Walt Whitman's "Captain, My Captain" and Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" provide seventh graders with examples of odes. After reading and discussing these and other examples, young poets craft an ode and respond to the ode of a...

To assess what scholars have learned throughout a five-lesson poetry unit, seventh graders first craft a Shakespearean sonnet based on a poem they have studied. In part two of the assessment, scholars complete a four-texts performance task.

The eighth lesson in a series of reading interactives focuses on allusions and what these literary devices add to a text. Readers examine examples of four types of allusions: mythological, religious, historical, and literary. They then...

Identifying the tone in a piece of writing can be tricky. Readers don't have the advantage of studying the images and colors used in a painting or the instruments and sounds of a song. The second lesson in this poetry unit teaches tweens...

Scholars engage in a role-play exercise, compare their demonstration to a time-lapse video, and to a poem by E.E. Cummings. The ensuing discussion asks learners to consider the similarities among the three.

Spongebob Squarepants helps teach middle schoolers about personification! After discussing the human characteristics demonstrated by the cartoon character, scholars identify the personification in poems by Emily Dickinson and Langston...

Young balladeers analyze examples of ballads and generate a list of common traits (story, quatrains, rhyme schemes, refrains, etc.), then identify these traits in Robert W. Service's "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and a ballad written by...

Students are introduced to the concept of reframing as a problem-solving alternative. They present the value of incorporating adults into their suport system. Students draw what they think Creep Face and Maggie saw when they looked...

Students view a video and summarize the information. They research a person or musical associated with the video and present their findings to the class. They write a story using metaphors and personification.

Students describe how buildings effect them emotionally. They recognize and describe at least five components of a particular building as metaphors for parts of the human body [Footing), heart(h), eye (window), door(mouth), face(facade),...

Fourth graders analyze Abraham Lincoln's poems "The Bear Hunt" and "My Childhood's Home" for word choice and deeper inquiry into the vocabulary he uses to convey emotion. They identify rhyming words and patterns in these poems. ...

Students perform a two-foot takeoff and landing using a jump rope. In this jumping lesson, students use a self-turned jump rope to develop the skill of a two-foot takeoff and landing. The students use the metaphor of "catching a fish" in...

Students view The Gift of All, a Community of Givers. In this philanthropic lesson, students discuss the gifts of philanthropists they've seen. Students research and write a two page paper with four bullet points. Students include a...

Learners explore figurative language through poetry. In this poetry lesson, students view a video segment regarding the Cuban crab migration. Learners use similes and metaphors in poetry they create based on the journey the crabs make.

Students problem-solve a technique to pass pass a one gallon water container around a circle without using any hands or arms and making sure that everyone in the circle has touched the container. After several attempts, they reflect of...

Explore the short story "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First, read the short story and take notes on specific uses of the elements of writing such as characters, setting, plot, similes, personification, metaphors,...

Fifth graders choose a poetry activity in order to focus their research about American presidents.

Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular saying "dumb down." Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the phrase when used in varying contexts. They also consider the derivation of each...

Learners explore the definition and derivation of the popular word "cred." Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the word when used in varying contexts and when used as a phrase. They also consider the...

Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular usage of the word bless to talk about sweet or cute things. Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the word "bless" when used in varying contexts.

Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular term "bling" and other sound-symbolic words. Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the word "bling" when used in varying contexts. They...

Students identify symbols on a pylon and explain why the names of the Great TEachers the symbols represent. They interpret what religion is to them and sing a song about religion lead by the teacher. Finally, students construct a...

Students explore figurative language.  In this figurative language lesson, students look up, define, and give examples of a list of literary terms.

Students write similes with a partner. For this spring similes lesson, students discuss the season an write a story using a minimum number of similes.