National Endowment for the Humanities
“House by the Railroad”: A Painting and a Poem for the Common Core
Introduce your class to ekphrastic poetry with an exercise that asks them to examine Edward Hooper's painting House by the Railroad and Edward Hirsch's poem "Edward Hopper and the House By the Railroad." After a close reading...
Curated OER
Visualize It, Understand It, Remember It!
Students observe and demonstrate visualization exercises to improve their reading comprehension. They discuss how to visualize images, then draw pictures for sentences written on the board. Students read the poem Gumeye Ball by Shel...
Curated OER
Adjectives in Poetry
Fourth graders create a poem using adjectives. In this poetry lesson, 4th graders read the story Akiak and identify the adjectives. Students create a stanza for Akiak.
Curated OER
Picture This!
Young scholars become fluent readers by assessing the strategy of visualization to visualize each event in a story. They use imagery to visualize all types of literature. Each student receives a copy of "Sideways Stories from Wayside...
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Introducing Visual Literacy
Students view examples of images and discuss why a director or writer chose these images. Using different forms of media, they develop their own standards by which to judge television or films. They discover the use of visual literacy...
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Digital Poetry Books
Learners, after reviewing the writing process and assessing how to use a digital camera to take creative photos, create a Digital Poetry Book. They incorporate the use of Microsoft Photo Draw and Publisher for the creation of their...
California Education Partners
Covers by Nikki Giovanni
Over three days, scholars listen to and read the poem, "Covers" by Nikki Giovanni. Learners complete a graphic organizer by sketching their visualizations from each stanza then discuss their pictures with a peer. Pupils answer...
Curated OER
The Great Gatsby: Symbolic Story Representation
The themes of The Great Gatsby are embodied in the images F. Scott Fitzgerald creates. To encourage reader interaction with the text, individuals create a symbolic representation of themselves, place themselves in the story,...
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Interpreting Political Cartoons in the History Classroom
Learners analyze political cartoons. In this historical perspectives lesson, students use the provided cartoon analysis worksheet to examine the political cartoons that their instructor shares with them.
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Come To Your Senses
Write narratives that include ideas, observations, or memories of an event or experience, and be sure to use concrete sensory details! Groups utilize a few of the famous I Spy books in order to create narratives that utilize sensory...
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Visual Poetry Lets Students 'See' The Words
Students read a favorite poem and create a Power Point slide show depicting a visual interpretation of the images in the poem.
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Tuck Everlasting Unit
Natalie Babbitt's award winning fantasy, Tuck Everlasting, is the anchor text in a unit plan that focuses on identifying similes, metaphors, imagery, and personification in the text and analyzing how these elements effect the...
Curated OER
Imagery Eye: What Do Characters See?
In this character worksheet, students write down what a character sees in a space surrounding a picture of an eye. A reference web site is given for additional activities.
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Crafting Poetry: A Sensory Journey
Tenth graders experiment with poetry devices to write poems. In this poetry lesson, 10th graders participate in learning stations. Students create a word pool and select a word from the list to create a line of poetry. Students complete...
Curated OER
Cultural Logo Design
Students create a logo design to express their own identity. In this logo design lesson, students list ten words to describe who they are and choose two of them to use in a logo. Students draw images and choose various forms of...
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Lesson Refresh: Plan with the END in Mind
Fourth graders identify literary techniques by participating in a class discussion. In this organization instructional activity, 4th graders practice public speaking while presenting ideas for a story to their classmates as well as...
Facing History and Ourselves
The Power of Images
One picture but a thousand stories. As a part of a case study of how the death of Michael Brown was reported by professional news sources and on social media class members examine the reactions of various groups to a photograph taken by...
Curated OER
"I Banish You": Using Visual and Auditory Imagery to Connect with Speech
Learners analyze a monologue by Coriolanus in Shakespeare's play of the same name. In this literature lesson plan, students discuss and define betrayal and the events surrounding Coriolanus' banishment from Rome.
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Read It, See It!
Pupils review the concept of silent reading and discuss the meaning of visualization. They listen to a poem as it is read and close their eyes to try to make a picture of what is happening and think about the qualities the wind...
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Tansai Sumi Painting
First graders study Japanese art and apply the technique of Tansai Sumi (lightly colored) to create individual works of art. Painting, design, lines, and drawing techniques are covered in this 1st grade lesson.
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Musical Cares
Students explore ways in which music can relay messages of peace and how popular songs can be interpreted as commentary on current issues and themes.
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Journeying to Create
Show a video clip that descripes how taking a journey can change a person's outlook on life. Learners write a paragraph about a place that uses imagery and tone to create a specfic effect. They evaluate their journal entries as well.
Curated OER
Let Freedom Ring: The Life & Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students use text and photos to visualize the delivery of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic "I Have A Dream" speech. They analyze Dr. King's speech for examples of imagery and allusion and create original poetry and illustrations...
Curated OER
The First World War
Students examine the process and effects of World War I on different segments of the population, beyond the political, diplomatic and military framework of the war. They analyze the memoirs of soldiers, read poetry of the time, and...