Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Manifest Destiny: U.S. Territorial Expansion

For Teachers 8th
A close examination of John Gast's painting "American Progress" launches a study of the concept of Manifest Destiny used to justify United States' policy of westward expansion. Young historians read statements from persons with different...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Analyzing Poetry and Characters

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students investigate historical context by reading poetry.  In this language arts lesson, students discover the work of Michael Longley and examine his poem "Ceasefire."  Students identify the sonnets used in the piece and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Beowulf

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
High schoolers complete literature analysis activities for Beowulf. They read lines from the poem and complete character analysis activities. In addition, they write and share a boast modeled on the text and then create heroes and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"World enough, and time"-Andrew Marvell's Coy Mistress

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Discuss tone and imagery with Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." In an attempt to get his fair lady to consummate their relationship, he write a poem urging her to seize the day! Introduce the author to your high school class,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Getting the Meaning in Pop Music

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Critical thinkers compare the impact of visual versus aural perception in how they comprehend artistic intent. They consider the meaning of a set of pop lyrics first by reading them, then by listening to them orally, and finally viewing...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Chaucer's Wife of Bath

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
A thorough and well-designed resource for older students, this lesson focuses on Chaucer's character the Wife of Bath from his classic novel, The Canterbury Tales. As a way of understanding Chaucer's complex characterization and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

School Activities

For Teachers 1st
First graders place some specific types of objects (e.g., shoes, favorite food) on concrete graphs and pictographs. They listen and respond to others in a variety of contexts (e.g., pay attention to the speaker; take turns speaking in a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Effects of Slavery

For Teachers 7th - 12th
The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this instructional activity. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom...
Unit Plan
Gwinnett County Public Schools

Analysis of the Tuck Everlasting and The Birchbark House Text Exemplars

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day instructional...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Symmetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students examine knightly virtues and will measure Gawain's strength in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In this poetry analysis lesson, students identify the bob-and-wheel poetic form and analyze symmetry in the poem. Students...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classify By Topic

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers explore and evaluate poetry. In small groups, they read and summarize poems, complete a handout, create and perform a dramatization of a poem, and write a journal entry in response to their performance.
Lesson Plan
Missouri Department of Elementary

Respect for Self and Others—Giving and Getting the Big R

For Teachers 7th Standards
Tween find out what it means to give and get respect. After reviewing the Recipe for Relationships studied in a previous lesson plan, groups create a dramatization of two-minute scenario in which an individual behaves inappropriately in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Splish, Splash Poetry

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
Learners write weather shape poems and sing weather related songs. In this creative writing lesson plan, students read the book, It's Raining, It's Pouring and list weather words they heard in the story. Learners use the writing process...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry With the Sages

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students write poems and input them into a word processing program.  In this poetry lesson, students listen to Chinese poems and draw mental images. Students compose poems and illustrate them. Students share their work.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heaven or Ground Hog Day?

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners discover the ideas of enlightenment by reading historical poetry. In this philosophical lesson, students read poems by Sir Walter Scott and Sergeant Joyce Kilmer while discussing the themes of the writing with classmates....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders examine the main characteristics of poetry. They read and discuss a handout on the characteristics of poetry, read the poem, The Road Not Taken, discuss their interpretation of the poem, and research poetry on the Internet.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reading Lesson Plan

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders read the poem "Still I Rise" and discuss the different ways it can be told and read and brought to life. In this poetry lesson plan, 10th graders read aloud and silently, and compare different works of poetry.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Famous Poems and Poets

For Teachers 6th - 10th
Students investigate well known poets, forms, and poetry terms. They explore various websites, complete an online scavenger hunt, and take an online poetry test.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Novel Character Study

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Young scholars complete a character study using a database to compile information from a novel. They design a five slide presentation highlighting the character's reaction to different situations in the book. They write an acrostic poem...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Making a Claim: Moon Shadow’s Point of View of the Immediate Aftermath

For Teachers 6th Standards
Body paragraphs are the building blocks of every essay. Pupils view and discuss a model essay using a rubric to evaluate one of its supporting paragraphs. Next, scholars use what they've learned to continue drafting their own literary...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is Good Use of Time?

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students analyze the best uses of time in other cultures. In this time use lesson, students read the poem 'Soccer Into Dusk' and 'The Meaning of Time' as analysis of time usage in other culttures. Students complete a discussion, journal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry and Visualization

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars use visualization techniques when reading poetry.  In this visualization and poetry lesson, students work in groups to present a tableau that depicts a word from the poem as classmates guess the word.  Young...
Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

The Poetry and Prose of Langston Hughes

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry: What's on Your Plate?

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students analyze "The Road Not Taken" and discuss examples of "roads traveled" by their own age group.  In this poetry lesson, students read and discuss the meaning of the poem.  Students choose another poem and review it for...