Eleventh graders gain an awareness and an appreciation of slave spirituals as part of their American Literature/American History heritage.

Young scholars study late twentieth-century African American satirical literature as well as its cultural antecedents. they analyze and discuss, within the contexts of race and gender, the social criticism of the middle classes presented...

In this reading comprehension lesson, 3rd graders read the story Treasury of Literature and complete various comprehension activities.  Students answer factual questions about the story, analyze the story using a bubble map, and...

Students examine the use of irony in non-fiction works. In this literature lesson, students read non-fiction war texts and explore the use of irony in the piece as they respond to discussion questions.

Learners examine the impact of sound devices in poetry, prose, and non-fiction. In this figurative language lesson, students read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of alliteration, repetition, consonance, rhythm, rhyme,...

Students chart the order of events in literature. In this literature instructional activity, students read The Odyssey and summarize the epic journey in their own words. Students then write about journeys they have taken in their own lives.

Students trace the rites of passage from the 1940's through the present in literature. They review some of their favorite expressions first and compare some of Holden's speech with their own. They discuss initial reactions to the book...

Sixth graders examine the changes occuring during adolescents using children's literature. As a class, they brainstorm a list of the various roles they play in their family. In groups, they use excerpts of plays from Shakespeare to...

Students make inferences about characters in poetry. For this literature lesson, students read poetry and prose to determine how characters handle conflict in each of the genres.

Students examine the use of imagery in poetry. In this literature lesson, students read "Thought of Hanoi," by Nguyen Thi Vinhand use the provided graphic organizer to chart the poem imagery. Students then describe the imagery found in...

Students identify jargon in poetry, prose and fiction. In this literature lesson plan, students will read selections from Mark Twain and identify figurative langauge, focusing on jargon.

Students examine the use of dialect in the works of Mark Twain. In this literature lesson, students read selections from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Life on the Mississippi. Students paraphrase the dialect found in the passages and...

Students examine the use of slang in the works of Mark Twain. In this literature lesson, students read selections from Roughing It, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Life on the Mississippi. Students paraphrase the...

Learners research literary elements of fables. In this literature lesson plan, students analyze literary elements of fables. Learners work collaboratively using a jigsaw strategy to analyze literary elements.

Second graders analyze storytelling devices by examining sensory details in literature. In this descriptive writing lesson, 2nd graders define the 5 senses and practice using descriptive vocabulary words in their writing. Students read...

Middle schoolers review the most recent vocabulary list of French words. Using literature by Victor Hugo and Guy de Maupassant, they discover the history and culture of France. Using a map and the text, they locate the cities and...

First graders develop a connection with students in a first grade classroom in Japan. They begin to develop a curiosity about Japan--the landscape, the people, and their culture, while developing an understanding of the Five Themes of...

Learners and teachers share their individual concept of families to begin the lesson. As they read different pieces of literature, they keep a journal of the activities and problems each main character gets into. To end the lesson,...

Students examine the use of symbolism in literature. In this literary elements lesson, students discuss the attributes of symbolism. Students then read selected Cinderella stories and "The Fall of the House of Usher," and identify the...

Students examine the use of tone in poetry. In this literature instructional activity, students read "We Real Cool," by Gwendolyn Brooks and use the provided graphic organizer to chart the poem's tone and mood.

Students prepare for and evaluate their performances in poetry slams. In this literature lesson, students write personal narratives about their poetry slam experiences.

Students take a closer look at literary elements within the horror genre. In this literature lesson, students identify themes in the horror genre as they read and analyze War of the Worlds and Cemetery Path.

Learners identify a problem, the process by which it is solved, and the solution in a piece of literature.  In this problem solving lesson, students read a nonfiction passage and use a think-pair-share strategy to identify the...

Students evaluate classmate performances of commercials. In this literature lesson, students use the provided scoring guides to evaluate commercials their classmates made.