Literacy Design Collaborative
Catching a Grenade: How Word Choice Impacts Meaning and Tone
Beyonce's "Halo" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" provide eighth graders with an opportunity to consider how a writer's choice of words can create a very different tone even when the subject is the same. After a close reading of both lyrics,...
EngageNY
Comparing Meaning and Tone: The Fall of Saigon in Fiction and Informational Text
Who's that talking to? Readers listen to a reading of the "Forgotten Ship" transcript and answer questions focusing on word meaning and choice. They complete a chart to track the multiple narrators in the script. For homework, readers...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: How Word Choice Contributes to Tone and Meaning
It's finally time for pupils to show what they know! Scholars finalize the unit with an end-of-unit assessment. They use the book Inside Out & Back Again and the "Forgotten Ship" transcript to examine word choice, tone, and...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 21
Is there power in persuasion? After reading paragraphs six and seven of Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" speech, learners look at how Washington uses rhetoric and carefully planned word choice to add to the persuasiveness of...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 2
Scholars read paragraphs one and two of the chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" and search for ideas. Readers analyze how Du Bois introduces and develops an idea throughout the text. They complete the Idea Tracking Tool and discuss two...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 1
When is a word more than just a word? Scholars examine the significance of a word used by W.E.B. Du Bois in "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." Readers carry out a deep discussion of the use of the word problem in the text. After sharing ideas...
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Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 14
It's time to put it all together! Using the resource, scholars complete an end-of-unit assessment. They write a multi-paragraph essay comparing Audre Lorde's "From the House of Yemanjá" or "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton" to...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 9
How do authors employ specific word choices to describe complex relationships? Scholars read and analyze the first stanza from Audre Lorde's contemporary poem "From the House of Yemanjá." Pupils determine the meanings of figurative and...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 13
What impact does word choice have on character development? Using the resource, scholars read Act 3.1 from Shakespeare's Hamlet, focusing on the development of Ophelia's character. They also complete a Quick Write to analyze the meaning...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 11
What is Hamlet's attitude towards life and death in Shakespeare's Hamlet? Scholars continue reading the play to answer the question, paying particular attention to Hamlet's most famous soliloquy. By holding a discussion and completing...
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Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 7
Following a ghost's advice may not be in anyone's best interest, but that doesn't stop Hamlet! Using an exciting resource, pupils continue reading Act 1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which the ghost tries to convince Hamlet to seek revenge...
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Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 5
Scholars delve into Act 1.2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. By completing a writing exercise and participating in a class discussion, they continue to analyze how the author develops the characters in the play.
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 2, Lesson 2
What tools did Shakespeare use to develop his characters in the play Hamlet? With the resource, pupils engage in a discussion about how the character Claudius introduces and develops Hamlet. They explain how word choices in Claudius's...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 1: Unit 1, Lesson 6
Get ready for the big reveal! Scholars work in the final instructional activity of the unit to discuss the revelation in Browning's poem My Last Duchess. Pupils discuss homework in pairs before working in small groups to identify text...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 1, Lesson 4
High schoolers read the final section of E. B. White’s Death of a Pig and examine the impact of the words and tone he used. In pairs, learners discuss their homework from the previous night, answer questions about the text, and write in...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 1, Lesson 3
Are authors also designers? Scholars examine closely how E.B. White designs a section in Death of a Pig. They determine how the structure of sentences and paragraphs, the order of events, and the dialogue placement all contribute to the...
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Grade 10 ELA Module 4: Unit 1, Lesson 1
Scholars evaluate E.B. White's tone in his narrative. Lessons use turn-and-talk strategies to discuss details of a personal narrative essay, respond to guided questions, and work in pairs to analyze word choice. Learners demonstrate...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Analyzing Language through Dialogue and Internal Monologue in "The Scarlet Ibis"
James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis" provides eighth graders with an opportunity to sharpen their literary analysis skills. After a close reading of the text, class members highlight and annotate parts of the dialogue and...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Analyzing Impact of Word Choice and Figurative Language in "Barbie Doll"
After a close reading Marge Piercy's poem "Barbie Doll," class members craft an AP®-style explanatory essay in which they analyze the diction and other figurative literary devices the poet employs to deliver her commentary on modern...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 3: Unit 1, Lesson 3
Choose your words wisely. Scholars examine word choice in an excerpt from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Learners work in pairs and groups to discuss how the author's choice of words creates a deeper connection between the reader...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 18
Examine how Martin Luther King Jr.'s final paragraphs of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" summarize the ideas throughout the piece. Readers discuss word usage and new vocabulary and complete guided questions to better understand how the...
Poetry4kids
Forced Rhymes and How to Avoid Them
Ready to take your poetry writing to the next level? Use an independent lesson to iron out all those forced rhymes, wrenched rhymes, and near rhymes from first-draft poems.
University of North Carolina
Sciences
Science writing follows many of the same principles as writing in language arts, but some structural details differ. Individuals read an online science handout that covers how to write with precision, choose appropriate details, and use...
University of North Carolina
Word Choice
Words matter, particularly in academic writing. Issues such as vague language, wordiness, and cliches make it difficult to get a point across. Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, the handout on word choice shows writers...