Curated OER
No Second Troy Theme of Guilt and Blame
In this poetry analysis worksheet, students examine the content of the William Butler Yeats poem, “No Second Troy." Students read a paragraph about the theme of the poem, then respond to three discussion questions about the role of guilt...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: January 2014
What better way to prepare learners for academic success than to administer practice tests? With the Comprehensive Examination in English, scholars read informational and literary texts and answer listening and reading comprehension...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Herber Readiness Activity
Delve into Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis before opening the book with a lesson on literary themes. High schoolers engage in a word association activity before reading a list of statements based on the book's themes. Then, in groups,...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 2
Make up your mind to complete a lesson plan about "The Tell-Tale Heart" and forever rid yourself of simple sentence structures. As ninth graders analyze the first two paragraphs of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, they consider how text...
Novelinks
The Martian Chronicles: Response Writing
Follow the format of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with a journal-writing activity. Readers choose a character and examine the character's life and circumstances through brainstorming, research, and discussion before writing a...
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: August 2014
Just like with any skill, test-taking aptitude improves with practice. Learners complete the handout, answering reading comprehension questions and engaging in timed writing exercises. The test includes multiple-choice and constructed...
Curated OER
Poetry Analysis Device: TPCASTT
Learners analyze the key elements of poetry using a mnemonic device. The device: TPCASTT (title, paraphrase, connotation, attitude, shifts, title and theme).
Curated OER
Thank you Ma'm Langston Hughes-Devoloping the concept of Theme
Students complete various activities linked to several stories and movies, to reinforce the concept of theme in a story.
Curated OER
Shakespeare, Macbeth: Characterization and Theme
In this literary elements worksheet, students read Shakespeare's Macbeth and then respond to 13 short answer questions about the characters and themes in the play.
Curated OER
Drama-Dialogue
Use drama to study and practice dialogue. Creative minds discuss what dialogue tells about a character, and how it can be used to advance the plot. They read a play, think about what they gleaned from dialogue, and record their...
Curated OER
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
What are the pros and cons of prolonging life? Incorporate real-world issues into the study of literature using Dr. Heidegger's Experiment. Through the exploration of pre-determined websites, scholars consider several related literary...
Curated OER
Energy Crisis: Then and Now
Using political cartoons, scholars analyze the energy crisis of the 1970s and '80s, comparing and contrasting it to current tensions with oil. Display the 6 cartoons (linked) to the class, and demonstrate analysis using the worksheet...
Curated OER
Perseverance: Keep Going
Kids evaluate world history events that show perseverance by creating artistic images. They investigate historic photographs and images which conjure up the feelings of perseverance, then utilize acrylic paints to capture the essence of...
Curated OER
Current Events
Here is an ongoing activity intended to build interest in local, national, and world news. The class is divided into four groups of approximately five students each. The groups are responsible for monitoring the daily news. They compose...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 18
The punishment must fit the crime, even for a king. Sophocles' Oedipus the King meets its grisly end with a lesson that focuses on the conclusion of the play and Oedipus' self-assigned punishment. Learners connect the symbolism of his...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 3
Hearken! and observe how well a literary analysis unit can help ninth graders read closely and connect text structure to a central idea. Focusing on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," learners take notes and track the development...
Novelinks
The Lightning Thief: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Before you begin reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, read over this comprehensive handout that gives you a plethora of information regarding the story's summary, organizational structure, central...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 6
The battle of wits and wisdom rages in Sophocles' Oedipus the King, particularly in Oedipus' discussion with Teiresias about the Sphinx's riddle. Ninth graders focus on this crucial conversation with a literary analysis instructional...
Novelinks
Tunes for Bears to Dance to: Anticipation Guide
As an introduction to the major themes of Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to, class members complete an anticipation guide and share their responses in groups.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 13
Finish Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with an instructional activity focusing on the story's conclusion. After participating in literary analysis discussions with small groups, ninth graders complete a Quick...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 3
How do writers develop a central idea in a text? How can readers identify this central idea? These are the challenges class members tackle as they continue their analysis of "Letter One" from Rainer Maria Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet.
K20 LEARN
Here's How I Heard It: Using Folklore To Improve Close Reading Skills
"X" is for exaggeration, and "F" is for fact. To encourage close reading and to improve literary analysis skills, class members annotate fables and tall tales, like Paul Bunyan, with symbols that identify key features of this genre.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 8
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?"
K20 LEARN
A Write At The Museum: Ekphrastic Poetry
Which came first—the painting or the poem? For this case, it is the painting. Scholars closely examine a work of art and then craft an ekphrastic poem in response. A carefully scaffolded nine-page plan leads young poets through the process.