Curated OER
Transforming Negatives to Positives
Students write diamonte poems that correspond to the double-exposed photograph they created. In this poetry and multimedia artwork instructional activity, students use the photographic process to create a double-exposed...
Curated OER
A Poetic Finale
Young scholars write a poetic response to the Holocaust as a culminating activity to a unit on the Holocaust. They listen to and discuss a rap song about the Holocaust, complete various handouts, and write a poem for future generations.
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing Fact and Fiction
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members...
Curated OER
Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie
Although just a series of slides with a poem laid out in parts, this resource could be used when discussing the poem "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This presentation could be used to go over parts of the...
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
Literature Study Contracts
Learners complete activities with a leveled chapter book. In this literature instructional activity, students read a novel and complete several graphic organizers and activities as they read. They focus on characters, settings,...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 9: Climax
Conduct a close reading of chapter 9 of The Cay. Read the chapter again and ask pupils to respond to a list of included text-dependent questions. Finish the class with the provided writing assignment, which asks learners to use textual...
Curated OER
Poets Got Them Blues
Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...
Curated OER
Cluing into Symbols Robert Frost
Students use the Internet and video to discover how find evidence in poetry in order to discover the theme(s) of the poems. They are able to define poetic devices like simile, metaphor and repetition. Students identify themes in...
Curated OER
Say Hi to Haibun Fun
What is a haibun? With this interesting lesson plan, writers will experience the Japanese writing form haibun, identify elements important to Japanese writing styles, analyze a haibun, and compose their own. Different from the typical...
Curated OER
Horatio's Drive
Students assess the literary quality and elements of Jackson's journey to write a ballad about his automobile adventure.
Curated OER
The Color of My Words
Explore the story The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph using this resource. Learners answer comprehension questions, fill in graphic organizers, and write a poem.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Responding to Emily Dickinson: Poetic Analysis
Learners explore Emily Dickinson's poem "Safe in Their Alabaster Chambers." In this Dickinson poem lesson, students analyze the poem as proof of Dickinson' awareness of her reader. Learners analyze her style and identify her editorial...
Curated OER
The Voices Within Theirs and Mine
Students create new words to convey their thoughts. They find, list and discuss the poetic devices used by the poet in creating his or her war poem and create their own war poems. They use sensory perception words and memory in...
Curated OER
Personify This
Eighth graders study personification in published works of poetry, then create their own through the use of diamante or cinquain poetry. They read and discuss poetry by Shel Silverstein, William Jay Smith, and Elinor Wylie.
Curated OER
Onomatopoeia
This mini-lesson on onomatopoeia introduces the device through a poem and definition. It culminates in drawing an element of nature with the sound associated with it written across the picture.
Curated OER
Poetic Justice: A Study of Poe's Famous Works
Students explore Edgar Allan Poe's most famous short stories. In this Edgar Allan Poe lesson, students complete a 25 page packet of activities where they recognize the features of genres and literary devices Poe uses. Students read "The...
Curated OER
Where's Walden and Why Henry?
Sixth graders understand how Thoreau can serve as both inspiration and model for the investigation of home places. They explore ways to become better observers of natural and cultural history. Students find out how to connect with their...
Reed Novel Studies
The Janitor's Boy: Novel Study
The perfect plan can easily backfire. Jack, in The Janitor's Boy, thinks he has the perfect plan to get back at his father. Little did he know he would end up being sentenced to help his father. Scholars read about Jack and his...
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...
Curated OER
Social and Cultural Issues in the Civil Rights Movement
Middle schoolers watch videos, listen to speeches and analyze the information that is presented about the civil rights movement. They examine visual art of the period.
Curated OER
Creating an Anthology
Student compile a poetry anthology. In this literature lesson plan, pupils examine notable poetry anthologies. Students then select a theme to build their anthologies of 10 poems pertaining to their chosen theme.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood by Cynthia Rylant
Sixth graders examine the elements of writing poetry. In this creative writing lesson plan, 6th graders discuss a book of poetry in the setting of Appalachia. Students incorporate childhood experiences into the development of visual and...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7
Use this resource's pairings of classical literature and paintings to practice the skill of comparing different artistic mediums with your ELA class. Addressing standard 7 for literature in the Common Core, the resource encourages your...