Hi, what do you want to do?
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Crossing the River
Students analyze the multiple voices in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. In this multiple voices lesson plan, students explore the use of symbolism with the narrative voices of the text. Students write a detailed profile of one...
Curated OER
Much Ado About Illumination
Students analyze the language and characters in the Shakespeare play, Much Ado About Nothing. In this Shakespeare play lesson, students read section of the play and discuss the speech of Benedick and Claudio. Students record the speech...
Curated OER
Extra, Extra Read All About It
Looking for an interactive roll playing lesson? Young actors practice reading and rereading decodable texts with expression. They interact with the play, "The Boy Who Wanted the Willies," by Aaron Shepherd within this lesson. An...
Curated OER
Here's the Pitch
Students define pitch, measure varying amounts of water into containers, make predictions about the sounds made when striking the containers, put containers in order from highest to lowest pitch, and create their own sound patterns with...
Curated OER
Newsworthy Fairy Tales
Third graders review common fairy tales and work in teams to rewrite the fairy tales as news articles. They answer questions using the 5 Ws (who, what, where, when, why). Student articles include eye-catching headlines.
Curated OER
A Moment in Time
Eighth graders study poems to see how punctuation, line length, rhythm and word choice can be used to create a memorable moment. They read and discuss poems by Shel Silverstein.
Curated OER
Personify This
Eighth graders study personification in published works of poetry, then create their own through the use of diamante or cinquain poetry. They read and discuss poetry by Shel Silverstein, William Jay Smith, and Elinor Wylie.
Curated OER
I Just Want to Say
Eighth graders study poetic devices included in conversation poems and explore their eloquent messages. They read and discuss poems by Langston Hughes and Don Marquis.
Curated OER
Boston Spies' Report on the Redcoats
Students collect information about British actions in Boston and send it by secret message to leaders in Philadelphia.
Curated OER
Oh, Let the Rain Fall Down
Fifth graders explain the three phases of the water cycle in a narraive paragraph where they describe the journey of a single raindrop. They are introduced to five science vocabulary words and personfication.
Curated OER
Strong Verb Image Makers
Students use description language to clarify ideas and create vivid images in an essay focusing of strong verbs. They discuss weak verbs and explore that the better image the words create, the better the reader understands the text.
Curated OER
Product Persuasion
Students examine various products and analyze the marketing strategies used to entice consumers. They bring in a product they like to use, and using persuasive writing, they write their own advertisements for their products.
Curated OER
I'm Convinced!
Students examine persuasive techniques used to sell products, and create and write an advertisement for peanut butter.
Curated OER
Yummy Adjectives
Fourth graders recognize and brainstorm descriptive adjectives to use in their writing. They work in pairs to take a taste and touch test and record their adjectives used to describe the food and knick-knacks on handout. This is a great...
Curated OER
Creature Feature
Learners work in pairs to create a creature and its habitat out of construction paper. Then students write a narrative to describe the animal and its habitat.
Curated OER
Cluing into Symbols Robert Frost
Students use the Internet and video to discover how find evidence in poetry in order to discover the theme(s) of the poems. They are able to define poetic devices like simile, metaphor and repetition. Students identify themes in...
Curated OER
Book Trailers
Students develop a list of criteria for a book trailer. In this book trailer lesson, students review book trailers, create storyboards and use Photo Story 3 to create book trailers. Students create a mini-webquest to review copyrights.
Curated OER
Journal Assignment Directions
In this journalism analysis worksheet, students choose and editorial article and analyze the content. Students will write articles with a minimum of 350 words.
Curated OER
Writing with Vivid Verbs
Students find vivid verbs in literature and use them in their own writing. In this vivid verbs lesson, students use a 'Thinking Thesaurus' of major verbs to study common verbs. Students then practice rewriting sentences using vivid...
Curated OER
Real World English Pronunciation
Students explore various verbal and nonverbal ways to improve their English pronunciation. They create a short biography and practice reading them with an English accent, using appropriate language, intonation, and body language.
Curated OER
Talk To Me About It
Students present an analysis of a short story. Working in small groups, students prepare a presentation of up to 30 minutes analyzing the major elements in a story they have read. Completed presentations are given to the class and...
Curated OER
How to Move the Crowd: The Persuasive, Powerful Rhetoric of Mark Antony -Folger Shakespeare Library
Tenth graders explore a close reading of the speeches of Brutus and Mark Anthony in 3.2. They identify the effects of the rhetorical appeals used. Students explore the variety of ways in which Anthony might have delivered the speech....
Curated OER
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (Letter 10)
In this The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis worksheet, students define six key vocabulary words with one or two words and answer six comprehension questions over letter ten.
Curated OER
From Ordinary To Extraordinary Writing
Students investigate the quality of writing while focusing on the use of sensory words to convey meaning and ideas. The power of similes and metaphors is emphasized while they create and edit works of writing. The skill of descriptive...