Introduce fourth graders to poetry with a three-week unit that has them examine the structural elements of poetry, analyze poems, and craft their own original poems rich in sensory details and other poetic devices. Young scholars study...

Introduce your seventh graders to the Harlem Renaissance with a unit that explores this dynamic period's music, literature, and ideas. The 160-page guide includes a unit calendar, an introduction to the unit, 10 richly detailed lessons...

They Call Me Güero: A Border Kid's Poems by David Bowles is the focus of a five-week language arts unit unit. Fifth graders listen to various poems and participate in thoughtful discussions, examining vocabulary and learning new words in...

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...

Celebrate April's National Poetry Month or enrich a poetry unit with a wealth of language arts material. Class members develop an oral interpretation of a poem and/or develop a podcast interview with a poet. 

Bring the beauty of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost to middle school language arts. After learners read a copy of the poem, they follow an instructional sequence that focuses on sound, figurative language, and theme.

To continue their study of the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the beginning of the civil rights movement, class members watch the YouTube video of Billie Holiday singing "Strange Fruit" as an introduction to an examination of...

How can something be true even if it didn't happen? Invite your classes to investigate the truths found in the world of magical realism as they analyze short stories, poems, informational texts, video, and art from this genre.

Should primary graders have their own computers? Should animals be kept in captivity? Young writers learn how to develop and support a claim in this short unit on persuasive writing.

In his 2013 introduction to Fahrenheit 451, Neil Gaiman states, “Fiction is a lie that tells us true things, over and over.” In this extraordinary unit plan, readers "explore the power of written language to educate and...

War is one of the most profound human experiences in history, and is often best depicted in works of art and literature. Introduce class members to the poetry of World War I with this resource that uses John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields"...

Watch your tone! Scholars take a close look at Robert Browning’s My Last Duchess. After listening to the poem, they work together to determine the impact of word choice and mood of the introduction. They then work independently on a...

Fibonacci numbers are not only found in the classroom but also in nature. Explore the concept of Fibonacci numbers through a series of lessons designed to gain insight into the mathematical reasoning behind the number pattern, and spark...

How was Edgar Allan Poe able to create "intriguing, memorable, and lasting literature"? To answer this question, learners analyze the syntax, diction, and characterizations in Poe's poems and short stories and compare the impact of these...

"How does our environment shape our identity?" After researching biographical information about John Knowles and considering how these experiences are reflected in A Separate Peace, class members consider the strengths and weaknesses of...

Get even your most reluctant pupils reading, writing, reciting, and maybe even enjoying poetry! A four day lesson plan, young writers learn about Golden Shovel poems: a poem format that uses borrowed words from other poems as the last...

Parades are a great way to celebrate. Get young historians into the festivities by asking them to create an informational float for a Freedom Parade. Picking a topic from the provided list or suggesting one of their own, class members...

Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...

Is there such a thing as fate/luck? Can one fight destiny? As part of their study of Chinua Achebe's purpose in writing Things Fall Apart, class members answer these questions from Achebe's point of view and then from William...

If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing...

Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a lesson that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 

Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...

Instructors who want to use A Streetcar Named Desire as a core text need not rely of the kindness of other teachers to find engaging activities to support a study of Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning drama.

How do barns serve as a window to a community's past? Here are a series of lessons on the symbolism and historical context of barns throughout American history. Topics include community-building, in-depth primary and secondary...