Curated OER
Personification
Young writers discover that personification is when a writer gives an object the qualities of a person. After practicing identifying personification in many of the slides, individuals compose their own poem that uses this technique. They...
Curated OER
Metaphor Meanings
Help your young writers decipher the literal meanings of metaphors. After reading several metaphors, learners write the real meanings that the phrases are describing. Use this resource in a figurative language lesson, or when preparing...
Curated OER
Metaphors
Metaphors open doors to descriptive language for your poets. They read the poem "What is the Sun" and record all the metaphors they find. Then, scholars change one of them to a simile. After answering two more comprehension...
Curated OER
Similes
Similes are a great way to get your writers thinking about descriptive details. They read a brief explanation which covers clichés and the general wording of a simile. Then, learners try a few on their own. First, they complete nine...
Curated OER
Irony & Foreshadowing in "The Cask of Amontillado"
As your class reads "The Cask of Amontillado," have them search for examples of irony and foreshadowing. In one square, readers record textual evidence, and in an accompanying square, they comment on the quotations. One example is...
Curated OER
We All Need Speed Limits
Students consider fluency and speed of reading. In this speed limits lesson, students discuss the importance of speed when reading and how the rate affects comprehension and listening skills. Teacher models think aloud as a strategy.
Curated OER
Viewing Guide for The Ponder Heart
Students conduct research through library and Internet resources. They research in a multidisciplinary fashion, and make creative leaps in their analysis and interpretation of the novella.
Curated OER
Analyzing Poetry with TPCASTT
Middle schoolers read a poem and complete a TPCASTT chart. They make a prediction about the title (T) , paraphrase each line (P), identify poetic devices and nuances (C-connotation), explore mood and tone (A-attitude), point out shifts...
Curated OER
Tuck Everlasting Unit
Natalie Babbitt's award winning fantasy, Tuck Everlasting, is the anchor text in a unit plan that focuses on identifying similes, metaphors, imagery, and personification in the text and analyzing how these elements effect the...
Curated OER
Irony
What are the three types of irony? High schoolers engage in a lesson about the use of irony while reading O.Henry's short story "Gift of the Magi." They'll discuss rising action, climax, and resolution in the text before highlighting the...
Curated OER
Literary Response and Analysis
Examine a variety of literary responses to Abraham Lincoln's death and the impact of perception. Your class can work in writing groups to analyze either poetry, eulogy, or a newspaper article. They retell the events of Abraham Lincoln's...
Curated OER
Figures of Speech
Give your learners quick definitions of simile, metaphor, and analogy. As the first slide in this PowerPoint suggests, you can use the presentation as a warm-up and have scholars record the words and their meanings in a Literary Terms...
Penguin Books
The Discussion Guide to the Inaugural Poem: The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb," featured at the 2021 inauguration of President Joseph Biden, is the focus of a six-page guide. The guide includes before reading, during reading, and after reading...
Curated OER
"Music Be the Food of Love:" Found Poetry with Shakespeare and Hip-Hop
Lines from Shakespeare and from hip-hop artists provide learners with an opportunity to examine the literary devices these artists use to express their ideas about love. Groups use the provided lines to craft found poems, and then the...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide: The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter may be a classic, but keeping high schoolers engaged in the reading of Hawthorne's vocabulary, syntax, imagery, and historical references presents it own set of challenges. Here's a guide that offers readers...
Prestwick House
Introducing Symbols–The Beach
Looking for a way to introduce class members to the concept of symbolism and multiple levels of meaning? Readers examine two different passages about the beach and consider how the writers use concrete objects, and places to...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.3
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I Have a Dream," is one of the most famous in United States history, but why was it so effective? Ask your class to determine the answer to this question. While the resource includes a description of...
Reed Novel Studies
Lawn Boy: Novel Study
A mountain of grass becomes a mountain of cash in the case of a young entrepreneur in the novel Lawn Boy. Arnold, a main character, begins a lawn mowing business and meets a stockbroker client that helps me manage his money....
Reed Novel Studies
Out of My Mind: Novel Study
Have you ever felt trapped in your own body? That is likely how Melody in Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind feels. As scholars read to find out how Melody finally expresses herself, they complete sentences with new words, describe...
Reed Novel Studies
Tuck Everlasting: Novel Study
Would you want to live forever? That is a question that Winnie, in Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting, must answer. Scholars read to find out what Winnie chooses and reinforce their knowledge with vocabulary activities,...
Reed Novel Studies
The Twits: Novel Study
The dictionary defines twit as a foolish person. Mr. and Mrs. Twit, in The Twits, definitely live up to their name! The foolish couple dislikes everything and enjoys playing cruel jokes on each other. Scholars read about the Twits...
Reed Novel Studies
Fahrenheit 451: Novel Study
Fahrenheit 451 depicts firemen like never before ... rather than putting out fires, they start them! Scholars read to understand why firemen now burn books. As they read, they work through two vocabulary activities, answer 10...
K20 LEARN
Lord of the Flies Unit, Lesson 7: Good To Be Bad
The seventh lesson in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider whether or not an individual can overcome the worst thing they have ever done. Groups read different articles related to the question, share their expertise in a...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Much Ado About Nothing
Love, deception, witty bante—that's much ado about a lot! As learners navigate the resource, they view an interactive character map and read character biographies from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Pupils also...