EngageNY
Notices, Wonders, and Vocabulary of the Third Stanza of “If”
How does one's experience reading a poem's text differ from listening to its audio version? Delve into the insightful question with the poem, If by Rudyard Kipling, as pupils compare and contrast their experience using a note-taking...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 2, Lesson 5
How does word choice influence the meaning and tone of a text? To answer this question, class members listen to a masterful reading of a passage from David Mitchell's Black Swan Green and then work with a partner to conduct a close...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 18
Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 20
The final session in this 20-lesson plan unit asks individuals to use their Quick Writes, discussion notes, worksheets, and annotated text to craft and support a claim about how Shakespeare develops either Romeo or Juliet as tragic heroes.
E Reading Worksheets
Tone Worksheet 1
Discern the tone in four selected poems with a straightforward assignment. Junior high readers analyze the authors' word choice and text structure to define a tone for each poem, as well as each poem's meaning.
Curated OER
Studying The Catcher in the Rye
What's the difference between being a phony and being a conformist? At what point does conforming to alleviate loneliness lead to insincerity? These are the questions at the heart of this unit plan that uses The Catcher in the Rye as an...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 3, Lesson 3
"We need forgiveness and someone to blame." True? Class members continue their analysis of the central claims in Walter Mosley's essay and the support he offers for these claims about people's fascination with crime.
Breaking News English
The Force Awakens Breaks Pre-Sales Ticket Records
May the comprehension skills be with you! Focus on context clues, vocabulary words, and analysis questions with an article about Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its record-breaking ticket sales.
Cloud Front
Socratic Seminar for: A Christmas Carol
Socratic seminars are a great way to encourage the development of critical thinking, speaking, and listening skills. And Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a perfect text for such a seminar. Use the questions in the packet to...
Great Books Foundation
The Road Not Taken
Every time you make a choice, it prevents another option from taking shape. Spend some time analyzing "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost with a reading activity that includes four discussion questions that recall evidence from the text.
New York State Education Department
Comprehensive English Examination: January 2014
What better way to prepare learners for academic success than to administer practice tests? With the Comprehensive Examination in English, scholars read informational and literary texts and answer listening and reading comprehension...
Deer Valley Unified School District
Close Reading: Analyzing Mood and Tone
The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Exploring Character Development in The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963
How did the Civil Rights Movement affect young people in the United States? Scholars read Christopher Paul Curtis' novel, The Watsons go to Birmingham - 1963. Next, they write compare and contrast essays showing how the main characters...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Identifying Points of View through Character Responses in R.J. Palacio's "Wonder"
Readers examine the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio to determine how characters respond differently to situations and events. Readers annotate and analyze the text and carry out group discussion using accountable talk. They work in small...
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 2: Unit 2, Lesson 11
In Audre Lorde's poem "From the House of Yemanjá," the speaker describes her mother's two faces, adding a whole new meaning to the phrase "two-faced." Pupils first read the final stanza of the contemporary poem. With a Quick Write, they...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 2: Unit 2, Lesson 13
Two minds are better than one. Learners engage in an evidence-based discussion to identify central ideas in Audre Lorde's poem "From the House of Yamanjá" and one additional nonfiction text. They complete a Cross-Evidence Collection Tool...
EngageNY
Considering a Character’s Relationship with Others: Contrasting Ha and Her Brothers
Who is Ha? Scholars look closely at the poem Papaya Tree and carefully examine the character Ha. Learners work in groups to create an anchor chart defining Ha's character. They also answer text-dependent questions to help with...
EngageNY
Analyzing the Significance of the Novel’s Title: Connecting the Universal Refugee Experience to Inside Out and Back Again
How might different authors approach the same topic? Scholars read a paragraph from an informational text about Canadian refugees using the resource. Next, they participate in a jigsaw activity to connect real-life refugees' experiences...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Focusing on Taking a Stand (Chapter 2 cont.)
Scholars complete a close read of To Kill a Mockingbird and determine why characters take a stand. They use text-dependent questions and Note-catchers to help guide their thinking. Readers review the Taking a Stand Anchor chart and...
EngageNY
Analyzing Character and Theme: Tracking Control in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Pupils first participate in a drama circle as they continue reading Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream aloud with classmates. Next, scholars move around and discuss text-dependent questions about the play with a Three Threes in a...
EngageNY
Analyzing Character and Theme: Tracking Control in A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Scholars examine how characters try to control one another in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They engage in a read-aloud and class discussion to iron out ideas. They also work in small groups to complete a note-catcher...
EngageNY
Reading Shakespeare: The Play within the Play
Scholars continue reading the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe," analyzing why it was written into Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Next, they complete a Venn diagram to compare the two texts.
EngageNY
Analyzing Evidence: Writing about Theme
Class members prepare for the end-of-unit assessment by analyzing a writing prompt. They complete a Being Made Invisible anchor chart and write their thoughts about captives and invisibility on sticky notes. In addition, they discuss...