As part of their reading of Leslie Marmon Silko's "Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit," class members analyze how the author develops her narrative through dialogue, description, and multiple plot lines.

Readers analyze David Mitchell's techniques for introducing and developing the mystery surrounding Madame Crommelynck in the "Solarium" chapter of his novel Black Swan Green.

The complex relationship between a teacher and his student takes center stage in an instructional activity that asks readers to pay close attention to how author Ethan Canin introduces his characters and how he develops the character of...

Class members watch the clip of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet in which Benvolio persuades Romeo to go with him to the Capulet ball to see Rosaline. Pairs then examine Act 1, scene 3, lines 64–100, and consider how Shakespeare develops...

As a mid-unit assessment, class members craft an in-class essay response to the prompt: "How does Shakespeare’s development of the characters of Romeo and Juliet refine a central idea in the play?"

Readers examine the conversation between Friar Laurence and Romeo in Act 3, scene 3 of Romeo and Juliet and consider how Shakespeare's word choices impact the development of Romeo's character.

The terrible truth begins in a instructional activity that focuses on the final act of Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As ninth graders collect evidence that details the origin of Oedipus and how his birth relates to the prophecy everyone...

The opening exercise in this instructional unit introduces class members to the writing process they will follow to craft an informative, expository research paper that addresses their research question. To begin, writers are asked to...

What did the Crusades and plantations do with the global sugar spread? As class members continue their study of Sugar Changed the World, they examine how Crusaders brought sugar to Western Europe and how cultivating sugar led to the...

How do authors use rhetorical devices and word choice to emphasize their ideas? Pupils consider the question while reading paragraphs 16–19 from Julia Alvarez's essay "A Genetics of Justice." Readers engage in evidence-based discussion...

"No flies fly into a closed mouth." Pupils consider the proverb's meaning as they read paragraphs 20–22 from the essay "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia Alvarez. They also engage in small-group discussions about how the author refines her...

Let children be children. Scholars read in a speech by Malala Yousafzai how childhood is absent as children are forced to work and get married at a young age. Learners analyze part of the speech and discuss it in groups. After sharing...

Class members analyze the details of a section of E. B. White’s Death of a Pig to determine a central idea. Learners use turn-and-talk to discuss the details and ideas they identify. They then work in groups to annotate the text, respond...

How do film adaptations differ from their literary counterparts? Scholars watch and analyze the 2011 Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) production of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Pupils complete a Quick Write analyzing how the RSC production...

What's the difference between men and princes? Machiavelli discusses this distinction in chapter 18 of The Prince. Scholars first listen to a masterful reading of the chapter. Then, they write about how the author develops a central idea...

What might viewers notice about the characters, setting, and cinematic choices in the movie version of a play? Pupils view an excerpt from Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. To finish the lesson,...

Virginia Woolf didn't believe a woman could have written Shakespeare's works. Using the resource, scholars engage in a silent discussion to analyze how Woolf uses rhetoric to convey her point of view in A Room of One's Own. Pupils write...

Class members read the chapter, "Serfs and Sweetness" from Sugar Changed the World, and identify the central idea that the development of beet sugar and modern farming technology changed the reliance on the plantation system and made...

Who bears the most responsibility for ensuring that goods are ethically produced? Using evidence drawn from Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science, the unit's central text, and from the...

What was life like for William Shakespeare's sister, Judith? Scholars continue reading Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own to find out. They complete a Quick Write to explain how Woolf's comparison of the siblings develops a central...

Point of view, purpose, and tone: three concepts readers of primary and secondary source materials must take into account when examining documents. Class members view a PowerPoint presentation and use the SOAPS strategy to identify an...

Yo! Check it out. Here's a lesson on formal and informal language. And the packet includes a game. What fun!

In this word bingo worksheet, learners are given 5 cards for "Game A." This is somewhat confusing, as other worksheets are also labeled "Game A." Each player card contains some vocabulary words and some blank spaces. a Caller's Card is...

The challenge in telephone conversations is that speakers and listeners cannot rely on body language to communicate. This 31-page packet includes a curriculum guide, lesson plans, assessments, and resource lists designed to help...