Curated OER
De-Mystifying Poetry: Understanding Narrative Poetry
Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.
Curated OER
The Effects of Slavery
The emotional and spiritual oppression of slavery in the African-American experience is the focus of this lesson. Middle schoolers analyze various texts by Frederick Douglass and Maya Angelou related to freedom and oppression. They use...
The New York Times
The One-Question Interview
Generate interest in current events, the theme of a new unit, or a research project. Individuals select a question from the list generated by the class, conduct one-on-one interviews, analyze the responses, draw conclusions based on...
Curated OER
Kumeyaay Indians
Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...
Curated OER
Listen to the Voices of the Holocaust
Connect fiction and nonfiction narratives about the Holocaust to show universal themes of human strength and endurance.
Curated OER
What If: The Seed Of A Story
Students read and comprehend a piece of fictional writing, analyze how setting, characterization, and plot affect the theme of a story and work in a group to create a new writing assignment. This 5-day plan culminates in students writing...
Curated OER
The Power of Fiction
Students explore fiction that moves individuals to social action. In this literature lesson, students read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and analyze its literary worth as well as its investigative journalism. Students investigate other...
Hampton-Brown
Esperanza Rising
Accompany a reading of the novel, Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan, with a series of lessons that dive deep into the literary world of a young girl and the journey she takes to start a new life. Lessons and their...
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Chalk Talk
Discussion doesn't always need to be spoken. Before you begin The Tempest by William Shakespeare, have kids connect their ideas and experiences to central questions of the play with a silent discussion activity. Once they have...
Orlando Shakes
The Great Gatsby: Study Guide
Uncover the exciting world of the Roaring Twenties with The Great Gatsby study guide. Individuals become critics as they write a review of the production. Scholars also read historical information and analyze the differences between the...
Curated OER
Teaching the Theme: The American Dream
This can be a good time for students to discuss what the idea of the American Dream means to them.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 2: The Historical/Biographical Approach
"How does our environment shape our identity?" After researching biographical information about John Knowles and considering how these experiences are reflected in A Separate Peace, class members consider the strengths and weaknesses of...
Curated OER
6th Grade: Express Yourself, Lesson 2: Close Read
The second lesson plan of a pair about Paul Laurence Dunbar, this plan focuses in particular on his poem, "We Wear the Masks." After a short historical introduction, class members conduct a series or readings, marking up the text and...
Brigham Young University
Introducing the Text and Learning the Process of Script Analysis
Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...
Midland Independent School District
Drama
Ten drama lessons are the perfect addition to your language arts or theater class. With a focus on script elements, plot development, and parts of a dramatic story, the lessons guide young playwrights through the steps of telling a story...
Curated OER
Pablita Indian Legends
Scholars are introduced to the characteristics of a legend. They read and discuss Old Father Story Teller by Pablita Velarde. Then, in groups, they write and illustrate a poem based on one of the legends from the book. This lesson plan...
Curated OER
End-of-Year Practice Test (Grade 4 ELA/Literacy)
The time has come to find out what your fourth grade readers have learned after another year of hard work. This Common Core-designed practice assessment provides two reading passages, one narrative and one expository, that children must...
College Board
2017 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
In the age of the Internet, are libraries still important? A collection of sources, part of a set of sample free-response questions from the AP® English Language and Composition exam, discuss that question. A variety of sources,...
Curated OER
MACBETH and the Themes of Ambition,
Students describe and compare characters and situations in dramas from and about cultures and historical periods, illustrate in improvised or scripted scenes, and discuss how theater reflects a culture.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet Meets Chushingura: Traditions of the Revenge Tragedy
Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.
Curated OER
Identify and Analyze Literary Concepts
Students explore plot structure, conflict, setting, and mood. In this literary elements lesson, students read Rosa Parks, My Story and complete the provided plot outline worksheets. Students discuss the text elements of non-fiction pieces.
Curated OER
Review of Personification and Alliteration
Learners review personification and alliteration. In this literary devices lesson, students use personification and alliteration in a sentence. Learners draw a picture reflecting personification.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 4
True, you may be very, very dreadfully nervous, but a literary analysis unit will set your mind at ease. Learners study the narrator's point of view in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and analyze how it contributes to a...
EngageNY
Author’s Craft: The Poetry of the Play
Feel the rhythm! Pupils begin reading Act 2, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream as they continue participating in a drama circle. With discussion, they examine Shakespeare's use of rhyme, rhythm, and meter, analyzing how...