Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...

Three activities are designed for readers of Jack London's The Call of the Wild. First, class members research and create posters that reflect the setting of the novel. Next, groups create posters with images that represent each chapter...

How do poets convey emotion and represent their views of life? Pupils learn more about Whitman and Dickinson through the unit and analyze their bold reinvention of craft and style for poets to come. Looking at classic pieces such as...

Developed specifically for AVID students, this packet of materials that includes an explanation of the Socratic seminar, the preparation materials, and tips and protocols, is a must-have resource for any class. 

Nazi policies shifted from deportation and imprisonment to extermination of the Jewish people in death camps in the "Final Solution." Learners examine photos of artifacts, read poetry written by survivors, analyze testimony from...

Learners investigate historical context by reading poetry.  In this language arts lesson, students discover the work of Michael Longley and examine his poem "Ceasefire."  Learners identify the sonnets used in the piece and...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and oppression....

If your class is reading Demian by Hermann Hesse, consider printing this list of essay questions to help them explore the text. There are 13 questions provided; some are basic recall questions, but others encourage a deeper...

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...

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...

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.

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...

Students write weather shape poems and sing weather related songs. In this creative writing lesson, students read the book, It's Raining, It's Pouring and list weather words they heard in the story. Students use the writing process to...

Young scholars write poems and input them into a word processing program.  In this poetry lesson, students listen to Chinese poems and draw mental images. Young scholars compose poems and illustrate them. Students share their work.

Students 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....

Explore the works of Dr. Seuss, such as Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches and Egg, The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Lorax, The Butter Battle Book, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Each story lesson includes reading...

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.

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.

Students expand their understanding and appreciation for poetry. In this poetry unit lesson, students complete 5 unit sections of multiple day activities to learn about poetry and its devices or forms.