Curated OER
Cliches, Paradoxes
Clichés, paradoxes, and equivocations are detailed in a short, animated video that defines and illustrates these writing traps. The resource also includes a quiz and the transcript for the video. Users can register to access free course...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: January 2014
What better way to prepare learners for academic success than to administer practice tests? With the Comprehensive Examination in English, scholars read informational and literary texts and answer listening and reading comprehension...
Curated OER
Bunnicula
Students create a dictionary of vocabulary after reading a story. Individually, they create a story web making sure to include all of the basic story elements. They also create a timeline and write a book report of all important events.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Granny Will Your Dog Bite and Other Mountain Rhymes
Sixth graders practice choral reading of poetry. In this creative literature lesson, 6th graders incorporate elements of performing arts into their choral readings of various poems. They discuss musical instruments, facial expressions,...
Curated OER
Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions
Second graders make several inferences based on the reading of Shel Silverstein poems. They write their own poetry and complete an assessment in which they differentiate between sentences that are stated or inferred.
Curated OER
Analyzing Story Structure
Learners explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make it an effective poem....
Curated OER
Nursery Rhymes
Students recall details of nursery rhyme read by teacher, identify main characters, and demonstrate knowledge of poem by creating concept map about story that includes title, clip art, and changes in font and color.
Curated OER
Writing
Fourth graders review the writing process by using the English Language Arts Writer's Checklist. They examine a piece of writing for the key elements of composition. They help to make the writing pieces more interesting by correcting...
Curated OER
Propaganda of War
Students examine examples of war propaganda. For this historical literature lesson, students research the elements of propaganda in relation to various wars of the past. They discuss different types of propaganda, and the potential...
Curated OER
Using Rock to Teach Literary Devices: Jimi Hendrix “The Wind Cries Mary”
Students explore literary elements through music. In this figurative language lesson, students examine imagery and personification in "The Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix.
Curated OER
You Too Can Haiku
Learners conduct Internet research and explain the history of Haiku. After listening and reading various examples of Haiku, students use their own vocabulary and practice their math skills to determine the correct number of syllables...
Curated OER
The Odyssey
Students write a dramatic scene based on The Odyssey and perform it for the class. In this living literature activity, students work in small groups to discuss the way the characters look, act, and sound. They then choose scenery and...
Curated OER
Comparing Characters Across Two Short Stories
Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.
Curated OER
Superb Sonnets
Students identify and compare the characteristics of both Italian and English sonnets. They read examples of each, then write an original sonnet in either the Italian or English style.
Curated OER
Just "Who" are the Three Little Pigs?
Fourth graders use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast various versions of the story The Three Little Pigs. They write a Cinquain, and then act out their version of the Three Little Pigs in a skit.
Curated OER
Informational Writing
Fifth graders study Paul Revere. In this writing instructional activity, 5th graders discuss the elements of writing that help a reader be engage. They read about Paul Revere's life, taking notes about what made his life seem heroic, and...
Curated OER
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Fourth graders listen and observe the role play of the various versions of the poem. They take notes while listening and observing and develop their own versions of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".
Curated OER
Fairy Tales: Thumbelina, Jack and the Beanstalk and Issun Boshi
First graders read several selections of poems and stories. They focus on a selection of fairy tales including Jack and The Beanstalk, Thumbelina and Issun Boshi. They complete several comprehension activities and compare the different...
Curated OER
Black Bayou Lake Short Story
Tenth graders use Microsoft Word to create an original short story. The setting must be Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The characters must be animals found at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The story must contain...
Curated OER
The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
Students read and analyze a poem about a speaker's posthumous view of war, assess the purpose of an author's note and evaluate the effect of the point of view on the reader's response. They work in groups to discuss and analyze the poem.
Curated OER
Dialect Awareness in Literature and Life
Eighth graders realize the impact of dialect in literature as well as their own speaking and writing by reading selections from Frances O'Roark Dowell's novel, Dovey Cove.
Curated OER
"Very tragical mirth:" Romeo and Pyramus, Juliet and Thisbe
Students analyze and compare the poetic tools Shakespeare uses in the death scenes of Romeo and Juliet to those of Pyramus and Thisbe in Midsummer Night's Dream.
Curated OER
Greed is Good?
From Mr. Merdle to Mr. Madoff? A viewing of the PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” launches an examination of greedy characters in literature and a study of greed, unfairness, and economic hardship today. The richly...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...