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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Use of Personification and Imagery in Poetry

For Teachers 8th
A reading of Theodore Roethke’s dark "Root Cellar" and Sylvia Plath’s more abstract "Mirror" launches a discussion of imagery and personification in poetry.  After finding examples of personification in the poems, class members craft...
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Study Guide
Spark Notes

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath: Study Guide - Mini Essays

For Students 11th - Higher Ed
For this online interactive literature worksheet, students respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Students may check some of their answers online.
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Interactive
Curated OER

The Bell Jar Quiz

For Students 10th - Higher Ed
In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 25 multiple choice questions about Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Daddy Questions

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 5 short answer and essay questions based on the poem "Daddy," by Sylvia Plath.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching Sequence of Activities

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students develop their skills at writing poetry by listening to poetry and using a model to emulate and write a poem. In this poetry writing lesson, students listen to Louis MacNeice's poem 'Prayer Before Birth' and use it to model their...
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Lesson Plan
New Zealand Ministry of Education

Nz Ministry of Education: The Bell Jar

For Teachers 11th - 12th Standards
This lesson discusses Sylvia Plath's works including The Bell Jar. It has students look at biographic information and commentaries about Plath. As students read the novel, they complete response logs and write essays. They debate topics...
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation

For Students 9th - 10th
This unit examines poetry of the postmodernism period, focusing on the Beat Movement, Black Arts Movement, feminism, and other related movements and periods in recent literary history. An extensive list of authors, time line, video, and...
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Website
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: Sylvia Plath

For Students 9th - 10th
This web page provides a brief biography on Sylvia Plath with a photograph included.
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Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: Contemporary Literature: The Modern Poet: Sylvia Plath

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson focuses on Sylvia Plath, her poetry, and how to analyze a poem. It features links to her biography; three of her poems: "Morning Song," "Lady Lazarus," and "Daddy"; an analysis of "Daddy"; and a poem anlaysis rubric. Students...
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Website
British Library

British Library: 20th Century Works: The Bell Jar

For Students 9th - 10th
Sylvia Plath's only published novel, "The Bell Jar, " explores mental illness and the pressure of social expectations on women in 1950s America. Read an overview and view additional resources such as articles, collection items, and...
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Website
British Library

British Library: 20th Century Works: Ariel

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
'Ariel' is a posthumously published collection of poetry by the American poet Sylvia Plath. Read an overview and view additional resources such as articles, collection items, and teacher resources.
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Website
British Library

British Library: 20th Century Works: Birthday Letters

For Students 9th - 10th
'Birthday Letters', a collection of 88 poems by the British poet Ted Hughes, revolves around Hughes's relationship with the American poet Sylvia Plath. Read an overview and view additional resources such as articles, collection items,...
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Website
British Library

British Library: 20th Century People: Sylvia Plath

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Read a summary of Sylvia Plath's impact on 20th Century literature and view additional resources such as related articles, collection items, and teacher resources.
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Lesson Plan
British Library

British Library: 20th Century Teaching Resources: Sylvia Plath's the Bell Jar

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
These activities will provide students with an introduction to Plath that will inform their study of "The Bell Jar". They will examine the perspectives offered by two of Plath's short autobiographical prose pieces, and will also explore...
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Lesson Plan
British Library

British Library: 20th Century Teaching Resources: Sylvia Plath: Creative Writing

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Looking at three of Sylvia Plath's poems, students will be encouraged to think critically and create compositions that explore complex themes. [PDF]
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Website
British Library

British Library: 20th Century: Literature 1950 2000

For Students 9th - 10th
Explore key literary works of the late 20th century with these articles.
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Website
British Library

British Library: 20th Century: Gender and Sexuality

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover how 20th-century literature explored, questioned, and exploded traditional ideas of gender roles and sexuality.
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Article
British Library

British Library: 20th Century: An Introduction to the Bell Jar

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Sarah Churchwell examines how "The Bell Jar" critiques the expectations and limitations placed on young women in the 1950s - and how these expectations and limitations have shaped the novel's reception.
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Handout
Other

Winona State University: Confessional Poetry

For Students 9th - 10th
An explanation confessional poetry and examples of the writings of the confessional poets; Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Sharon Olds, and Robert Lowell.
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Website
Other

Neurotic Poets: Sylvia Plath

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a detailed biography on the often turbulent life and poetry of Sylvia Plath (1932-1963 CE). Included are links to full-texts of Plath's poems and images.
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Website
Authors Calendar

Author's Calendar: Sylvia Plath

For Students 9th - 10th
This brief overview of the life and writing of poet Sylvia Plath (1932-1963 CE) includes a list of her works as well as few links to related websites.
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Website
Other

Princess Daisy: Sylvia Plath's Copy of the Great Gatsby

For Students 9th - 10th
Plath's comments on Gatsby offer insight to her character as a reader and her focuses as a writer herself.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Poetry of Liberation: Sylvia Plath

For Students 9th - 10th
Sylvia Plath is featured in this brief biography for her writings which focused on her views of feminism. See "Sylvia Plath Activities" for related materials.
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Primary
Academy of American Poets

Poets.org: "Morning Song" by Sylvia Plath

For Students 9th - 10th
This site shares the poem "Morning Song" from the author Sylvia Plath. Alliteration and rhyme are prevelant in this poem, just as these poetic devices are present in her most famous novel, The Bell Jar.