Designed to be used with an independent reading book, this activity provides practice with identifying and explaining literary terms. While they read, individuals find instances of literary devices and elements in use in their books....

Eighth grades can master the ELA Common Core standards! Show your learners the connection between classroom activities and assignments and the standards with this set of "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been rewritten as an...

Here you'll find a great collection of worksheets to supplement your instruction of Greek mythology, including informational texts on the Olympian gods and goddesses, a matching quiz, graphic organizers, and myth-writing activities.

As part of a study of figurative language Avi uses in his book, Crispin, individuals define the 10 terms listed on the worksheet and then locate severals examples of each in the text of the novel.

As a journalist, would you publish everything you heard or saw? Discuss the ethics of journalism with a lesson from PBS. Young reporters imagine themselves to be the editor of their school's newspaper, and as they read five scenarios,...

Beowulf, the Old English epic hero, comes alive again in the activities found in a teacher's guide designed to accompany a reading of the classic poem.

Is a list of literary terms found frequently on AP English exams of value to test takers? Now there's a rhetorical question. Here's a list that provides definitions for everything from allegory to vernacular. To say the list is...

Lovers, madmen, and readers of A Midsummer Night's Dream will need seething brains to complete a crossword puzzle designed for Shakespeare's engaging comedy.

Poetry is all about sound and rhythm. The sound of the words, the rhythm of the lines, and the emotional atmosphere created by these elements and the literary devices poets use, compress whole stories into a few stanzas. The specialized...

Paul Fisher, the main character in Tangerine, comes to see that it's the choices in life that lead to the consequences that make all the difference. A unit study of Bloor's young adult novel leads readers down this same path. 

At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath...

If your class is reading Demian by Hermann Hesse, consider printing this list of essay questions to help them explore the text. There are 13 questions provided; some are basic recall questions, but others encourage a deeper...

Sophomores record the definitions and examples of a series of literary terms and then create their own example of the word. Designed as an assessment, the presentation could also be used as an introduction or as a review. 

Young readers can review chapter one of  C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with a simple vocabulary and reading comprehension worksheet. Included here is a list of 17 idioms and vocabulary words and six...

Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.

High schoolers identify the distinction between literal and figurative language with a focus on metaphors. They complete a metaphor analysis chart, then practice expanding metaphors by composing their own comparisons of elements of the...

When paired with other powerpoints by Don L.F. Nilsen, this final exam covers topics addressed throughout previous lectures (slide 14 specifies which lectures should be reviewed). Teachers could use this presentation to craft their own...

In this strong collocations worksheet, students complete multiple choice questions where they fill in the blanks to sentences with strong collocations starting with the letter a. Students complete 20 questions.

In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 14 essay and short answer questions about Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon. Students may also use the provided link at the bottom of the page to access a...

This instructional activity focuses on how the blues both operates as poetry and informs the poetry of many prominent African American poets. Students consider the poetic devices and recurring themes in blues lyrics and the significance...

This is an excellent multidisciplinary lesson designed by Scientific American. It provides three creative activities--designing a garden, studying hieroglyphics, and writing poetry--relevant to the ancient peoples of the Middle East....

Students watch selected film clips about Cole Porter and discover his uniqueness. In groups, they research associates of the Porter's and present reports on them. Then, they write position papers on prominent people of the Jazz Age. ...

High schoolers explore the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. They read and analyze poems by Allen Ginsberg, conduct Internet research, collect examples of art of the 60s, and create a presentation.

Students read and analyze Truman Capote's autobiographical short story, "A Christmas Memory." They discuss writing styles, conduct Internet research on Truman Capote, write a book review, and write a short story based on one of Truman...