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Langston Hughes and the Blues
Learners explore the connections between Langson Hughes and blues music. In this African American culture instructional activity, students compare and contrast blues music with poetry and short stories by Langston Hughes.
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Simile Stories
Fourth graders view song lyrics and identify similes in the song text. In this similes lesson, 4th graders define and identify similes on a worksheet. Students write their own similes using various adjectives.
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Browning's "My Last Duchess" and Dramatic Monologue
High schoolers read and analyze the poem, "My Last Duchess," by Robert Browning. They examine the use of dramatic monologue as a poetic device, and write a character profile of the Duke.
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Black and Blue: Jazz in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
Students analyze the impact of jazz on the novel, "Invisible Man," by Ralph Ellison. They read and discuss excerpts of the novel, write an essay on the influence of jazz on Ralph Ellison as a writer, and view video excerpts on jazz...
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T-shirts Build School & Community Pride
Students explore ways to promote community pride by creating t-shirts. In this community lesson, students utilize a digital camera to take photographs of their hometown and transfer them to a t-shirt. Students complete a creative...
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The Electric Hearth
Learners examine popular media. In this media awareness lesson, students keep logs of their interactions with media and then write an essay regarding the data.
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Form and Theme in the Traditional Mexican Corrido
Students examine the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos. In this cross curricular history and music lesson, students analyze the lyrics of popular corridos and the corridos' importance in Mexican culture. Students will compose...
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Fisheries And Songs
High schoolers view examples of songs that have the ocean and its life as their themes. After hearing and reading them, students write their own, having done research on the social and political issues of the ocean's environment.
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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Eleventh graders discover the thematic connections between classical literary and popular song lyrics. In this English lesson plan, 11th graders research a specific topic to be presented to the class. Students analyze song lyrics in...
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Stylistic Devices
Pupils review connotation and denotation and stylistic devices in poetry. They read the lyrics to a song as it is being played and then discuss the meaning of the song. As a class, students read poems, share their thoughts, and define...
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You've Got to be Taught to Hate and Fear
Students explore themes of prejudice and acceptance. For this character education lesson, students listen and respond to several fiction books, poems, and lyrics with a similar theme. Students locate articles with the main idea of...
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Oh, Say Can You See...
Learners explore the meaning behind "The Star-Spangled Banner." In this music lesson, students sing the first verse of the national anthem and watch several performances of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Learners define several vocabulary...
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Geo Jammin' - Day 2, Lesson 6: Rhyme and Reason
Students listen to the poem "Shapes" by Shel Silverstein in order to accurately and specifically describe shapes' rules/traits in their journals. They illustrate the poem and take turns reading during a creative shared reading session.
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Songs And Stories About Bees
Students study bees. In this nature lesson, students practice a busy bee song, read poems about bees, and discuss the concept of beekeeping.
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Forming Relationships Using Music & Rhythm
Students make connections to other cultures and traditions through music, dance, art, and poetry.
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Anglo-Saxon Period: An Introduction
Students read information about Anglo-Saxon rulers and literary techniques, then complete a worksheet to help them review. Students take notes about the oral tradition, Anglo-Saxon literary terms, and Anglo-Saxon poetry. Students create...
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A Country Twice Divided
Students study biography from the 19th century. They read "The Red Badge of Courage." Students research a topic from the list provided in the lesson and write a 5-7 page paper. They study lyrics and melodies of the confederacy and...
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You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Until It’s Gone: The Changing American Landscape
Students examine the changing American landscape. In this cause and effect activity, students listen to rock music that exemplifies urban growth in America and the interconnectedness of America today. Students write cause and effect...
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Rhythm And Sound 2
Students review the concept of rhythm and this lesson plan looks at some specific sound devices in the study of music. They focus on assonance, consonance, and alliteration. Students define the concept of rhythm and give poetry as an...
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Shakespeare Analysis
Eighth graders focus on the Shakespearian sonnet as a form and analyze the sonnet in terms of structure, the particular rhyme scheme of the quatrains and the rhyming couplet, the rhythm of iambic pentameter, as well as any figurative...
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The Texas Cowboy: Myth and Reality
Students create "cowboy ballads" in this interactive, multi-day lesson. The cowboy is researched using various sources and class discussions. Students evaluate individual work at the end of the lesson.
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Lyddie
Seventh graders read the novel, Lyddie, while studying the reform movement. They complete assignments for each chapter and write essays about Lyddie's development through the novel.
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Hank Williams: My Inspiration
High schoolers research information about Hank Williams using the internet. Using the lyrics from his songs, they interpret the poetry used. They work together and individually to write their own poems and interpret them.
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Rootin', Tootin' and Lootin'
Students brainstorm about topics relating to pirates that could be included in each group's rap. The students are provided with a rhyme pattern or form of the rap which you would like them to write. As a class, develop a sample rap, or...