Water is the source of life. It appears in poetry in both peaceful and torrential descriptions; it appears in earth science in its liquid, gaseous, and solid states. Combine these interpretations of our planet's most precious and...

Introduce fourth graders to poetry with a three-week unit that has them examine the structural elements of poetry, analyze poems, and craft their own original poems rich in sensory details and other poetic devices. Young scholars study...

The big idea in this poetry unit plan is that structure and content work together to create meaning. Class members learn how to identify and mark the metrical patterns and line lengths used in poems. They study the structure of various...

The death of a parent can turn a child's world upside down. A curriculum guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy explores defining moments in the main character's life, including the loss of her mother. Chapter-by-chapter discussion...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day instructional...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes ten lessons from the American Literature series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response activities are included for each...

A five-part learning module with links to images and videos about sensory details and using sensory language.

Explore the literary technique of imagery to see how sensory language contributes to the meaning and feeling of a poem in this animated video [1:23] from WNET. Discussion questions below help students to further apply their understanding...

This lesson focuses on William Carlos Williams and his poems using images of everyday life including "The Red Wheelbarrow" and "This is Just to Say."