"I Cannot Tell a Lie"

Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" is full of imagery and excitement for the reader. Review this passage with your class to discuss perspective, tone, and word choice. Then writers are asked to create their own piece: a one-page...

To do something to someone or something or not to do something to someone. That is the question. And it is the source of the confusion between lie and lay. The strength of this activity is in the clear, cogent explanation for the...

Are your pupils caught in the lie/lay confusion? Give them extra practice with a instructional activity that defines the difference in meaning, conjugates the words, and gives examples of how the two verbs are used. Learners then...

Close your eyes and picture a time where you decided to tell the truth to someone. What were you wearing? How did you feel? Such prompts begin a guided imagery activity for Zach's Lie. Directions for creating an environment conducive to...

Your class won't be a bunch of squares from using this well-rounded activity! Instead, they'll be expressing thoughtful questions using the cubing strategy. The class brainstorms questions of increasing rigor about Zach's Lie in the...

"Hate is why we cannot wait." Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s attorney and advisor Clarence B. Jones' six words on race are at the center of an article that reflects on the civil rights movement. After reading the article, middle schoolers...

A chilling look of Edgar Allan Poe's works may not be a dream within a dream, but it's certainly a review within a crossword puzzle. Look down and across to find references to "The Raven," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Black Cat," and "The...

What do a girl in foster care and a 91-year-old widow have in common? A crossword puzzle related to Orphan Train highlights some of the similarities the two characters share in the book. The puzzle pulls out key details from the novel to...

Students research the role played and contributions made by African American soldiers during World War I. They discuss the evolution of civil rights in America's history, and the progress that has been made in the last 100 years.

Students explore some of our country's founding myths and legends by participating in an online poll. For example, did George Washington really chop down a cherry tree, then confess to his father about the deed, saying, I cannot tell a lie?