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What Makes a Novel a Novel?
As your authors prepare to write a hypothetical novel, they need all the inspiration they can find! Using a book they have already read (and enjoyed), learners complete a literary analysis by filling in eight short-answer questions....
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A Garden of Verses: Poems About Class Gardens
Students explore botany by participating in a language arts activity. In this garden poetry lesson, students read the classic poem "Mary, Mary Quite Contrary" and discuss the imagery and rhyming methods used. Students examine their own...
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Recycling/Solid Waste Education with Shel Silverstein: "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout"
Both poetry analysis and waste disposal are more engaging topics for young readers with a worksheet to accompany the Shel Silverstein poem 'Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out" from Where the Sidewalk Ends. Not only...
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Poetry Analysis Lesson and Rubric
Analyzing poetry can be done using a variety of techniques that tap into student's prior knowledge.
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Not So Much a Lesson, More a Song and Dance
Inspired by Britain's National Poetry Day, this resource will help your class analyze poetry. You will find a variety of poetry analysis methods to work through with your class. Finish by having each person compose an original poem.
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Edward Lear, Limericks, and Nonsense
Introduce your class to the delights of nonsense poetry and explore literary devices with the writing of Edward Lear. Learners identify rhyme and meter as well as figures of speech, alliteration, and onomatopoeia in "The Owl and the...
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Magnet Poetry
Students engage in a activity that involves the use of imagery in poetry. They select words from poems that are used for imagery. The words are put onto magnets and then used to create new poems filled with imagery. The hands on...
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Text Features of Fiction, Poetry, Drama: Story Matrix
How do novels differ from plays? Explore with your class the text features of fiction and drama by reading The Hidden One: Native American Legend and then performing a reader’s theater script based on the story. Class members create a...
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Analyzing Poetry and Characters
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 discuss the...
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Triarchic Analysis
Fourth graders read a piece of literature and analyze it from three different perspectives which enable students to best utilize their strengths. They make a presentation to the class once their analysis is complete.
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It's All Poetry to Me!
Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis lesson, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them. Students analyze...
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Wife of Bath's Tale Assignment
In this poetry analysis learning exercise, students read the poem "Wife of Bath's Tale" and analyze the literary elements within the poem.
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Sea-ing More Clearly
Explore works of art with your class by engaging them in a variety of artistic activities including papier-mache sculpture, poetry, performance, and more. After viewing and discussing four paintings of the sea by Robert Harris, learners...
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Emily Dickinson & Poetic Imagination: "Leap, plashless"
Learners analyze the poems of Emily Dickinson and write their own nature poem. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read Dickinson poetry and analyze the use of imagery, sound, and metaphor. Learners write their own nature poem using...
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The Color of My Words
Explore the story The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph using this resource. Learners answer comprehension questions, fill in graphic organizers, and write a poem.
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Native American Poetry
Fourth graders locate the poetry section of the LMC. They produce a hand written transparency based on the poem Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Students illustrate a poem from their poetry section. It is a mystery to them what...
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Greeting Cards
Learners create greeting cards. They listen to verses from various cards and evaluate each one. They research websites of greeting card makers and complete a chart. They discuss themes and ideas in greeting cards and edit their free...
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Author In The Spotlight
Complete an in-depth study of the works or a specific author. Working in pairs, students read at least four works by the same author. After completing the reading, they create an essay comparing and contrasting the works and create an...
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Are You Money Smart?
Learners figure out and discuss the irony of this coin-centric poem. They also practice persuasive letter writing, and identify and count coin/money values.
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Jean Fritz's American History Series
Students explore children's literature by reading biographies in class. In this history analysis lesson, students read books written by Jean Fritz about the Revolutionary War and discuss the events that led up to the critical moment....
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Simile Stories
Fourth graders view song lyrics and identify similes in the song text. In this similes instructional activity, 4th graders define and identify similes on a worksheet. Students write their own similes using various adjectives.
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Analytical Essay
What is an analytical essay? Introduce this type of thinking to your young writers. First, discuss what it means to analyze something. Then, identify the different components of an essay and what details are embedded in each component....