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Powerful Poetry Presenting the Writer's Soul
Students research Langston Hughes poetry for his use of figurative language. In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students research the life and poetry of Langston Hughes and his use of vivid words. Students complete 23...
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Being in the Noh: An Introduction to Japanese Noh Plays
Students analyze the conventions used in Noh plays and write an introduction to a Noh play of their own. In this Noh play lesson, students identify the conventions of the Noh form and analyze the realizations the main character achieves....
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A Turkey for Thanksgiving - Lesson #2
Second graders investigate realistic fiction, holiday celebrations, making tally charts. In this multi-disciplinary instructional activity, 2nd graders listen to a story about Thanksgiving and one about the Chinese New Year to develop an...
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Out of the Dust (High School)
Fourth graders read Hesse's "Out of the Dust". They respond to questions about the novel and write a free-verse poem modeled after the author's.
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Meet the Press
Students give their book reports as oral "Meet the Press" type interviews. They team up with another student "reporter" and answer questions about main idea, details, and the point of view.
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Could You Repeat That?
Students participate in an oral story telling activity designed to show how story embellishments occur. They read "Beowulf" and identify incongruities that suggest additions and embellishments over the years.
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Connecting Characters and Themes in Julius Caesar
Fourth graders prepare for the literary analysis. They locate, interpret, evaluate and analyze the relationship between a character and the theme. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders write topic and detail sentences, then correctly put...
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Greeting Card to A Character
High schoolers create a greeting card from one character to another after finishing a novel. Individually, they use their imagination to write the paragraph using the text to support their ideas. They share their greeting card with the...
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Nursery Rhymes
Students recall details of nursery rhyme read by teacher, identify main characters, and demonstrate knowledge of poem by creating concept map about story that includes title, clip art, and changes in font and color.
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Too Many Tamales
Students investigate Mexican holiday celebrations and compare them to American Christmas holidays. They conduct a Mexican Christmas Scavenger Hunt. The lesson uses a streaming video in order to engage students in the main objectives.
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Story Parts
Third graders identify the three major parts of a story. After reading the book "Stellaluna," students discuss the beginning, middle and end of the story. They write a short story depicting the events that would happen if the story...
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Focus on Figurative Language in Prose and Poetry
Young scholars place emphasis on the use of figurative language when analyzing prose and poetry. In this figurative language lesson, students explore the tone of a story and its imagery. Young scholars read and discuss how the author...
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One Thing Leads to Another
Young scholars analyze the storytelling methods in wordless books. In this visual storytelling instructional activity, students write a story that correspond to a specific wordless picture book. Young scholars create their own wordless...
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A Formal Analysis of Science Fiction
High schoolers write a five paragraph expository theme. They explain in their theme how the story they read qualifies as science fiction. Students write using all the conventions of English correctly.
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You Can Do It, Mr. And Mrs. Mallard!
Students watch the video "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert Mc Closkey. They write letters to Mr. and Mrs. Mallard and make a map for the mallards. They talk about the importance of animal habitats.
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The Magic in Writing
Students watch a portion of a familiar film and write responses to a series of questions. They apply their observations to short stories.
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Collaborative Book Club Groups
Students participate in book club forums where they write descriptive, evaluation, analysis, synthesis, or inference essays. They take on the role of a character in their bok and publish a web page.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Students study about the stages of metamorphosis of a butterfly and then listen to and participate in the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The students then listen to the story in French and translate the French food words to English....
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Growing Pains of the Yearling
Fourth graders read The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.
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Mary Had A Little Lamb
Fourth graders listen and observe the role play of the various versions of the poem. They take notes while listening and observing and develop their own versions of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".
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The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush: Native American Life
Students read," The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and discuss the way legends are passed down orally. They then create their own legend and illustrate it on a simulated "Buffalo Skin" made from brown paper.