Analyzing and Developing Symbols to Create Meaning

“I am. I think. I will.” Seek the secrets of words. Ayn Rand’s Anthem provides the text for a series of exercises that ask readers to analyze how Rand uses antimetabole, epistrophe, parallelism, and repetition to create meaning. Using...

Designed to accompany a reading of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the worksheets in this packet permit readers to keep notes on parallels between Lee's life and Scout's, on characters in the novel, and on chapter events.

Who says that reading has to involve text? Use non-print texts, including videos, TED talks, and podcasts in your classroom to teach skills associated with nonfiction reading, including evaluating claims, finding main ideas, and...

After identifying the most significant events in the To Kill A Mockingbird, readers create a plot map the reveals how Harper Lee orders events to create dramatic tension in her novel. To conclude the lesson, individuals either outline a...

Emphasize the difference between literal and figurative language, as well as how each adds to the plot, with a activity on Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Readers study the images of the pear tree, the street lamp, and...

Focus on symbols from Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club with a rich lesson plan. Young readers discuss the meaning of the section titles from the novel, including "The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates," and write a short essay about Tan's use of the...

While the main character of The Call of the Wild is Buck the dog, there is a cast of important human characters involved in the story. Ask your learners to take a look at these characters and examine the relationships between the human...

Identify the unique personal attributes of your class members. Begin by viewing the Visual Thesaurus and discussing displayed attributes associated with famous American leaders. Using these identity maps as models, pupils generate nouns...

Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...

Prepare your class for creating their own documentaries. Before they get started, they'll need to know what a documentary is and what makes a documentary compelling. As a class, watch several documentaries from the point of view of the...