National Endowment for the Humanities
Themes in Lord of the Flies
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is the anchor text for a lesson that teaches readers how to distinguish between a literary topic and a literary theme. Using the provided worksheets, groups first chart some themes and propose a...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 20
Oedipus' lack of literal and figurative vision does not mean he cannot see his guilt in the terrible fates of Laius, Jocasta, and all the lives touched by prophecy. Conclude a literary analysis unit on Sophocles' Oedipus the King with a...
Ohio Literacy Resource Center
Compare & Contrast Essay
Comparing two texts can build a greater understanding of the texts and themes of the works. Take some time to follow the steps here to guide your pupils through the process of composing compare-and-contrast essays.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 11
As an end-of-unit assessment, class members craft a formal, multi-paragraph essay identifying a similar idea found in Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green. Writers state and use...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 5
After rereading the full text of Walter Mosley's essay "True Crime," groups complete an evidence collection tool worksheet, and then class members independently draft a multi-paragraph, evidence-based response that identifies how Mosley...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 13
Whether the planks hide the beating of a hideous heart or they break away to the madness beneath, their presence makes itself known in the final instructional activity of a literary analysis unit. Having gathered textual evidence from...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 17
Eighth graders demonstrate their understanding with the final assessment in a literary analysis unit based on Karen Russell's short story, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves." Having prepared for the assessment in the last few...
Oakland Writes
Exploring Thematic Motifs in The House on Mango Street
Explore identity and community through an expository essay based on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This two-week unit on writing an essay provides a brief description of each day and all of the worksheets and materials you...
Curated OER
The Use of Language in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
Readers of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings are asked to craft an essay in which they compare how Maya Angelou uses figurative language to depict herself and Mrs. Flowers.
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 15
To conclude the study of the play, William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, class members craft an in-class essay comparing Doescher's adaptation to George Lucas's film, Star Wars: A New Hope.
Literacy Design Collaborative
Macbeth: Influence of Supernatural
Something wickedly wonderful this way comes in a instructional activity that focuses on Macbeth. After a close reading of the play, class members craft a literary analysis essay in which they use evidence from the text to show how...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 8
Rid yourself of unsupported analytic writing forever with a mid-unit assessment focused on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." As ninth graders formulate an essay based on evidence from the first seven lessons in the unit, they...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 19
To prepare for the unit's final assessment essay, class members collaborate to find evidence that reveals Romeo and Juliet as tragic heroes.
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: August 2013
Individuals exercise their minds by taking the Comprehensive Examination in English, which assesses listening and reading comprehension and writing aptitude. Scholars answer multiple-choice questions and write two short-response essays....
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 8
As a mid-unit assessment, class members craft an in-class essay response to the prompt: "How does Shakespeare’s development of the characters of Romeo and Juliet refine a central idea in the play?"
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3
How do writers develop a central idea in a text? How can readers identify this central idea? These are the challenges class members tackle as they continue their analysis of "Letter One" from Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 10
To prepare for the end-of-unit multi-paragraph essay, class members review Rainer Maria Rilke's collection, Letters to a Young Poet, and David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and identify central ideas in both texts. Writers then formulate a...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Elie Wiesel's Acceptance Speech Analysis
Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Acceptance speech provides young historians with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to use evidence from the speech. They work together to analyze how Wiesel uses rhetorical devices and syntax to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 16
Prepare for the end-of-unit assessment in a unit focused on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves." As your class continues gathering evidence to support or argue against the success of Claudette's adaptation into...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: January 2014
What better way to prepare learners for academic success than to administer practice tests? With the Comprehensive Examination in English, scholars read informational and literary texts and answer listening and reading comprehension...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: August 2014
Just like with any skill, test-taking aptitude improves with practice. Learners complete the handout, answering reading comprehension questions and engaging in timed writing exercises. The test includes multiple-choice and constructed...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 7: Logical Fallacies
What are the effects of competition in an academic environment? The competition between the main characters in A Separate Peace motivates a series of activities that asks readers to take a stance on competition, and then to develop a...
Infobased Learning
Bloom's Literature: How to Write about Nineteen Eighty Four
A good prompt is hard to find, especially ones that encourage application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of a text. Help is here in the form of a prompt list for George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four that offers essay topics that...
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Glass Menagerie: Impact of Expressionism
Young scholars are challenged to write a realistic analysis of Tennessee Williams' nonrealistic memory play, The Glass Menagerie. Writers use the evidence gathered on their worksheets to craft an effective thesis and concluding statement...