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Voices of Tragedy and Horror: Remembering the Holocaust
Students consider the implications of the Holocaust. In this World War II lesson, students read the graphic novel Maus at the end of a unit on World War II. Students discuss the impact of reading about the Holocaust as well as theme of...
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Creating an Anthology
Student compile a poetry anthology. In this literature lesson, students examine notable poetry anthologies. Students then select a theme to build their anthologies of 10 poems pertaining to their chosen theme.
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The Raven: Creator of the Universe?
Learners explore biology by researching birds in class. In this raven identification lesson, students utilize the Internet to identify the anatomy, habits and habitat of ravens. Learners write descriptive paragraphs about ravens and read...
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Writing Process-- Revision and Editing
As guided practice, class members work together to revise a model persuasive paragraph. Then they practice independently with their own writing. The included rubric looks at prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, nonfiction text...
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Extreme Poetry Vocabulary
Challenge your class with this comprehensive list of literary vocabulary words. Learners take a pre-test, look up definitions, come up with an example, and then take a post-test. You might use this prior to a unit about poetic devices in...
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Irony in Poetry and Prose (Fiction and Non-fiction Texts)
Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. For this figurative language lesson, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.
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Literary Elements Worksheets and Graphic Organizers
Using graphic organizers can be an effective way to teach literary elements.
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African American Voices
Students investigate the many forms of Haitian art. They compare the art of some different cultures, religions, countries, and philosophies. Students also read the biography of an artist to build context for a particular piece of...
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The Thrill of Big-Wave Surfing
Learners view a PBS Nature program about big-wave surfing and participate in a class discussion about their experiences with surfing, body boarding, or body surfing. Students create a drawing based on a reading and post their art around...
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A Song By Any Other Name Would Be a Poem
Students examine the poetic elements of a piece of music. They discuss favorite songs, select a song, and write a persuasive essay identifying the poetic qualities of the song lyrics.
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How to Move the Crowd: The Persuasive, Powerful Rhetoric of Mark Antony -Folger Shakespeare Library
Tenth graders explore a close reading of the speeches of Brutus and Mark Anthony in 3.2. They identify the effects of the rhetorical appeals used. Students explore the variety of ways in which Anthony might have delivered the speech....
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Where I Am From
Learners study selected poetry to gain an understanding of influences on values and personal identity. They explore language terms such as personification, imagery metaphors and allusion. After reading a poem and discussing it,...
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The Crucible
Twelfth graders use an Internet scavenger hunt, vocabulary, sample essay questions, and short answer questions suitable for study and review of the play, The Crucible.
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Creative Autobiography
Students brainstorm and outline ideas for their autobiography. They begin composition of it as well. Students create a timeline of important events to help them get started and discuss the elements of a what makes a good story.
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Acting Like a Bunch of Animals: Fables and Human
The video "The Tales of Aesop" traces for viewers the history of fables and identifies their characteristics. The class then goes to the web site "The Fisherman and the Little Fish" where they examine the classic and a modern version of...
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A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words
Students examine historical photographs and discuss what the photograph reveals and how they can contribute to writing. In this response to literature students choose a photograph and develop a paragraph around it.
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Dialogue Disguises
Students read a story out loud to a partner and change their voices and expressions when depicting specific characters. In this language arts lesson plan, students focus on the person's voice who is reading to them, while keeping track...
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Motion Picture Analysis Worksheet
In this motion picture worksheet, students analyze a motion picture and complete information for pre-viewing and then viewing the picture. Students also answer several post-viewing sections.