High schoolers examine denotation and connotation in language, and paraphrase a poem. They read and analyze a sonnet by iam Shakespeare, analyze the attitude and tone, paraphrase a poem, and create a thesis about a poem based on textual...

The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and oppression....

High schoolers analyze mood and voice in Emily Dickinson's poem, "There's a Certain Slant of Light." After the analysis, learners write a poem of their own emulating the Dickinson poem, and then write a one-page essay describing what...

Analyze the depth and beauty of American Literature by reading Emily Dickinson's letters and poems. The class analyzes Dickinson's poetic style and discusses Thomas Wentworth Higginson's editorial relationship with Dickinson. They pay...

Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...

Explore the works of Dr. Seuss, such as Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches and Egg, The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Lorax, The Butter Battle Book, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Each story lesson includes reading...

Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...

Students complete poetry analysis using William Shakespeare's "Sonnet 130" as a part of a study of figurative language. In this Shakespearean language lesson, students define literal and figurative language and practice paraphrasing and...

Young scholars analyze Japanese tanka poetry. In this Japanese poetry lesson, students identify analyze the structure of tanka poetry. Young scholars complete the activities at the given links for the lesson and compose two tanka poems.

Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...

High schoolers discover the ideas of enlightenment by reading historical poetry. In this philosophical lesson, students read poems by Sir Walter Scott and Sergeant Joyce Kilmer while discussing the themes of the writing with classmates....

Students investigate historical context by reading poetry.  In this language arts lesson, students discover the work of Michael Longley and examine his poem "Ceasefire."  Students identify the sonnets used in the piece and...

Students read and write poetry that reflects true self expression. They use the published poetry as a springboard instead of a formula to write from the heart.

Fifth graders preview different poetry selections form different poets to narrow their criteria for a favorite poem. They use the web and written sources to find a favorite poem and then give an oral interpretation of their poem in class...

Students place emphasis on the use of figurative language when analyzing prose and poetry. In this figurative language lesson, students explore the tone of a story and its imagery. Students read and discuss how the author uses imagery in...

Twelfth graders discuss a fictional text that they are given, they identify passages, which highlight the author's style, language naances and textual ambiguities. Pupils brainstorm possible topics for an analytical essay, they are...

Eighth graders identify figurative language and poetry in this literary analysis instructional activity. Using Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and a YouTube video for "The Walrus and the Carpenter," young readers complete a...

Learners have an appreciation of Langston Hughe's poetry and his use of jazz rhythms, have the ability to read poetry closely, and freewrite to gain a fresh perspective on music and literature.

Using the poems "First Snow" by Ted Kooser and "Eating Alone" by Yi-Young Lee (or other suggested poems by Robert Frost or Sara Teasdale), middle schoolers search for examples of figurative language. Guide your learners by discussing...

Students discuss books they are reading during the semester through e-mail with other students. They complete a reading interest survey, e-mail their partner weekly, and read and suggest six novels by the end of the semester.