We live in a time of fake news, alternative realities, and media bias. What could be more timely than an activity that asks class members to research how different sources report the same topic in the news?

You might get emotional during this activity - but don't worry, that's the idea! The class practices analyzing emotions, including their own, their peers' facial expressions, and colors and sounds that remind them of certain emotions....

Kindergarteners discuss emotions and social skills as the start to this lesson. Then they demonstrate what emotions they feel while participating in a role play. This lesson plan also calls for group work in which learners show...

High schoolers read and analyze Iago's rhetoric in specific monologues and dialogues with other characters, examine what Iago says and how he says it, define some basic rhetorical terms, and discover the sometimes dangerous power of...

“Mirrors” or aspects from a story that reflect a personal text-to-self connection, and “windows,” an aspect that gives insight into a different way of being, are the focus of an activity designed for Alice Walker’s story. Readers select...

Use picture cues as a tool in order to create meaning along with text. With a wordless comic, young illustrators discuss the main idea and character traits, and independently write a summary for a page of a wordless comic. This strategy...

Middle schoolers write descriptions, narratives, and dialogues based on objects of art and time periods in a museum. They base several writing assignments on art objects and paintings, including a literal description and an emotional...

Dim the lights, take a deep breath, and press play to explore the emotions and memories that music elicits. Class members begin using relaxation techniques designed to create a positive listening experience. As music plays, learners...

The stated goal of this unit is to use poetry to "improve the emotional health of young people." Budding poets read and then supply their own lines for poems that deal with alienation, loneliness, and rejection.

A lesson begins with a discussion on gratitude—what does it mean, and for who are learners thankful? Scholars share their thoughts and feelings then choose a community worker to which they wish to share their gratitude. Writers compose a...

Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...

All aboard! Pair a reading of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg with a set of literacy activities. The packet of worksheets includes task cards, sorting activities, a synonym match, comparing and contrasting activities, writing...

Pictures often reveal different meanings. Scholars analyze the images in Eight Days and discuss how they add meaning to the text. Readers answers questions about how specific colors are used to create different emotions. Learners then...

The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...

Examine the connection between descriptive language and emotional impact. For the first few chapters of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, learners record the descriptive writing the author used to vivify the...

Help young readers find, identify, and use their voices with a set of empowering activities based on Peter H. Reynolds' trilogy of books. Sky Color, Ish, and The Dot focus on recognizing moods and treating each other...

If you are taking your class on a library tour, use this scavenger hunt activity to spice it up. Although this hunt isn't actually attached (like the lesson says it is), you will get a good idea of how to implement a task like this....

While ser and estar both mean to be, they are each used in different situations. This is often confusing for Spanish language learners. Clarify these verbs for your class with direct instruction. The information included on...

Students discuss and write about different feelings they or someone else may have. In this feelings lesson plan, students discuss different ways they express their feelings. Then they get a picture with someone who is demonstrating a...

The big idea in the fourth lesson from the Amani Project is that people can experience different emotions in precisely the same event. One participant uses their body to express an emotion. Then other participants move to the area of the...

Laurie Halse Anderson tackles challenging topics for teens. An educator's guide shares activities for many of her novels such as Prom, Shout, and Wintergirls. Questions, perfect to use as either discussion or as essay prompts, accompany...

Tenth graders analyze animated Disney movies. They demonstrate their awareness of how the artful use of language can affect and influence others. They evaluate how both genders and cultures are portrayed in mass media.

Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...

Scholars, high schoolers, class members! With the help of this lesson, you too can identify the three persuasive appeals (ethos, pathos, and logos) the characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar used to convince...