Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...

Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...

Take poetry off the page and put it into terms of movement, physical space and, finally, music with this series of three lessons from the Smithsonian Institution. This resource introduces students to two poetic forms that originated as...

Students identify how the literary elements of theme, point of view, characterization, setting, and plot illustrate the effects of a certain disease on a community. They identify the aspects of the book that are specific to the...

Explore a flashback in a story with readers. They will read a story, identify the flashback in the story, then evaluate how the flashback is used. Using the NoteFolio, students analyze the meaning and merit of a flashback in a story....

Students read a series of sentences and decide what literary term is being shown. They also discuss a novel about prejudice.

Learners define the terms symbolism and mood. In groups, they read a poem by Robert Frost and identify the concepts in the poem. As a class, they discuss how the two elements give a meaning to the writing. They also give their own...

Meet with the school library specialist and work together to plan a visit and presentation on figurative language. After defining and examining examples of targeted terms, the class travels to the library where the SL has collected...

Students, while defining an extensive list of vocabulary terms on the board, identify common signs and symbols that they may encounter when traveling or using some form of transportation (enter, exit, push, pull, men, women, caution, no...

Students are introduced to the term imagery. Individually, they read "The Dream Deferred" and note examples of imagery in the poem. To end the lesson, they write their own poem making sure to use the five components of imagery.

Engage further in Esperanza Rising with a focus on close reading and metaphor. Class members zero in on the tenth chapter, examining characters and big ideas. Pupils discuss the text in small groups and as a whole class, and...

Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...

Students examine some of the symbols, songs, and pledges that represent our country as well as the liberties they enjoy today due to those who served. They discuss the rules for displaying the United States Flag, practice folding the...

Students explore the concept of timbre. In this timbre lesson, students experience timbres produced by saxophones in contemporary music. Students explore the science behind the music.

Students examine Arkansas's official symbols. They take all of the symbols they learned and put them into a coloring book.

Students examine the symbols of their state and America. Using the history of the American flag, they identify what each star and stripe symbolizes and why red, white and blue were used. They discuss the use of the bald eagle and...

Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...

Young scholars analyze the landscape used in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". In groups, they discuss how Tolkien developed Elrond's promise and develop a case assuming Tolkien rejected "Manichaean dualism". They also compare and...

Eighth graders examine the concept that the sun is the ultimate source of energy for living things. They conduct an experiment in which they roast marshmallows over a flame that has been produced from methane gas, which originates from...