A reading of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech launches a study of rhetorical devices such as hyperbole, allusion, metaphor, simile, personification, connotative language and parallel structure. Class members then...

Students examine the United States at the turn of the century. Using primary source documents, they interpret them within a specific historical context. Using this information, they write a poem with metaphors and a specific meter They...

Following an exhaustive list of animal idioms, metaphors, and similes (categorized by animal), an online interactive quiz checks reader facility with their use. In each of 20 questions, a sentence has a definition for one expression in...

Students interpret historical evidence presented in primary resources. In this World War I instructional activity, students examine World War I posters. Students investigate the use of propaganda strategies in the posters and discuss the...

Learners will read then analyze the story "Goblin Market" then discuss themes of sex and lost virginity. There are 5 questions and a series related links to help them take a critical look at an interesting children's story. This story...

In this literary techniques activity, students complete a 12 question multiple choice question test. Included are questions about poetry conventions such as repetition, similes, rhyming patterns, alliteration and metaphors.

Robert Hayden's poem "Those Winter Sundays" serves as the anchor text in a five-part instructional activity that takes the mystery out of poetry analysis by modeling explicit strategies for pupils to employ to conduct a close reading of...

An extensive collection of lessons and activities includes many writing, grammar, and proofreading exercises. With templates and worksheets that cover several steps in the writing process, from sentence to paragraph to essay, this...

Whether you choose to include Twelfth Night in your course or whether Shakespeare's comedy has been thrust upon you, be not afraid to incorporate an interactive resource into your study of Shakespeare's tale of loss, love, and identity....

Poetry or prose? That is the question facing middle schoolers as they begin a month-long poetry unit by examining the characteristics that differentiate poetry and prose writing. Pupils learn about poetic devices and different types of...

Imagine linking poetry to technology! Thirty-three lessons comprise a 6-week "Women in Poetry" unit for high schoolers. Class members research women poets, learn how to respond electronically to discussions, write their poems, create web...

Here's a must-have guide for instructors who use Robert Frost's poems in their classes. The 24-page guide focuses on poems included in Frost's first two volumes of poems, background information on the poet, and what Frost thought was an...

Over the course of a 12-lesson language arts unit, young scholars analyze a variety of poems taking a close look at figurative language and tone. They learn to compare and contrast, improve comprehension, and identify settings. To...

Flowering learners explore the concept of figurative language as it relates to poems, songs, or creative written expression. In this creative writing lesson, they complete several phrases using similes, metaphors, and...

Students read the play "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare. In groups, they identify the instances of similes, metaphors and personification. They use the Internet to compare and contrast the events in the play with historical facts....

Young scholars list W.H Auden's six characteristics of a quest story. They say what is meant by a "metaphorical quest." Pupils discuss some differences between symbolism and allegory. Students indicate how Bilbo Baggins's adventures...

Students begin reading the graphic novel "Maus". Using the Internet, they discover fundamental differences between Judaism and Christianity. Using excerpts from the novel, they identify animal metaphors used for nationalities and ethnic...

Students read Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar while identifying a number of literary elements including simile, metaphor, personification, and hyperbole. As a response activity, they simulate a mock trial, and finally, compare and contrast...

Fourth graders read and analyze poetry and examine the process of writing poetry. They read and analyze the poem "From a Railway Carriage" by Robert Louis Stevenson, and answer comprehension questions. They identify the similes,...

Why is literary analysis so important? Readers explore writing a literary analysis by reviewing literary elements such as character, metaphor, plot, setting, simile, personification, and style. They read "Young Goodman Brown" by...

Young scholars compile a list of the things they look for in a friend. Then they use that information to create a simple poem. Later they illustrate and display their poems.

"Lucky lady." "Straight as an arrow." Here's a figurative language worksheet that provides middle schoolers with six examples and asks them to identify the literary device modeled.

Encourage close reading of the text and a focus on how Sandra Cisneros' develops her characters with an activity that asks teams to sort, group, and label character descriptions from The House on Mango Street.

Are your middle schoolers able to identify the literary devices featured on this instructional activity? They must demonstrate their understanding of figurative language by matching the terms with their definitions and label...