Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...

Jonathan Safran Foer's phrase, "heavy boots," becomes the focus of a class discussion of grief and sadness. During the reading of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, individuals place examples of their own experiences with these topics...

Explore the concepts of community and point of view with these activities complementing the children's book Voices in the Park by Anthony Browne. Following a class reading of the story, ask students to either draw a map of the...

Peace, love, tolerance, faith. Marc Chagall's Peace Window in the United Nations World Headquarters serves as a model for young artists as they create their own peace-themed transparent paintings. A great activity for both SPED and...

Political ads are designed to play on viewers' emotions. The focus of this resource is on ads that feature children, either to establish the candidate as family friendly, or to create fear for children in the minds of viewers. Groups...

As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...

Every culture has its own stories to tell. An interesting educator's guide shares a large collection of fairytales and folktales, some from different cultures and some re-creations of classics. A summary and brief teaching ideas...

Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...

A comprehensive presentation on narrative writing, this should be shown to a class before the writing process begins. There are not activities listed, so pupils can take notes on the elements of narrative writing and figurative language....

Students examine different poems from Emily Dickinson. They practice listening for meter in the poems and make connections between the texts. They also practice their own creative writing skills.

Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.

Ninth graders analyze a fantasy art map by Jeremy Anderson, paying careful attention to the way the topographic features of the land are represented. They create a similar map of Sacramento that includes topographical features as well as...

People who pen poetry positively need to know basic tenets and terms of poetry, like alliteration and consonance, for example. These and other terms are define and illustrated. Then viewers are given an object and asked to craft a...

Engage your class in art analysis of Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie. Using this work of art as inspiration, writers compose a poem or short story. After a peer review session, the teacher conveys information about the work of art as...

Students read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.

Students conduct Internet research and explain the history of Haiku. After listening and reading various examples of Haiku, students use their own vocabulary and practice their math skills to determine the correct number of syllables...

Students create a pictorial narrative based upon John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and the Japanese techniques of "lacquer jar" stories in this three-day Language Arts/Art lesson.

Young scholars investigate the history of patriotic music and practice singing the tunes with classmates.  In this U.S. History lesson plan, students examine lyrics of the traditional song "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and discuss the...

Students are able to prioritize story elements using graphic organizers. They are able to evaluate character, setting and sequence in a non-print source. Students use visual and audio clues to help them evaluate the parts of a story.

Students watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.

Click here to download a PDF of this lesson. (2.8 MB) Overview This lesson will enable teachers to use the blues to explore selected topics in African American folklore. Students will learn about some of the African American cultural...

Students explore the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. They read and analyze poems by Allen Ginsberg, conduct Internet research, collect examples of art of the 60s, and create a presentation.

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.