Curated OER
Irony in "The Gift of the Magi"
Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...
K12 Reader
What Can You Infer?
Perhaps one of the most famous and illustrative stories featuring irony, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry provides many opportunities for learners to make inferences about its characters. After reading a short introductory passage from...
Scholastic
Pre-Reading Vocabulary Activities Using "The Gift of the Magi"
The rich language of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is only appreciable if you understand the words. A short lesson reviews 13 words from the story and prompts class members to apply each word and its definition to other situations.
Scholastic
Identifying Types of Irony Using "The Gift of the Magi"
O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Unit 5: Realms of Gold - Vol. 2 Poetry and Short Stories Teacher Guide
Seventh graders have a golden opportunity to learn how to read poems and short stories with a unit that introduces them to the techniques writers use to craft their works. They examine poems by William Carlos Williams and Edgar Allen Poe...
Curated OER
Gift of the Magi
While reading O Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," your class will define and identify situational irony and allusion. Use a study guide (not included, but easy to produce) to record and discuss examples of allusion as you read. Map the...
Curated OER
Test Review Sheet: Irony, Comma Rules, and Sentence Variety,
Covering vocabulary, literary analysis, and grammar, this worksheet would be a great study guide or homework assignment for an eighth-grade Language Arts class. Though the five stories by Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, and Oscar Wilde are...
Curated OER
Creating a Found Poem
Teach your English learners about theme through this found poem project. Class members read two versions of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi": the original version and a synopsis. After learning about themes and connecting theme to their...
K20 LEARN
Motivations In "The Gift Of The Magi": Motivation In Characters
O. Henry's short story, "The Give of the Magi," launches a study of what motivates people to act as they do. Class members identify what they believe are the motivations of the characters in O. Henry's tale and then craft a one-page...
Curated OER
Traveling Through Literature
Integrate geography with literature in this interdisciplinary lesson. Begin by reading a poem such as The Time We Climbed Snake Mountain by Leslie Marmon Silko. On a large map, place push pins in the cities or states mentioned. An...
Curated OER
Henry and Mudge: The First Book by Cynthia Rylant
In this short story worksheet, students read and analyze the short story "Henry and Mudge: The First Book" by Cynthia Rylant and then the students answer thirty five comprehension questions in a variety of formats.
Pottsgrove School District
Tall Tales
Young readers compare and contrast digital and print versions of tall tale text. The resource includes a character analysis in which pupils compare and contrast traits, and make inferences about what the characters do and say. They...
Wake County Public Schools
Language
Have your class doing everything from reading literature, analyzing literary devices, identifying independent and dependent clauses, discussing, and writing creatively with the rich resource found here. After a mini lesson on independent...
Curated OER
Irony
What are the three types of irony? High schoolers engage in a lesson about the use of irony while reading O.Henry's short story "Gift of the Magi." They'll discuss rising action, climax, and resolution in the text before highlighting the...
Curated OER
Using O. Henry's the Ransom of Red Chief To Develop a Larger Vocabulary
Ninth graders expand their reading vocabulary in order to increase comprehension. They play a game using vocabulary from a novel.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Voices of the Revolution: Challenge Activities (Theme 3)
Paul Revere, Mercy Otis Warren, James Forten, Henry Knox. The voices of the American Revolution come alive in this enrichment packet designed to challenge learners who have mastered the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt...
Annenberg Foundation
Gothic Undercurrents
Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...
Overcoming Obstacles
Establishing What's Important
Being true to oneself can be difficult when faced with pressure from others. In this activity, participants first list what they value and then role-play a series of scenarios that test these values. To conclude, individuals list three...
Curated OER
Literature and the Language Arts
Reading involves more than simply picking up a text and saying the words aloud. A practice guide introduces readers to key skills such as making inferences, finding the main idea or theme, and using context clues. Each skill contains a...
Annenberg Foundation
Social Realism
Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...
Global Oneness Project
Architectural Wonders
Angkor Wat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Cambodia, is the focus of a lesson that asks class members to consider factors that could result in the destruction of these archeological treasures. Pupils listen to a lecture on the...
Curated OER
Slavery Lesson
Fourth graders explore the issue of slavery. In this African American history lesson, 4th graders visit a website to take a virtual journey on the Underground Railroad. Additionally, students read various suggested slave narratives....
Curated OER
Stepping Stones
Students listen to stories read aloud. They examine a work of art by a known artist. Students take a picture using the digital camera. They listen as the teacher reads "Where the Wild Things Are." Students compare and contrast the...
Curated OER
Irony
Using examples from Socrates to Johnny Carson, this slideshow presents your students with the history and definition of dramatic irony, satire, situational irony, and tragic irony. This presentation would be useful in a language arts...