Prestwick House
Rhetorical Devices in Political Speeches
Have you ever watched a political speech and felt your heart beat a little faster, and your opinion either solidify or begin to slightly change? Rhetorical devices can be a strong tool in an effective and powerful speech. A short lesson...
Curated OER
The Bernstein Bear's Trouble with Money: Financial and Academic Literacy
What do figures of speech have to do with financial literacy? Take an interdisciplinary look at The Berenstain Bears' Trouble with Money to find out. Young analysts read about the cubs' spendthrift ways and how Mama and Papa Bear teach...
Curated OER
Figurative Language in Toni Morrison's "A Mercy"
In order to read and respond to Toni Morrison's A Mercy in this figurative-language instructional activity, students discuss the differences between a literal and a figurative interpretation of a text. They explore figures of speech...
Curated OER
Jump-Start the Reading of Authentic Latin
Are your advanced learners reading authentic Latin this year? Whether you're teaching Caesar, Cicero or Virgil, use some of these strategies to map out your unit. What do you focus on? Consider taking small passages and making that the...
Curated OER
Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have A Dream" Speech
Invite your class to investigate racism and civil rights by analyzing the great Dr. Martin Luther King's speech. Your learners will read the words from the "I Have a Dream" speech and analyze the political and racial overtones. They will...
Curated OER
Theater: Create a Script
Figurative language is the focus in the book Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia. After reading Peggy Parish's book, class members dramatize idioms from the text, using dramatic strategies such as characterization, exaggeration, and improvisation....
EngageNY
Analyzing Word Choice: Atticus’s Closing Speech (Chapters 20-21)
Choose your words carefully. Scholars begin by reading a line of Atticus's closing speech in To Kill A Mockingbird. Readers work independently on their note catchers, then complete a Think-Pair-Share activity with partners. They finish...
Curated OER
Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Civil Rights Movement Speeches
Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...
Curated OER
Crazy Critters Teach Parts of Speech
Pupils create pieces of writing about a creature they have created. They examine the parts of speech and how they are used in their writing to see how they can write more specifically.
Curated OER
Poetry Shopping Spree
Scholars demonstrate the ability to evaluate authors' use of literary elements such as metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, and onomatopoeia. They are provided with a checklist and must shop for poems that contain the poetry terms...
Shakespeare in American Life
"We Few, We Happy Few": Motivational Speech in Henry V
Class members may "think themselves accurs'd" when they first hear of an assignment that asks them to create a motivational speech. After studying the Saint Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's Henry V; however, they will count...
Curated OER
Music to My Ears - Figures of Speech and Stylistic Devices
Students know the meaning of a given list of figures of speech and stylistic devices. They identify examples of these terms in the music and songs with which they are familiar. They examine how to apply the knowledge of these terms to...
Curated OER
Idiom Workout
Teach your students that identifying a phrase as an idiom isn't an insult! Providing an ample definition of the term "idiom," as well as three categories of popular idioms ("get the..." "in a..." and "on the..."), the activity prompts...
Curated OER
It's Raining Cats and Dogs
Make a beeline to this activity. Prepare paper strips with the provided idioms to engage teams in illustrating their literal meanings. The drawings provide the impetus for a guessing game where class members compete to be the first to...
ReadWriteThink
Alliteration All Around
Discover alliteration found in picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Then, dive into a read aloud of Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak. This practice sets the stage for budding poets to create their own acrostic poem, write an...
Curated OER
Comma Practice Worksheet 3
Are you teaching the comma rules in your classroom? This resource packet covers several comma rules, gives examples of each, and provides short practice opportunities for your learners. Answers are not included.
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.11-12.5
"Timid, scared, terrified." High school scholars examine words, their denotations and connotations, in a series of exercises that use lines from Shakespeare to explore figurative language and word relationships. Participants then...
Curated OER
Preposition Man
Young scholars practice using prepositions by writing on the tracing of a human. In this parts of speech lesson plan, students create a giant poster using the tracing of a classmate's body and fill in the outline using prepositions in...
Scholastic
Noun Hunt
Put your pupils on the search for those sometimes elusive nouns. Learners answer clues to build a list of nouns that they then find in the word search.
West Virginia Department of Education
The Debate - John Brown: Martyr or Madman?
Did he die for a cause, or was he crazy? Although the resource discusses John Brown and West Virginia history, many historical figures have the same reputation. Teach learners about different perspectives and highlight the importance of...
Curated OER
Just One Is Right! (Common Idioms)
In this idioms worksheet, students examine 7 pictures and read the first half of sentences about them. students read the 4 choices of common idioms and select the one that best completes the sentence. Example: Before exams students (burn...
Curated OER
ESL Picture/Idiom Matching Worksheet
In this ESL picture to idiom matching worksheet, students examine 7 small clip art images before matching them to the idioms they best represent. They work with idioms such as "blood is thicker than water," and "as you make your bed, so...
Curated OER
J'ai mal à la tête! (I have a headache!) -- Health Expressions in French
Oh, no! Everyone is getting sick! Young French speakers use French expressions regarding physical health, some of which are idioms. With the use of health expressions provided in the lesson plan, pairs work together to write stories that...
Curated OER
Denial on Trial
What is the "Faurisson Affair”? What is “Holocaust Revisionism”? What does freedom of speech entail? Do revisionists have a right to voice their ideas? Such questions are at the heart of a richly detailed, thought provoking lesson...