The Poet's Voice: Langston Hughes and You

Use Langston Hughes's poem, "Words Like Freedom," to explore the concepts of freedom and liberty. Learners read the poem, determine the theme, and use the provided graphic organizer to examine the connotative and denotative meanings of...

Discuss the meaning of the phrase tone of voice with the class. They respond to a variety of scenarios where a particular tone would be prevalent. They then read "Mother to Son" without knowing the title and answer some questions about...

An author study provides learners the opportunity to explore in depth the life of, the influences on, and the works of a single literary figure. Introduce middle schoolers to Langston Hughes with a unit that models how to approach an...

Two voices, one poem. Scholars learn about and write a two-voice poem using graphic organizers, model poems, and guides. They practice reading poems with a partner and discuss how a poem of this type could help compare Salva and Nya in A...

Incorporate technological fluency with a search for examples of active and passive voice in online resources. Discuss how use of active or passive voice influences mood or tone and contributes to author's purpose. List of...

Writers take a look at how to gather evidence from the information text in the unit that connects to Salva and Nya’s story. They complete a Gathering Evidence from Informational Texts sheet to guide their work. Pupils then use the...

Eighth graders find a current event related to the Middle East. In this current event lesson students write a brief summary of a new story related to the Middle East. They give their opinion and tell how it affects their life or who it...

Celebrate diversity with a toolkit designed to inspire young poets to develop their own voices. After examining poems by African American poets, individuals craft their own poetic stories. The packet features poems by Gwendolyn Brooks,...

Invite your kids to tell all sorts of stories with this interactive app. Learners view images and record their own voices as as they create short narratives to go along with the images. The app provides plenty of customizable scaffolding...

Use this online interactive worksheet in an ELD class or for younger native speakers. They practice using simple past tense verbs in the passive voice. Many of the constructions are not straightforward, nor often used by early speakers,...