Imagine a list that includes Alan Abelson of Baron's, Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, and Mother Jones. High schoolers select a national columnist, read and annotate five columns by this author, noting the rhetorical...

Students examine rhetorical strategies. In this political debate lesson, students research issues of presidential campaigns and deliver persuasive speeches about the issues they research. Students then participate in debates based on the...

High schoolers examine the relationship between rhetoric and war. In this history of war instructional activity, students analyze paintings, photographs, movies, and articles that paint an opinionated picture of war....

A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...

Compare and contrast the ideologies of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle schoolers conduct research regarding civil rights and rhetorical strategies used in political speechs. They examine the strategies that both men employed...

The New York Times' Learning Network provides great lessons! This one uses articles from the paper to help readers understand homonyms like mail (verb and noun). It also includes an exercise in reading informational text. Links to the...

Learners analyze slavery and its effects on humanity using Frederick Douglass' autobiography. For this slavery instructional activity, students analyze instances of reality and romanticized myth using a slave narrative. Learners explore...

Students analyze American essayists Mark Twain and Frederick Douglass in an introduction to American literary non-fiction writing. In this essay history lesson, students identify methods for writing essays. Students read and analyze...

Eighth graders create a researched presentation comparing and contrasting holiday celebrations from the period surrounding Charles' Dickens 'A Christmas Carol.' In this Christmas celebrations instructional activity, 8th graders discuss...

High schoolers assess persuasive techniques in propaganda. They identify and critique rhetorical devices in primary source documents (sources are not specified, but links to sites that contain various documents are included). Groups make...

Analyze advertising techniques in order to pinpoint persuasive strategies that writers use. These same techniques are then examined in persuasive speeches. You will have to find your own advertisements, but speeches are included. Finish...

Learners analyze Frederick Douglass' narrative about Christianity and slavery. In this Frederick Douglass lesson, young scholars read his slave narrative and analyze its word choice, imagery, irony, and rhetorical appeals. Learners...

Students, after reading and analyzing, "A Room of One's Own," by Virginia Woolf, analyze how creating and defending one's position as well as how narrative functions as a rhetorical device. They evaluate and focus in on Shakespeare's...

Eleventh graders examine their natural surroundings as a way to begin thinking about an abstract idea. They analyze and compare or contrast the rhetorical stategies of two essayists. Students interpret and evaluate images culled from...

Young scholars read and analyze an excerpt from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Students use the Six Traits of Writing to compose an essay on a personal life ambition that each young scholars may have. Students use prewriting...

Young scholars read and demonstrate competence in the general skills and strategies of the writing process via the novel "Finding Buck Henry." They recognize complex elements of plot. Students analyze devices used to develop characters...

Who were Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton? High schoolers examine the character traits of these historical figures and watch the video, The Duel. Hamilton vs. Burr: An Event that Changed History (available from PBS), to gain...

Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were...

Learners evaluate the effectiveness of Internet book clubs, present their findings to the class, and design their own on-line book club (under the umbrella of a fictional television program) to encourage non-readers to read more.

Show a video clip that descripes how taking a journey can change a person's outlook on life. Learners write a paragraph about a place that uses imagery and tone to create a specfic effect. They evaluate their journal entries as well.

Contemplate what music learners listen to and why they listen. Can they find poetry within music lyrics? Specifically hone in on blues lyrics and ruminate upon the social issues prevalent in the themes. Particular song lyrics coincide...

Connect the ideas of jazz improvisation and art to writing poetry. Learners collaborate and write different lines of poetry, imitating the jazz styles of improvisation and freewriting. Take a close look at the poems "Tenebrae" by Yusef...

Young learners today are bombarded by media manipulation. Help them develop the skills they will need to become savvy 21st century media consumers with a unit on media literacy.

Students examine "masterpieces" and mass-produced objects as they discuss humankind's inventiveness and creativity. They also analyze the role of problem solving in the creation of masterpieces and mass-produced items.