National Constitution Center
AP English Language—Precision of Language
Say what you mean and mean what you say. The Precision of Language addresses the importance of words, especially when they concern a person's rights. Scholars take a look at many different examples and complete questions analyzing the...
Curated OER
Charles Darwin Meets John Paul II
If you teach AP English language and composition and are looking for a way to address the differences between written and spoken arguments, consider this instructional activity. Over the course of three days, class members research...
National Constitution Center
AP English Language—Argument
All things are subject to interpretation ... and that includes the Bill of Rights. Scholars work through activities to analyze and consider various interpretations and perspectives of the rights listed in the Constitution. They complete...
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...
Literacy Design Collaborative
Rhetorical Analysis for Pre-AP English
Scholars closely analyze the use of rhetorical strategies in several model texts. They work in groups to annotate the text identifying rhetorical elements, and to complete a Rhetorical Analysis chart and guided reading worksheet....
Curated OER
Poetry: An investigation of Life
AP English Language and Composition requires that class members be able to formulate an argument and support it. Use this resource to focus on the life of Emily Dickinson. It requires individuals to research her life and make inferences...
Curated OER
Improving Speaking Skills in the Language Classroom
How can you create an "English-free" classroom for your foreign language learners? This year, use some of these strategies to maximize your students' opportunity to communicate in the language.
Louisiana Department of Education
Unit: Hamlet
Encourage readers to determine if Hamlet's madness is actually divinest sense. Class members analyze the words of the play before studying related texts, including T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," scenes from...
University of Arizona
Language Registers
Do you speak to your parents the same way you speak to your friends? The differences between formal and informal language are highlighted in this exercise. Groups are asked to select a scenario and script different dialogues that might...
Curated OER
The Two Sides of the Declaration of Independence
Budding historians read six documents related to grievances that led to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. They then craft an essay in which they discuss the perspective of both the colonists and the king. This DBQ could be...
PBS
Character vs. Society in The Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is difficult to read and difficult to teach. The novel is so highly regarded that it is one of most often listed as an option for the AP Literature and Composition exam. The materials in this packet from PBS...
Robert Frost Farm
“Choose Something Like a Star” Discussion—Applying Style to Content
Robert Frost's "Choose Something Like a Star" and John Keats' "Bright Star" provide the text for a two-part instructional activity in which class members analyze the effects of style on meaning in poetry. Randall Thompson's song cycle...
Utah Education Network (UEN)
Boxing and Analysis
Model for your high schoolers how to prepare for the essay portion of the AP Literature exam. For guided practice, pairs analyze metaphor, simile, tone or syntax in Norman Mailer’s “The Death of Benny Paret,” and then work independently...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Comic Strips
Who says comic strips aren’t educational? Prove these naysayers wrong by asking your class members to create a comic strip for a selected vocabulary word. Using online technological tools that provide access to an array of options for...
Arizona State University
Journalism Lesson
Engage your pupils in a seres of journalism activities. For this journalism lesson plan, learners practice with AP style, analyze an article, practice writing leads, work with organizing information, and take a stab at writing headlines....
Prestwick House
New (March 2016) SAT Reading Test Practice
The SAT. The ACT. AP exams. The very mention of these exams can cause the college bound to feel anxious. One way to combat Test Anxiety is to provide high schoolers with models of these tests and give them opportunities to analyze...
Curated OER
Seeing the Image in Imagery: A Lesson Plan Using Film
In our increasingly visual society, it is often difficult for some readers to create a mental picture of a picture created only with words. An image-rich text like F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby can therefore, present a real...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
I Need a Superhero
Once the class learns about the hero's journey, they'll find it in every story and movie they see! Take characters from their humble beginnings to their atonement and apotheosis with a set of lessons about the hero's journey...
Curated OER
Quilting with Literature: Internet Research and Multi-Media Presentation Skills in AP English
Have your class acquire research skills such as using hotlists and evaluating websites while they study major literary eras. They create multimedia presentation using information from the Internet research.
National Math + Science Initative
Vocabulary Study: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Like Scrooge, your language arts learners will not shut out the lessons you teach in a vocabulary activity based on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Included in the packet is a variety of vocabulary activities and two...
National Endowment for the Humanities
John Steinbeck’s "The Grapes of Wrath": The Inner Chapters
Here’s a must-have resource for anyone using The Grapes of Wrath. Everything from guiding questions to background information, from photographs to documentary films, from activities to assessments is included in a richly detailed packet...
Rockefeller Archive Center
Understanding Mass Media News
In an age of fake news and photoshopped images, it is vital that 21st century learners development the skills they need to evaluate mass media and assess its validity. A great way to launch such a study is with a carefully crafted lesson...
Curated OER
Editing for AP (and Newspaper's) style
Learners edit and revise a news story picked out by the teacher. For this editing lesson plan, high schoolers edit in AP style and then revise the story. It should have no errors in the end.
Curated OER
Jump-Start the Reading of Authentic Latin
Are your advanced learners reading authentic Latin this year? Whether you're teaching Caesar, Cicero or Virgil, use some of these strategies to map out your unit. What do you focus on? Consider taking small passages and making that the...