Testimony: A Lesson in Creating Poetry

Bring together concepts covered in earlier lessons in the ten-part lesson series to analyze one of Poe's most famous poems, "The Raven." Class members discuss many different aspects of the poem and take turns reading lines and sections....

Extend your instruction on similes and metaphors with a instructional activity on Emily Dickinson's "Hope is the thing with feathers" and "There is no Frigate like a Book." After a discussion on the images of each poem and their...

Consider the biblical allusions in Emily Dickinson's poetry with the seventh of ten lessons in a language arts unit. Learners read "A little East of Jordan" and "Come slowly - Eden!" and discuss the allusions to the original Old...

Allusion can be a difficult concept for pupils to grasp. Home in on two brief poems by Edgar Allan Poe, "To Helen" and "Sonnet–To Science," with allusion in mind. Class members discuss the relationship of classical Greece and Rome to the...

Can authors speak to each other across works, genres, and even centuries? Study the conversation between Christopher Marlowe in his poem "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," and the responses by Sir Walter Raleigh and William Carlos...

Stage a mini debate about Edgar Allan Poe's story "Ligeia." After picking a few interpretations, split your class into groups and allow some time for preparation. Pupils must use textual evidence to support their arguments. Close the...

In poetry, every word matters. Poets like Edgar Allan Poe make conscious choices when composing. Pupils take a close look at his poem "Romance," taking older word meanings into consideration during analysis and discussion. After a class...

Track the plot of Ernest J. Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying with a class discussion and timeline. Readers examine the ways the story has developed for Jefferson and for Grant, as well as how their stories have come together. Next, they...

A good gift is hard to find. A “worn truth,” perhaps, as Billy Collins says in his poem, “The Lanyard,” but true nonetheless. After a study of Collins’ tribute to a mother’s love, young poets select an object that sends them “into the...

Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...