Zora Neal Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou are featured in a guided inquiry unit. High schoolers research the lives and works of these and other Black women writers and craft an argument, using evidence from their research, to...

America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches...

If you're looking to start a unit based around narrative writing, make sure to consider this resource while you're planning. This book covers five topics: writing personal narratives, writing narratives about others, writing...

Students interpret poetry though movement. In this poetry lesson students take a poem they've previously read and discussed in class and work in pairs to develop gestures for each line.

Students create poems using a group of four predetermined words. In this poetry lesson plan students incorporate each of the four words into a poem that makes sense.

Third graders read a book about emigrating to America. They create and illustrate a triante poem using sensory words, depicting something they liked about the story.

Students define literary terms and answer short answer questions about poetry.  In this poetry starter instructional activity, students discuss the importance of titles, first and last lines, sounds, and speaker.  Students...

Students read a sample found poem and create one together as a class. For this Great Depression lesson, students select a topic, such as miners, and read primary source documents related to the topic. Students select one narrative as the...

Students are read numerous examples of strong poetry. Individually, they brainstorm a list of interests or attributes about themselves and choose the most important one. They write a poem using the attribute and shares the poem with the...

Students analyze Edward Hopper's painting and Hirsch's poem to explore the types of emotion generated by each work. In this literary and art analysis lesson, students discuss how Hopper establishes tone and analyze Hirsch's use of...

Eleventh graders are introduced to various basic and advanced poetic devices. They read several poems and practice identifying poetic elements. They identify at least two different poems and substantiate why they belong in the canon.

Explore the Earth's different ecosystems through four lessons, an assessment, and extension activities. Lessons include informative text and step-by-step instructions to apply knowledge in interactive, and thought provoking ways; such as...

Researching facts about owls can be a hoot for your class. Let them wisely collaborate on this writing project. The resource is the second part of three parts. It is best to use all three lessons in order. 

The United States Civil War resulted in the highest mortality rate for Americans since the nation's inception. Delve deeper into the causes for the drastic separation of states with a history lesson plan that features analysis charts,...

Writing is a process, and lesson planning is, too! A personal narrative unit stresses the writing process to pupils, who first examine various stories and poems as a model of autobiographical writing and then write their own stories....

Fifth graders study prepositions in poetry. In this language arts instructional activity, 5th graders create a personal preposition poem. Students underline the prepositions and share the prepositions they underlined with the rest of the...

What is war? Students discuss the ethical dilemma of war by viewing Picasso's painting entitled "Guernica" and write down everything they see in the painting. Then they choose one emotion that best summarizes their emotional response to...

Eleventh graders discover the poetry of Langston Hughes. In this social issues lesson plan, 11th graders experience the views of Langston Hughes. Students read Hughes' poetry and discuss the basic theme. Students evaluate the political,...

Learners study the Japanese art of fish painting called Gyotaku while examining the lifestyle of Japanese fishermen at the end of the Edo period. They make a Gyotaku fish print and write a haiku poem using the proper number of syllables...

Students recognize the importance of planning for the future. They think about and project themselves into the future. Students become aware that everyone encounters challenges in life and that they can be met and obstacles can be...

Studetns make inferences based upone one-line poetry and group comparison. In this poetry lesson, 9th graders read strips from a poem and write prediction sentences for the poem. Students read each other's poetry lines and then read the...

Young historians discover the life of an incredible African American woman who, as an anti-slavery lecturer prior to the Civil War, defied stereotypes of what women could accomplish. Pupils explore the concept of stereotyping, read...

This packet of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on heroes, contains lessons, exercises, and activities specifically designed for ELD/ESL learners.