" and then...

A reading of Theodore Roethke’s dark "Root Cellar" and Sylvia Plath’s more abstract "Mirror" launches a discussion of imagery and personification in poetry.  After finding examples of personification in the poems, class members...

Kids use poetry and contemporary art to start thinking about logic and personal expression. They read Sylvia Plath's poem "Metaphor," and critically examine the art of Urs Fischer. After working though a few logic problems they write...

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...

Twelfth graders read and discuss poems by Jewel., Sylvia Plath, and Langston Hughes They examine poems for examples of metaphors and similes. After discussing Jewel's poem Lost, they write their own poems. They hold a poetry reading in...

Young scholars research individuals considered to be icons. After reading an article about Sylvia Plath, they create written analyses about them along with visual representations. Students discover the differences between icons and...

Students develop their skills at writing poetry by listening to poetry and using a model to emulate and write a poem. In this poetry writing lesson, students listen to Louis MacNeice's poem 'Prayer Before Birth' and use it to model their...

Students consider the elements involved in reading poetry aloud. They discuss different poetic forms and how the choices a reader makes in tone, emphasis, breaths, and pauses can affect the listener's interpretation and understanding of...

Tenth graders read examples of writings by women authors showing their dissent. After completion of their reading, they brainstorm on why they believe female authors have criticized society. In groups, they use the Internet to research...

Young scholars examine the structure of different poems by various artists. They discuss how the breaks in the poems change the way it is to be read. They also examine the use of tone in the poems.

Eighth graders search a website and locate a poem written by a specific poet whose work appears in the grade 8 anthology. After listening to poetry, 8th graders present oral or written examples of imagery and an analysis of the imagery.

Twelfth graders go through the peer editing process by reading each other's work and talking about it. They realize revision is part of the process of writing poetry.

Students read and analyze the novella, "Raise the Red Lantern," by Su Tong. They compare/contrast the story with other works of literature, answer discussion questions, conduct research, and in small groups develop oral presentations.

Students are read books by various artists. They create activity cards or mini-books that are given to ill children in hospitals. They discover the health care system and share their experiences with afraid children.

Young scholars pick a poet to conduct research from. They read and recite one of the works of poetry. Then using critical analysis find methods of construction in order to create a similar personal poem. The poem is then posted on the...

Looking at three of Sylvia Plath's poems, students will be encouraged to think critically and create compositions that explore complex themes. [PDF]

These activities will provide students with an introduction to Plath that will inform their study of "The Bell Jar". They will examine the perspectives offered by two of Plath's short autobiographical prose pieces, and will also explore...

This website includes several discussion questions on Sylvia Plath's (1932-1963 CE) Ariel poems.

This project based activity will use Sylvia Plath's poem, "Mirror", to examine the use of personification and figurative language. The activity may also incorporate the use of technology to produce a multimedia project. This allows...

This lesson discusses Sylvia Plath's works including The Bell Jar. It has students look at biographic information and commentaries about Plath. As students read the novel, they complete response logs and write essays. They debate topics...