Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...

How was Edgar Allan Poe able to create "intriguing, memorable, and lasting literature"? To answer this question, learners analyze the syntax, diction, and characterizations in Poe's poems and short stories and compare the impact of these...

After a close reading Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll," class members craft an AP®-style explanatory essay in which they analyze the diction and other figurative literary devices the poet employs to deliver her commentary on modern...

Given the two-sentence skeleton of a news story about a car theft/joy ride, budding writers create their own version of the story varying diction and sentence structure to heighten interest and complexity in their writing. Resource...

Accompany a reading of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with a thorough literature packet. Although the materials are meant to prepare readers for a timed essay, the background information and the activities are...

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech provides the text for a lesson that introduces scholars to the significance of syntax. After examining several types of clauses, phrases, and structures, class members use the...

The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...

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.

“C u l8r @ skool.” As part of a study of formal and informal language, class members examine excerpts from Lil’ Boosie lyrics, the Emancipation Proclamation, a speech by Martin Luther King. Links to the resources not provided; however,...

Primary sources are valuable for understanding the context of historical events, but the diction and dialect in these documents can be difficult to understand. Middle and high schoolers participation in a transcription process in which...

Coke or Pepsi? Is it the taste or the advertising that determines preference? As part of a study of diction, class members examine two passages, one formal and one informal, about Coca-Cola and Pepsi. In addition, they consider word...

The format of a formal paper, according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Guide, is the focus of a text-heavy presentation that cites the rules but offers few examples. Consider adding additional slides or including a...

"What is the theme of this story?" Now there's a question that can strike fear in the hearts of learners. Here's a lesson that uses photographs to introduce the concept of theme. Scholars examine six photographs and then attach a theme...

Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...

Improve writing skills by finding a personal writing style, using descriptive language effectively, and using precise language. Middle schoolers discuss individual style in writing and formal and informal language. They utilize figures...

Students examine the influences and similarities between the New York School poets and Abstract Expressionist artists. They analyze paintings and poems, and write original poetry.

In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...

Dig deep into any piece of poetry with a set of analysis questions. Ponder the content, form, and language of poetry and provide some question for critique. The first two pages include general questions, and the remainder of the document...

Acronyms can help learners remember facts and analyze poetry. This resource includes graphic organizers for TP-CASTT, SOAPS, SOAPSTone, and DIDLS. Class members can try out one or all of these strategies to assist with that difficult job...

Readers take part in three activities after reading Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. To understand the importance of diction, class members analyze Stevenson's characters' language to denote their social status. After...

Ziggurats, cuneiform writing, the Tower of Babel, hieroglyphics, pyramids, the Great Wall. Launch a unit on ancient cultures, with a presentation that introduces viewers to ancient Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Sumer, Egypt, Indus, and China....

Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo is the featured text in three classroom activities. The first activity asks readers to analyze the description of Edmond Dantes in Chapter XVII, paying particular attention to Dumas' word...

This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...

Learners examine the poetry of Emily Dickinson and the diction in her poetry. In this poetry analysis activity, students read Dickinson poetry and analyze the diction in the poems. Learners journal about the poetry and rewrite their own...