Curated OER
Poetry Beyond Words
Participate in writing poetry as a group. Focused on a given theme, young writers compose a popcorn poem using sensing verbs and adverbs. They write popcorn poems, onomatopoeias, collective poems, and diamond poems. You could introduce...
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: Social Commentary
Expose your class to the genre of political cartoons less concerned with serious political issues. This political cartoon analysis handout features social commentary on the many entertainments of youth, ironically paired with their...
Curated OER
Humor Theories
Providing ample examples of humor in literature, psychology, and sociology, this presentation studies the concept and function of humor in society today. Covering what is classically "funny" and what is not, and why, the slideshow will...
Curated OER
Metaphor and Metonymy
If you are teaching metaphors in your language arts class, consider using this presentation to illustrate several examples of classic metaphors. Body metaphors, war metaphors, and comic metaphors all help learners understand the...
Curated OER
Analyzing Atmosphere: Macbeth Murder Scene and Dagger Speech
Shakespeare's Macbeth (Act II, Scenes I and II) lacks explicit details of the murder of King Duncan, yet the author creates an atmosphere that allows us to visualize the event. Readers interpret the "Dagger Speech" by writing stage...
Curated OER
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Begin reading The Crucible and form a foundation for your study with this presentation. Arthur Miller and the historical background of McCarthyism are covered at the beginning, followed by short descriptions of all the characters in...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension 4: Level 8
Need a quick but comprehensive reading strategies exercise? Even your most reluctant readers will be engaged by the story of a nuclear reactor explosion at a top-secret Idaho base. After reading the short passage, learners answer nine...
Curated OER
It's All an Allusion: Identifying Allusions, in Literature and in Life
To allude, or not to allude, that is the question: whether ‘tis better to make a reference and engage your audience or risk confusing them or sounding dated. After reading an article about, and loaded with allusions, class members take a...
Curated OER
Figurative Language in Romeo and Juliet
Shakespeare was such a talented writer, but why? It must be his use of figurative language, blended with his clever, twisting plots. This worksheet focuses on his use of metaphor, simile, personification, oxymoron, and hyperbole within...
Curated OER
"The False Gems" by Guy de Maupassant
Readers must go beyond the surface level of Guy de Maupassant's story, "The False Gems," to answer the questions on this activity. They must draw inferences, evaluate character's actions, and analyze how irony and symbolism give depth to...
EngageNY
Point of View: Comparing Esperanza's and Isabel's Perspectives About Life in the Camp (Chapter 7: "Las Cebollas/Onions")
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...
Curated OER
Setting Worksheet
Set your class up for success with writing descriptive settings with these two graphic organizers. On the first page, writers note specifc details about their chosen setting and comment on how each character views the setting. The second...
Curated OER
How to Identify Figurative Language
Reinforce understanding of five literary terms with a single-slide flow chart. Learners figure out if various words and phrases are examples of simile, metaphor, hyperbole, understatement, or personification.
Kimskorner4teachertalk
Foreshadowing
Take a look at foreshadowing in any text by recording instances of foreshadowing in a straightforward graphic organizer. Learners note down the event, the clue, and the page number for five foreshadowed events. There is also space for...
Macmillan Education
Understanding Poetry (Elementary)
Introduce young readers to poetry analysis with a worksheet that uses Emily Bronte's "Spellbound" to model how poets use word choice, the sounds of words, the repetition of words, and rhyming patterns to create the mood, tone, and...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 7
Readers analyze David Mitchell's techniques for introducing and developing the mystery surrounding Madame Crommelynck in the "Solarium" chapter of his novel Black Swan Green.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 1
Where does a writer find inspiration? "Go into yourself," says Rainer Maria Rilke in "Letter One" from Letters to a Young Poet. Readers of Rilke's letter to Franz Xaver Kappus examine the words and figurative language Rilke uses to...
Hamilton Schools
Figurative Language
What's the difference between a simile and a metaphor? Show language arts learners a presentation that identifies different types of figurative language used in poetry.
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 4
Class members have an opportunity to compare how a film and a play handle the same source material by viewing the opening chapters of George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope and acts I and II of Ian Doescher's play, William...
Jackson School District
An Introduction to Satire
What is satire, and what are its characteristics? A handy handout provides young satirists with all the information they need to analyze a satire or to craft their own.
Teach With Movies
The Great Gatsby
Are you thinking about incorporating a film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel in a study of The Great Gatsby? Check out a guide loaded with suggestions for how to supplement a reading of the novel with scenes from three film...
Academy of American Poets
Voice
Four lessons make up a poetry unit that introduces high schoolers to spoken and written poetry. Class members also examine poems as social commentary and connect these poems to various novels and plays. A great way to incorporate poetry...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Magical Elements in Magical Realism
How does Gabriel Garcia Marquez make the magical elements of his novel appear so real? That's the challenge facing readers of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Scholars examine the tone and descriptive details Garcia Marquez uses to...
K20 LEARN
The Most Dangerous Game
Readers of "The Most Dangerous Game" must argue which of Richard Connell's characters is the protagonist or antagonist. The lesson begins with scholars reading selected passages from the story and making predictions about who they...
Other popular searches
- Teaching Literary Devices
- Literary Devices and Terms
- Literary Devices & Quotes
- Common Literary Devices
- Literary Devices and Reading
- Introducing Literary Devices
- Literary Devices Irony
- Glossary of Literary Devices
- Literary Devices Inkheart
- Literary Devices Music
- Literary Device Flashback
- Ell Literary Device Activity