Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Syntax (English II Reading)
Lesson five in the series focuses on syntax and the elements that make sentences enjoyable. Learners practice building different clauses and phrases and using figures of speech and rhetorical and literary devices.
Curated OER
Setting the Tone with Figurative Language
Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the activity prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...
Mr. Ambrose
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
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...
Curated OER
The Study of Theme and Figurative Language in Poetry and/or Prose
Identify and analyze the use of figurative language used in select pieces of writing. These pieces of literature will represent at least two pieces by one writer and at least two pieces by different writers. This instructional activity...
Curated OER
Semantic Gaps and Sources of New Words
The 44 slides in this power point presentation make visual the salient points in a college lecture to develop language and semantic awareness.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Beauty of Anglo-Saxon Poetry: A Prelude to Beowulf
Riddle me this! What do kennings, caesura, and alliteration have to do with the Nowell Codex? Introduce class members to Anglo-Saxon poetry and prepare readers for a study of Beowulf with a series of activities that...
Curated OER
Back to School: Style Analysis
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Language Analysis Based on Stave 1
Class members meet the original scrooge, the Dickens character whose name has become synonymous with a cold-hearted, tight-fisted, miser. Using the provided worksheet, readers closely examine context clues to determine the meanings of...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 4, Unit 1, Lesson 20
After comparing the working conditions of the enslaved people to those of the Indian indentured workers on the sugar plantations, class members examine the conditions and the actions of specific historical figures that Marc Aronson and...
Curated OER
Two Sides, Same Coin: How Political Beliefs Influence Language Use
Learners read several magazine articles on the same topic written from different political perspectives, paying particular attention to the diction, syntax, and arguments presented in support the point of view expressed. They then select...
Monarch High School
TP-CASTT Practice
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...
ReadWriteThink
What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose
Introduce middle schoolers to the different strategies used when reading prose versus poetry. Groups use a Venn diagram and a poetry analysis handout to compare the characteristics of an informational text and a poem on the same...
Code.org
Using Simple Commands
Turtles might be slow, but class will zoom by when your pupils build a program in which reptiles draw a grid. Using App Lab and JavaScript, class members build a program to find the most efficient way to draw an image of a...
College of New Rochelle
Latin Worksheet: Horace, Ode 1.5
Take a look at Horace's "Ode 1.5" from Carmina in depth with an analysis activity. Included on the first page is the original Latin version of the verses as well as a literal translation. Pupils respond to questions relating to sounds,...
Deer Valley Unified School District
Close Reading: Analyzing Mood and Tone
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...
Curated OER
Connotation and Denotation: How Word Choice Affects a Paragraph
Review the terms denotation, connotation, diction, and mood in paragraph writing. After defining the terms, middle schoolers practice writing examples of both connotation and denotation. They complete a connotation and denotation...
Curated OER
Charles Darwin Meets John Paul II
If you teach AP English language and composition and are looking for a way to address the differences between written and spoken arguments, consider this lesson. Over the course of three days, class members research Charles Darwin or...
Curated OER
Speech in the Virginia Convention
“. . .different men often see the same subject in different lights. . .” but the great orator Patrick Henry used all the skills at his command to craft a speech to convince listeners to see things as he did--that liberty was worth dying...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.2
Practice and fine-tune your learners' writing skills for Common Core standard W.11-12.2 with a plan that explains how to incorporate the McCarthy Hearings into their reading of The Crucible. It offers solid advice for students on how to...
Curated OER
The Importance Setting and Mood in Fiction
Seventh graders examine the setting in pieces of fiction. In this story analysis lesson plan, 7th graders investigate the setting in fictional stories and the importance it has. Students discover new vocabulary terms applying...
Curated OER
High School Poetry Writing Workshop
Young scholars are given an on-screen overview of the Poetry Writing Workshop, including how to access and navigate the 2Learn Site and the web page, prior to signing up for the workshop or commencing work on the site.
Curated OER
From Ordinary To Extraordinary Writing
Students investigate the quality of writing while focusing on the use of sensory words to convey meaning and ideas. The power of similes and metaphors is emphasized while they create and edit works of writing. The skill of descriptive...
Curated OER
Model Lesson Plans
Ninth graders study how to identify and analyze the use of figurative language used in selected poems, short stories or other pieces of prose chosen by the teacher. These pieces of literature represent at least two pieces by one writer...
Curated OER
Connotation and Denotation:
Eighth graders investigate the effect that connotations can have on writing. They are shown examples to build background knowledge before attempting the exercise. They finish by writing a paragraph to practice what they have learned.