This guide discusses how to approach analysis of a literary text, with the main focus being on the poem "Design" by Robert Frost. It explains how to examine the subject, the form, word choice or diction, and the theme. In each section,...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will learn about the life of Frederick Douglass, his personal experience of the slave system, and the discrimination and prejudice he faced from those around him. This intensive lesson exemplar...

In this lesson plan, middle schoolers will consider "The Preamble to the Constitution: A Close Reading Lesson." The plan includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.

Young scholars will read "Casey at the Bat" and "Mighty Jackie: The Strikeout Queen" in order to compare and contrast the themes of these texts. Detailed lesson and Venn Diagram worksheet included.

Students will read an article by Byron Loosle on the meaning of Native American symbols and compare that to a video clip of an actual Native American explaining the symbols. There is a difference of opinion and students will weigh both...

Read carefully in order to identify diction, tone, and irony and evaluate their impact on the meaning of a text.

Read carefully in order to identify allusion, imagery, metaphor, and symbolism, and evaluate their impact on the meaning of a text.

Read carefully in order to identify diction, tone, and irony, and evaluate their impact on the meaning of a text.

Contains plans for two lessons that explain an inductive method for analyzing poetry. Seamus Heaney's "Blackberry Picking" is analyzed using this model as an example, although the method can be used on a variety of poems. In addition to...

In this lesson plan, students create a prompt book of Act 2, Scene 1. Each group of students will focus on a specific emphasis as they edit the scene.

From the Folger Shakespeare Library, this lesson plan requires students to analyze Hamlet's soliloquy with an emphasis on word meaning and etymology. They then compare two film versions of the speech.

This article introduces 'The Merchant's Prologue and Tale', exploring the way in which it combines literary genres and traditions, and refuses to give the reader a clear moral or message.

A sixteen-part learning module with links to images, texts, and videos to use while reading "Rules of the Game" from Amy Tan's Joy Luck Club.

This is a teacher inservice presentation which looks closely at the Common Core Writing Standards. It includes the standards, lists of what teachers need to do and what students gain from them, and activities to help teachers reach their...

Extensive examination of what it means to critically read an argument. This process is sometimes called "critical reading," or "close reading," or "active reading." First the differences between reading to extract information and reading...

During this lesson, students will use close reading strategies to analyze aspects of the setting in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. [7:57] CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10, RL.11-12.10a/b Text Complexity

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, students will learn how to find the tone in a passage using a close reading strategy. They will also look at diction and discover that examining a writer's...

This is a strategy guide to determine if reading material is complex and therefore, worth a close reading. It offers a list of quantitative, qualitative, reader characteristics/task consideration measures of text complexity.

[Free Registration/Login Required] In this close reading instructional activity, the young scholars will analyze the poem "It Fell in the City" by Eve Merriam. They will read the poem, identify words or phrases that show feelings or...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Five little monkeys sitting on a bed or sitting in a tree? In this close reading lesson plan, students will compare and contrast the actions of the characters in two of Eileen Christelow's beloved...

Written by a college professor, this site discusses five areas for students to work on to improve their writing. The areas are Thesis, Research, Close Reading, Style, and Mechanics. The author is clear and concise in his advice, and...

"Prairie Farmers" is a one page, historical fiction, journal describing life for farmers in the prairie throughout the year. It shows the difficulties including bad weather and fires. It requires students to closely read the journal and...

This unit from North Carolina Public Schools focuses on Common Core Standards for Reading including close reading strategies, questions teachers should ask themselves, and reading activities.

[Free Registration/Login Required] Teachers will read "Digging Up Dinosaurs" using the close reading technique. Students will use graphic organizers to summarize the steps necessary to collect, study, and build a dinosaur skeleton.