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What's the Deal With Nature?
Twelfth graders read the poem "Crossing the Swamp" and "Pipefish" then discuss the use of metaphor in each poem. They write a poem about how they feel about school using a nature metaphor.
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There Were Many Paths to Freedom
Middle schoolers explore the Underground Railroad in the history of Pennsylvania.
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Making Connections
Students draw connections between ideas and images that normally aren't put together, and combine a wide variety of words to form new images.
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The Poet's Message-"The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes
Students analyze the poem, "The Colored Soldier" by Langston Hughes to gain a greater experience of how poets use language to create meaning, influence thinking and thus become pioneers of change in American society. They work on the...
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Octavio Paz
Tenth graders read and analyze the poem, "The Street," by Hispanic author, Octavio Paz. They research the life of Octavio Paz and identify his literary contributions. They complete an online scavenger hunt and create an author map of...
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Come On, Rain!
Students read and analyze the story. In this language arts lesson, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Students research the...
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Focus On Figurative Language in Prose
Students examine the use of literary prose in the story, "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed." In this literary prose instructional activity, students investigate the use of imagery, metaphor, and simile in the story. They tell how author's...
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Life Size Characters
Sixth graders analyze character traits and create a life size character outline. In this character analysis lesson, 6th graders analyze character traits of a character using character webs and poems. Students then create a life size...
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Symmetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Students examine knightly virtues and will measure Gawain's strength in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In this poetry analysis lesson, students identify the bob-and-wheel poetic form and analyze symmetry in the poem. Students...
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Then and Now in Las Vegas
Third graders examine the history of Las Vegas. For this Las Vegas lesson, 3rd graders learn about the history of the city as they listen to a lecture. Students then create a Las Vegas timeline and acrostic poem.
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The Great Gatsby
Eleventh graders investigate the concept of the American Dream. They use the novel "The Great Gatsby" as an example from literature. Students brainstorm in order to define the American Dream.
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Immigrant Photo Analysis
Students examine photographs taken of immigrants during late 1800s and early 1990s in America, and identify factors involved in immigration through examination of primary documents that include statistics, trends, graphs, photographs,...
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Incident
Students gain insight into human behavior from the study of literature. They read a poem and respond by creating a poem of their own. After a lecture/demo, students utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan to help them compose an...
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Carmel Point
Seventh graders read and analyze the poem "Carmel Point" by Robinson Jeffers. They read the poem online, use an online dictionary to define five words from the poem, and write a weather report summary for the Monterey-Carmel area....
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Beowulf
Students read selections from Beowulf and summarize the poetry selections in their own words. Students discuss the poem, then create a modern version of Beowulf by using their own words and their own poetic form.
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Language Arts: Creative Writing Devices
Eighth graders review sound and rhythm devices and apply them to their own writing exercises. Next, they interpret the poem, "Where I'm From," as an example of a personal narrative. Using their understanding of poetic devices, they...
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W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw" Theme
Pupils identify the theme of "The Monkey's Paw" and relate it to prior knowledge. In this "The Monkey's Paw" lesson, students discuss fate and coincidence and debate which one controls destiny. A test is chosen as the winner...
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Who Do You See?
Students analyze portraits and decide on the most important aspects of their own personality. For this portraiture lesson, students identify feelings and emotions in the sitter and the creator of a portrait. After reading the poem "We...
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Ugly? Says Who?
Students explore biology by writing animal poetry in class. In this animal characteristics lesson, students research the Internet for facts about an "ugly" animal such as a bug or small critter. Students complete worksheets about animal...
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Young scholars read and analyze the novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. They discuss the poetry and prose of the book, the importance of role models, complete a worksheet, and write a narrative using figurative...
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A Literature of Democracy
Eleventh graders analyze how American literature shows a lot of different genres. In groups, 11th graders create a short report about the passage they have chosen.
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Re-Presenting Race in the Digital Age: "Who Can Pass"
Eleventh graders examine the relationship between race and class in historical and societal settings. They read and discuss the poem, "Passing," by Langston Hughes, analyze photographs by Yinka Shonibare, answer discussion questions,...
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Literature and History of the Holocaust
Students examine quotes and text passages related to the Holocaust. They generate a list of questions about the Holocaust and analyze a piece of writing based on the authorship of the work. They infer the meaning of a poem and determine...
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Discovering Shakespeare's Language through Sonnet 27
High schoolers explore the language of Shakespeare. In this poetry lesson plan, students watch a video of illuminated images that accompany Sonnet 27. High schoolers analyze the language of the poem and the image selections.