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Pablo Neruda
Eighth graders explore the life and works of Pablo Neruda. They complete an author map concerning his personal and professional life. Students identify the key components of an ode. They write an ode to a common object around their...
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Reader's Theater, Get Ready
Students recognize what features make a play. In this reader's theater lesson, students read the play Master Man: A Tall Tale of Nigeria told by Aaron Shepard and determine what features make this a play and what the author's purpose was.
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The Ballad of the Sad Café
Learners view the film "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" and analyze it for stereotypes of mountain and hillbilly communities. They identify and discuss Appalachian values represented in the film and write a report on their observations.
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The Art of Description
Students apply descriptive language to identify the five elements of art and the basic lines, geometric shapes, and angles in Marie Hull's, Sharecropper. They explain how the elements of a piece of work contribute to the story it tells....
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Acting Like a Bunch of Animals: Fables and Human
The video "The Tales of Aesop" traces for viewers the history of fables and identifies their characteristics. The class then goes to the web site "The Fisherman and the Little Fish" where they examine the classic and a modern version of...
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A Sure Bet!
Ninth graders analyze Chekhov's "The Bet". They repsond to a journal quesiton and use examples from the novel. In groups, they take on different roles analyzing the novel and then write one of my prompts to complete the lesson.
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What Did He Say?
Students practice the use of Subjunctive I and II. They then analyze a text to find Indirect Discourse and practice writing sentences in Indirect discourse. For homework, students find an online article written this way in which they...
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Trees as Symbols: Composing Poetry and Creating Images
Learners analyze the tree as a symbol, sharing ideas in class discussion. They use art as the basis for a creative writing assignment in poetry or represent a selected poem with an original student drawing.
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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...
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Incorporating Thoreau And Theatre
Young scholars investigate the writings of Thoreau. They read passages orally and look for words of imagery in the text. Students also answer a series of questions and they convert passages of writing into theatrical presentations in...
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Two Haiku
Eighth graders, in pairs, discuss what they already know about Haiku poetry. They try to remember the rules, history, and focus of traditional Japanese Haiku. they read more examples of Haiku and then write and illustrate their own...
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Edgar Allan Poe Lessons
Students can learn about literary techniques, such as imagery and symbolism, by exploring these Edgar Allan Poe lesson plans.
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Maurice Sendak's Books: More Relevant and Rigorous than Ever
Nearly 50 years after publication, Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are holds up to the Common Core.
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Where I Am From
Students study selected poetry to gain an understanding of influences on values and personal identity. They explore language terms such as personification, imagery metaphors and allusion. After reading a poem and discussing it,...
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Stand Up and Sing
Learners journal and respond to the question," How does society respond to change?" They create original lyrics to their own song that reflects the context of the Progressive Era.
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The Days of Jane Eyre's Life
Learners watch the movie Jane Eyre and complete a viewing log. They take a test on their findings.
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The Shakespeare Crowd
Students study the life and times of Shakespeare. They read and analyze one of his plays and use the Internet and videos to gain an understanding of how Shakespeare engaged his audiences, then and still today.
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Newbery Books: Guaranteed Good Reading
Sixth graders explore and analyze Newbery Medal books. They view a Powerpoint presentation on the Newbery Medal book of that current year, select a book, read and analyze the book, and prepare a multimedia book report presentation.
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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.
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Memory of a Kiss
Third graders read, discuss, and memorize the poem "Jenny Kissed Me." as an example of lyrical poetry. They write a letter to Jenny reliving the memory of her kiss from an elderly person's point of view. They illustrate their poems.
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Dancing a Christmas Carol
Students explore dance. They analyze and outline the movements of the dance "Roger de Coverly" from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Students choose music and choreograph a dance similar to "Roger de Coverly." They perform the dance....
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Literary Elements and Techniques Collection
These animated shorts introduce or review literary elements and techniques like theme, setting, figurative language, characterization, and conflict. They can be used when students are just learning how to identify the most commonly used...