Curated OER
Lesson Plan 3: Great Book, Gross Book
It's time for your scholars to become book reviewers! Start with a fun review of foods: are they good or gross? Learners apply these evaluation techniques to books, recording their thoughts on large pieces of butcher paper. Simply have...
Curated OER
Spring: Paul Laurence Dunbar
Explore the abundance of spring, no matter what season you are covering in your class! Using the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, GALE Biography Resource Center, and Litfinder, pupils work on researching the poet and analyzing the use of...
Curated OER
Similes and Metaphors
Reward your class with tasty treats while teaching them about simile and metaphor. After a teacher demo and explanation of simile and metaphor, pupils read books, looking for examples of these literary devices and copying them down....
Denver Art Museum
Putting Images into Words
Engage your class in art analysis of Indian Look-Alike by Melanie Yazzie. Using this work of art as inspiration, writers compose a poem or short story. After a peer review session, the teacher conveys information about the work of art as...
Curated OER
The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe: Literature and Theater
Students read and discuss the literary elements of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis. They explore the elements of dramatic performance and create a TV news program based on life in Narnia. They videotape their...
Curated OER
Edgar Allen Poe And The Art Of Composition
High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 7: The Elements of Story
Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...
Curated OER
Sense Poetry
Access your young poets' senses and emotions with this activity, which guides them through the process of writing a "sense poem." After working on a sense poem as a class and modeling the procedure, individuals work on their own poems...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 12
Marc Chagall's painting Romeo and Juliet and Baz Lurhmann's film of the same scene in Romeo + Juliet allow class members to analyze how artists consider the same subject in different media.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 5
After rereading the full text of Walter Mosley's essay "True Crime," groups complete an evidence collection tool worksheet, and then class members independently draft a multi-paragraph, evidence-based response that identifies how Mosley...
EngageNY
Analyzing Point of View: Inferring about the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on People Living in New Orlean
What, where, how? Readers hone their analysis skills as they determine the narrator's point of view in Eight Days. They complete a literary analysis chart and essay to describe what and where events take place. Individuals then discuss...
Curated OER
St. Patrick's Day: James Joyce
Whether it's St. Patrick's Day or not, this lesson can be a great way to study James Joyce and how his heritage has influenced his writing. The lesson is meant to be used with the Gale database, specifically the Student Resource Center...
Warren County Public Schools
Small Group Discussion Questions
Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions...
Curated OER
Hatchet: Concept Analysis
Take an in-depth look into Gary Paulsen's Hatchet with a concept guide. With a list and explanation of thematic motifs, types of conflicts, and vocabulary in the novel, learners will engage with the text in a whole new way.
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literature: Nature in the Writings of John Muir and Emily Dickinson
As an assessment of their skill in crafting a compare and contrast essay, class members read and compare the portrayals of nature in excerpts from naturalist John Muir's My First Summer in the Sierra and from poet Emily Dickinson's...
Curated OER
Performance-Based Assessment Practice Test (Grade 5 ELA/Literacy)
Check in on the development of your fifth graders' reading and writing skills with this Common Core-designed assessment. Given a series of six reading passages ranging from narrative stories to informational texts, young...
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is a classic novel that readers have enjoyed for years. Resources within the study guide such as discussion and guided reading questions, extension activities, and graphic organizers aid...
ReadWriteThink
What is Poetry? Contrasting Poetry and Prose
Introduce middle schoolers to the different strategies used when reading prose versus poetry. Groups use a Venn diagram and a poetry analysis handout to compare the characteristics of an informational text and a poem on the same...
Curated OER
Growing Apples
Pupils complete various activities to investigate growing apples. They examine words related to apple growth and write the words on apple shapes. They also take a vocabulary quiz and complete an apple concentration game. Next, they watch...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 6 Close Reading
Look back at the third chapter of The Cay with your class. Pupils will conduct a close reading, taking a second look at a chunk of text and responding to a series of text-dependent questions. Wrap up with an analytical writing prompt...
Australian Centre For the Moving Image
Dreamworks Animation Character Design
Dive into animation creation using Dreamworks® animated films. Compare and contrast characters, wonder and ponder why the plot is so important, and think of background and themes as your creativity unrolls onto paper.
Orlando Shakes
Les Misérables: Study Guide
A writer has the responsibility to defend the less fortunate members of society. At least that was the view of Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. The novel is the subject of a study guide from Orlando Shakespeare Theater....
Student Achievement Partners
Eleven
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...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Analyzing Impact of Word Choice and Figurative Language in "Barbie Doll"
After a close reading Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll," class members craft an AP®-style explanatory essay in which they analyze the diction and other figurative literary devices the poet employs to deliver her commentary on modern...