EngageNY
Making a Claim: Moon Shadow’s Point of View of the Immediate Aftermath
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...
Curated OER
Mountain Creation: A Drama Exploration
Students explore mountain formation. In this cross curriculum earth science and legend writing lesson, students listen to the poem "The Way to make Perfect Mountains" by Byrd Baylor and identify examples of vivid language used. Students...
Curated OER
Jack Be Nimble
Students recite the poem "Jack Be Nimble". In this poetry instructional activity, students read the poem and discuss other action words to use instead of jump. They rewrite the poem using their own name and a new action word.
Curated OER
How Poets Evoke Social and Historical Representations
High schoolers explore how poems represent the social, historical, and cultural times that they were written in. In this poetry lesson plan, students compare and contrast poems with music of the time and explore implications of writing...
Facing History and Ourselves
What Shapes Your Identity?
Sixth graders explore their individual identities. In this personal identity lesson, 6th graders write biopoems using the provided template. Students share their poems and respond to the poetry shared.
Curated OER
Cool Melons Turn to Frogs
Third graders become familiar with the poetry of Issa. In this haiku lesson plan, 3rd graders recognize the format of a haiku and learn about the life of Issa (the poet) through focused questions, vocabulary and reading responses....
Curated OER
Follow the Directions
Students listen to a confusing poem about baseball. In this clear writing lesson, students write a set of directions for a game. Students rewrite their directions until they are clearly understood. Students make a game and...
Curated OER
Poets of Christmas Past
Students consider the meanings of Christmas by reading an op-ed. As a class, they then create a sequel to the poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas," in which "Mamma" tells a story about the history of Christmas.
Curated OER
Resistance Poetry
Students create a definition for the term resistance. Once a definition has been created, they create a visual image to correlate with their definition. Working in groups, students read several different resistance poems and classify...
Pearson
Rumpelstiltskin
Classic fairy tales are great! They have memorable characters, present interesting story lines, and lend themselves to art projects. Grab a copy of "Rumpelstiltskin" and get ready to participate in several early literacy activities. The...
Teachers.net
Figurative Language
When is a staple remover a fanged monster? In your ELA classroom when you're teaching this fun figurative language lesson, of course! Get your young writers using figurative language by making a game of it. Give groups a paper bag full...
Curated OER
Veterans' Voyages
Introduce your middle and high schoolers to a different perspective on war: that of soldier's. Read Guisseppi Ungaretti's poem "Vigil" to kick-start this activity. After discussing his perspective, read "The Screaming Eagles Fly to...
Curated OER
The First World War
Learners examine the process and effects of World War I on different segments of the population, beyond the political, diplomatic and military framework of the war. They analyze the memoirs of soldiers, read poetry of the time, and...
Curated OER
Music in Words
Your class can build strong, well-represented opinions about the music they hear. They listen to, and share thoughts about, a piece of classical music. Then they write a piece of music or a poem, and analyze their peers' work and their...
Curated OER
Animal Fact or Fiction?
Read and discuss the article "Welcome to Cicadaville (Enter at Your Own Risk)" to gain a better understanding around the confusion regarding cicadas and locust swarms. In groups your young analysts research statements about animals to...
Curated OER
Comparing The Odyssey and "The Lotus Eaters"
Ninth graders compare the development of text in Book 5 of "The Odyssey" to Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lotus Eaters." After discussing the comparison's of the two text within a group, they create an original piece of work or...
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...
Curated OER
Do You Haiku? We Do!
Third graders try their hands at writing Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry. Haiku is usually 17 syllables in three-line form. This engaging lesson has many excellent worksheets and website imbedded in the plan. They share their finished...
Curated OER
The Sonnet Challenge
Students are given information about two popular sonnet forms-English and Italian. They are given the rules for writing a sonnet. Students are asked what type of sonnet they would use. They are each given a sheet of paper and asked...
Curated OER
The Tell-Tale Hearts of Writers
Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking lesson focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of...
Curated OER
Show Don't Tell
Students review the Show Don't Tell method of writing haiku poetry. They practice distinguishing poetic language from academic language and create poems based on images, not explanations.
Curated OER
Analyzing Poetic Devices: Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays" and Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz"
High schoolers examine how Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke incorporate poetic devices to convey meaning in the poems, 'Those Winter Sundays,' and 'My Papa's Waltz.' They listen to audio clips, explore websites, and write an analysis...
Curated OER
Snowflake Bentley
Students explore crystals through the story Snowflake Bentley and then create crystal pictures of their own. In this interdisciplinary lesson, they create a crystal web chart on chart paper, design artificial snowflakes, and write poems...
Curated OER
"Here's much to do with hate, but more with love": The Prologue in Romeo and Juliet
Students participate in a guide close reading of the Prologue to Romeo and Juliet. They write a prologue sonnet to another piece of literature they have read.