A lot of learning objectives are included here! Discuss some related vocabulary words before reading President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech at the United Nations Day ceremony. Several activities accompany the speech including a graphic...

Use O. Henry's ubiquitous tale of love and poverty to explore irony. After reading the story, middle schoolers identify examples of all three kinds of irony in the story. With partners, they brainstorm original examples of irony. Then...

Practice vocabulary and speaking skills in this ESL reading comprehension lesson plan. Middle and high schoolers participate in a number of before, during, and after reading activities based on an article entitled "Footballer Sent Off...

After studying metaphors in written text, transfer your learners' knowledge to song! Have each learner bring in a song that uses metaphors and/or similes, and play these examples for the class. Can the other learners identify the...

Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking instructional activity focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate  the relationship between word choice, mood, and...

First, read a document that relates factual data regarding a family trip to Costa Rica. Then read the same information in a piece where the author conveys a negative tone; finally, read one where the author establishes a positive tone....

Have you ever studied historical words and found that they were deeply rooted in racism or prejudice? Select a long list of these words to have your class examine. What familiar roots do they have? Do they know when this word originally...

Spark what's sure to be an interesting discussion in your classroom by introducing the topic of terrorism. Consider the meaning of the word terrorism and examine the associated connotations with a brief introductory reading. With your...

Is your class reading Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang? Here, readers fill out a graphic organizer that compares the dictionary definitions of vocabulary words, terminology, and names to their connotations and usage in...

What does a non-fiction text look like? Examine the text features of non-fiction. Middle and high schoolers read non-fiction passages provided by their instructor and analyze the texts for word choice, details, and organization.

Seven example sentences provide opportunities to improve clarity and variety in writing with diction related to connotative differences. Learners select one of four answer choices to improve each sentence for accuracy. They then...

Don't let your pupils bite off more than they can chew! Comprehending idiomatic speech can be very perplexing to language learners. Readers must use context clues, common sense, and knowledge of the connotative and denotative meanings to...

High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...

Jump back into the 90s with Alannis Morissette's song "You Learn." After hearing the song, small groups analyze the lyrics and write an essay about a mistake they've learned from. Use the example sentences to identify the denotative and...

What's happening in this poem? Have your high schoolers participate in an activity about connotation and denotation. They apply the concept of connotation to a reading of Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz." Lead a discussion about...

Lead your class to explore, define, and explain denotations and connotations. Using Voyage™ 200 (a personal learning tool), each learner investigates and defines examples of denotation and connotation. After finding the definitions, the...

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...

Use literacy tools to select precise vocabulary. High schoolers respond to discussion questions that require them to consider the denotation and connotation of words. They then read non-fiction passages and identify words in the passages...

Engage pupils in practicing denotative and connotative strategies to understand particular words. They work in pairs and write a series of sentences using each word that has a positive connotation and negative connotation. Some example...

Hyperboles are often left in the dust when learners explore literary devices. Help bring this device to life with this two-page instructional activity. First, read a short paragraph where hyperboles are underlined. Then, use the sentence...

To smoke or not to smoke in public places? Swift's "A Modest Proposal" launches an exploration of how to formulate a stance, develop cogent rationale, and adopt an appropriate tone for a presentation on contemporary issues of social...

If used as part of an exploration of figures of speech, this short presentation defining similes, metaphors, and analogies could be used as a review tool in an English classroom. A teacher could augment this resource with more examples...

Readers analyze figurative language in William Golding's Lord of the Flies with four text examples from chapter one. They identify each example as a simile, metaphor, or example of personification, and analyze the comparison that was...

Readers analyze figurative language in Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 with four text examples from part two. They identify each example as simile, metaphor, or personification, and analyze the comparison that was made. Resource includes...