Students investigate soliloquies. In this performing arts lesson plan, students discuss figurative language within soliloquies and then perform a soliloquy to the rest of the class.

Robert Frost's "Choose Something Like a Star" and John Keats' "Bright Star" provide the text for a two-part instructional activity in which class members analyze the effects of style on meaning in poetry. Randall Thompson's song cycle...

Learners listen as a teacher models how to read a poem using The Negro Speaks of Rivers. They use the How to Read a Poem anchor chart to help guide their thought process on how a poem requires different reading than other text. While...

Song lyrics, like poems, are meant to be heard. After examining the literary devices in several poems, scholars examine the lyrics of popular songs and identify the sound devices and the figurative language writers use to create the...

Metaphors are word pictures, creating images in our brains that draw readers to consider how two seemingly unrelated items are alike. Poems by Langston Hughes, Margaret Atwood, and Naomi Shihad Nye provide learners with an opportunity to...

Ravenous or hungry, happy or ecstatic—why does word choice matter? Scholars continue to analyze working conditions in the mill and how the conditions affect the protagonist of Katherine Paterson's novel, Lyddie. They engage in a close...

Three heads are better than one. Scholars gather back in their triads for another read of their monologues. They answer text-dependent questions and review their work. Learners then present their jigsaw monologues to the rest of the...

In 1856 Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts over the head with a cane. This event, which highlighted the acrimonious debate over the expansion of slavery, is the focus of a paper...

This resource on personification provides three different approaches aimed at different levels. The first, appropriate for upper elementary, provides examples of personification, followed by an exercise that requires replacing a word in...

Students compare and contrast different careers and life choices. They associate activities with uniforms or other clothing, and apply those associations to the creative personification of their pets. They then use their imaginations to...

Does your langauge arts class journal frequently? Extend one of your journaling activities by having your writers choose a journal entry and take it through the five stages of writing. They will use the attached graphic organizer to...

Work on narrative writing with this lesson plan, in which middle schoolers analyze the characters from a selected piece of literature and write narrative diary pieces as the character. They work to understand the point of view of the...

Students identify similes and create their own self descriptions using them as examples. After identifying characteristics associated with pictures of the sun, fish, and other items, they discover how those traits can be used as...

Students explore the basis of Iago's persuasive power by analyzing Shakespeare's use of rhetoric and figurative language. In this Othello lesson, students analyze Iago's rhetoric in monologues and dialogues with other characters....

Fifth graders read the Native American tale, "The Frog and the Crane," focusing on the use of onomatopoeia in it. In groups, they brainstorm list of words that are examples of the device. Finally, 5th graders write their own stories...

Students explore language arts by utilizing word choice to compose a paragraph. In this phonetics lesson plan, students discuss the importance of a "voice" in their writing as they read the book Rattletrap Car. Students write paragraphs...

Children study similes, synonyms, and antonyms and identify examples in the book Quick as a Cricket by Audrey Wood. They write short stories about themselves using antonyms, synonyms, and comparisons of themselves to animals. They draw...

Young scholars explore onomatopoeia. They discuss the definition of onomatopoeia. Students brainstorm words that use onomatopoeia and they create a words work to use as a reference for poetry writing.

Learners examine the writing techniques of professional authors and apply them to their own work. In pairs, they email authors to discover the tricks of the trade. Students create their own Website for their work.

Seventh graders use context clues to determine the figurative meaning of idioms and hyperboles. They practice writing idioms and hyperboles in sentences about real life situations around them. This instructional activity is a good way to...

Create geometric cups by interpreting directions, informational text, and mathematical concepts. Critical thinkers apply geometric theory (congruent shapes, patterns, symmetry) to actual directions to create a cup that holds Kool Aid....

To protect young people from questionable content, many schools limit access. This resource suggests that because learners can so readily avail themselves to unrestricted Internet access, it is vital for 21st century...

Explore the elements of science fiction. Students investigate the literary elements present in science fiction and write their own science fiction stories.

Kids practice using five types of context clues (definition, synonym, antonym, example, and general) to decode idiomatic language.