High schoolers are able to define given literary terms, such as metaphor, simile, imagery, personification, symbolism, etc. They are able to identify the use of literary elements in a given text. Students are able to interpret weather...

Eighth graders study similes and metaphors and how to explain and create them. After a lecture/demo, 8th graders access websites and worksheets imbedded in this plan to create their own writing.

Learners examine the writing techniques of professional authors and apply them to their own work. In pairs, they email authors to discover the tricks of the trade. Students create their own Website for their work.

Analyze and make inferences from the information used by linguists to construct the evolution of languages. They research different dating techniques to explain how scientists infer age with evidence.

What was the relationship like between George and Martha Washington? To protect their privacy, Martha Washington destroyed all her husband’s letters after his death so historians have little evidence of their lives together. Two letters...

Write short stories in which events are presented in logical order, point of view is clear, theme and characters are developed. Middle schoolers also work on sensory language, concrete language and/or dialogue. They establish their...

As part of a series of lessons focusing on the parts of speech, language learners engage in games and exercises that encourage them to use adjectives to describe people.

Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...

Explore poetry, personification, and multiple languages with a poetry reading and writing lesson. After the teacher reads the poem to the class, a discussion about personification follows. The class then writes a collaborative poem...

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

Enhance your foreign language young scholars' skills to describe a house. After reading a description of rooms in a house in their target language, they work to answer corresponding questions correctly. Additionally, they view a...

Build conversation skills for your English language learners in this spoken language development lesson. In it, learners listen to descriptions written by the teacher prior to the first day of class which include predictions about the...

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...

Engage further in Esperanza Rising with a focus on close reading and metaphor. Class members zero in on the tenth chapter, examining characters and big ideas. Pupils discuss the text in small groups and as a whole class, and...

To underscore the importance of precise diction and sensory details in narratives, class members examine two statements to determine which is more effective and significantly impacts the reader. Individuals then examine their college...

You can often track a character's development based on others' reactions to their words or actions. Using Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," ninth graders work in a jigsaw activity to analyze how Mirabella's...

Eighth graders demonstrate their understanding with the final assessment in a literary analysis unit based on Karen Russell's short story, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves." Having prepared for the assessment in the last few...

How can you read a character's tone? What about a narrator's tone? Analyze Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a lesson that focuses on how word choice can change tone and how tone can affect the development...

Just like in real life, characters in short stories show their true personalities through their words and deeds. Decipher the character development in Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a set of activities...

The concept of sight, whether it's a lack of sight or abundant sight of the future, plays a vital role in Sophocle's Oedipus the King. Develop your ninth graders' literary vision with a lesson that connects the prophecy of Teiresias to...

Ninth graders demonstrate their understanding of a central idea in Oedipus the King with a mid-unit writing assessment. Writers formulate a claim about the connection between prophecy and Oedipus's actions and craft an in-class essay...

Now that learners have honed their inquiry-based projects down to their strongest few questions, they can conduct independent research. High schoolers pursue answers to their inquiries while assessing sources, establishing a research...

Focusing on a specific inquiry and area of investigation, ninth graders continue their research projects and portfolios based on Temple Grandin's Animals in Translation and their questions. The activity guides readers through the...

Readers determine if this statement applies when comparing the central idea of Ahmad Shamlu's "A Blind Alley" and Martin Luther King Jr's "Letter From Birmingham Jail." Learners analyze the standard related to the central message, listen...