Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Hobbit

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars list W.H Auden's six characteristics of a quest story. They say what is meant by a "metaphorical quest." Pupils discuss some differences between symbolism and allegory. Students indicate how Bilbo Baggins's adventures...
Worksheet
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Winterhill School

Poetry Analysis

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Gain greater insight into poems using a poetry analysis worksheet. Here, scholars follow steps and answer questions to dissect any poem. Topics include the poem's meaning, theme, technique, and structure, as well as personal...
Lesson Plan
EngageNY

Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 10

For Teachers 9th Standards
An engaging unit connects Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson's shared themes of madness and departure from reality. The 10th instructional activity in the unit explores Dickinson's figurative language and structure choices in "I Felt a...
Handout
Curated OER

The Old Man and the Sea: Concept Analysis

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Use a helpful concept analysis guide when planning your unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. The resource covers plot elements, literary themes, and possible issues to address in order to make the work accessible...
Assessment
BPE

Teacher Guide for Faster Passage: "Sympathy" and "Caged Bird" Poetry

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Prepare class members for formative assessments of student thinking in reading (FAST-R) with a resource that compares Paul Laurence Dunbar's "Sympathy" and Maya Angelou's "Caged Bird." Readers respond to 10 multiple choice questions and...
Lesson Plan
Prestwick House

Rhetorical Devices in Political Speeches

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Have you ever watched a political speech and felt your heart beat a little faster, and your opinion either solidify or begin to slightly change? Rhetorical devices can be a strong tool in an effective and powerful speech. A short lesson...
Lesson Plan
Prestwick House

"Because I could not stop for Death" -- Visualizing Meaning and Tone

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death" provides high schoolers with an opportunity to practice their critical thinking skills. They examine the images, diction, rhythm, and rhyme scheme the poet uses and consider how...
Lesson Plan
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Prestwick House

Teaching Shakespeare: Sonnet 73

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
It's that time of year to consider how Shakespeare selects his images and structures his Sonnet 73 to develop the meaning of the poem. Class members examine the rhyme scheme, the indented lines, the conceit, and the images used in each...
Lesson Plan
Candace Fleming

Ben Franklin’s Almanac: Being a True Account of the Good Gentleman’s Life

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Candace Fleming's award winning Ben Franklin's Almanac is the anchor text for a classroom guide that provides teachers with a cache of pre, during, and post-reading activities.
Handout
California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc

Poetic Devices

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Have everything you need to know about the elements of poetry with a nine-page handout. Split into four categories—word sounds, meanings, arrangement, and imagery—budding poets may reference terms, read definitions, descriptions, and...
Handout
Deer Valley Unified School District

Close Reading: Analyzing Mood and Tone

For Students 9th - 12th
The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Poetry Analysis Sheet

For Students 9th - 12th
Tasking class members to analyze a poem can strike fear into the hearts of many learners. Here's a worksheet that takes the mystery out of the process by providing questions about what to look for in the text and to the devices poets use...
Activity
Poetry Society

Writing a Personification List Poem

For Teachers 6th - 12th
After a close reading of Sylvia Plath's "Mirror" and Flora de Falbe's "Five Things About the Lake," young poets craft their own personification list poem about a very special place.
Activity
Royal Shakespeare Company

RSC Activity Toolkit: Much Ado About Nothing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Are you frustrated by searching for activities to engage readers in their study of Much Ado About Nothing? Sigh no more. Young thespians will find much to do in this Royal Shakespeare Company 23-page Toolkit. Included in the sections are...
Activity
Digital Public Library of America

The Poetry of Emily Dickinson

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Are you contemplating a poetry study featuring Emily Dickinson? Finding good primary sources to accompany the study can be a challenge—never fear, help is here! Check out this primary source set that includes manuscripts of several of...
Lesson Plan
EBSCO Industries

Music and Poetry

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
Song lyrics, like poems, are meant to be heard. After examining the literary devices in several poems, scholars examine the lyrics of popular songs and identify the sound devices and the figurative language writers use to create the...
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "Spring is like a perhaps hand" by E. E. Cummings

For Teachers 6th - 12th
E. E. Cummings' "Spring is like a perhaps hand" offers young scholars an opportunity to try their hands at analyzing a simile. After a warm-up activity and a close reading of the poem, class members discuss what they think the poem is...
Unit Plan
Simon & Schuster

Curriculum Guide to: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A Tale of Two Cities is the core text for five lessons in a Curriculum Guide for Charles Dickens' famous novel. To begin, scholars examine Dickens' use of anaphora in the first line of the novel. Next, they compare the point of view in a...
Unit Plan
Academy of American Poets

Voice

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Four lessons make up a poetry unit that introduces high schoolers to spoken and written poetry. Class members also examine poems as social commentary and connect these poems to various novels and plays. A great way to incorporate poetry...
Lesson Plan
Academy of American Poets

Teach This Poem: "The Tradition" by Jericho Brown

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
To begin this instructional activity, class members examine Antonius Hockelmann's painting "Tree Flowers II," record elements of the painting that they notice, and share their observations with a partner. Next, pupils do a close reading...
Lesson Plan
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Learning for Justice

Maya Angelou

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise", offers young scholars an opportunity to consider how poets use literary devices to create powerful messages. After a close reading and discussion of the poem, class members reflect on how they can...
Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Magical Elements in Magical Realism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How does Gabriel Garcia Marquez make the magical elements of his novel appear so real? That's the challenge facing readers of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Scholars examine the tone and descriptive details Garcia Marquez uses to...
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

“Every Day We Get More Illegal” by Juan Felipe Herrera

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A study of Jan Felipe Herrera's poem "Every Day We Get More Illegal" opens the door for a discussion on immigration. To begin, class members examine the photograph "Desert Survival," record their observations of the image, and then...
Lesson Plan
PBS

Pandemic Poetry

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Links to other pandemic poems are provided in the optional extensions

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