Curated OER
Beowulf: Songs of Ancient Heroes
Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...
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
Understanding Character
Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...
Curated OER
It's All Poetry to Me!
Fourth graders explore language arts by analyzing poetry styles. In this writing analysis lesson, 4th graders read several sample poems in class and identify similes, metaphors and other figurative language within them. Students analyze...
Curated OER
Found Poetry with Primary Sources: The Great Depression
Pupils read a sample found poem and create one together as a class. In this Great Depression lesson, students select a topic, such as miners, and read primary source documents related to the topic. Pupils select one narrative as the...
Smithsonian Institution
Strength in Solidarity: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and the Campaign for Fair Food
Not all food is created equal. The lesson dives into the world of migrant farm workers to show their struggles to earn livable wages and better working conditions. Academics learn why the Coalition of Immokalee Workers was created and...
Curated OER
Using the Sounds of Words Reading Task
Young readers demonstrate phonemic awareness in words and blends, and recognize 100 high-frequency words. Use a nursery rhyme to point out rhyming words, and change the words by putting a new letter at the beginning. Each learner will...
Carolina K-12
Introduction to the Holocaust
Young historians gain a well-rounded insight into the tragedy of the Holocaust by exploring pre-war Jewish life, reading and discussing survivor testimonies, and illustrating their understanding by using their own words and those of a...
Curated OER
Where in the World?
Sixth graders research online various types of poetry. In this poetry analysis activity, 6th graders research different types of poetry online, their characteristics, and poets. Students create a class atlas that incorporates the seven...
Curated OER
Editing Emily's Way: An Exercise in Diction and Its Implications
Learners examine the poetry of Emily Dickinson and the diction in her poetry. In this poetry analysis lesson, students read Dickinson poetry and analyze the diction in the poems. Learners journal about the poetry and rewrite their own...
Curated OER
Biopoem: Bud, Not Buddy
Young poets focus on one character from a story they are reading, collect details, and use a biopoem template to analyze this character. The activity can be used with any text.
Lafayette Parrish School System
Teaching Tone and Mood
Tone and Mood are not synonymous! Introduce young readers to these literary devices with a series of exercises that not only point out the significant differences between the terms but also shows them how to identify both the tone and...
Curated OER
Dulce et Decorum est by Wilfred Owen
It is entirely fitting and proper that Wilfred Owen’s powerful “Dulce et Decorum Est” is the poem used for an exercise in close reading, discussion, analysis, and argumentative writing. Class members discuss focus questions in pairs,...
EngageNY
Inferring about Character: Close Reading of the Poem “Inside Out” and Introducing QuickWrites
Grab a partner! Scholars partner up to take a second look at the verse novel Inside Out & Back Again. They discuss questions about and connections to the novel and then learn how to complete a Quick Write task properly. To finish,...
Curated OER
The Color of My Words
Explore the story The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph using this resource. Learners answer comprehension questions, fill in graphic organizers, and write a poem.
Curated OER
Performing Sonnets
Students use Shakespearean sonnets as part of a poetry analysis lesson. In this sonnet lesson, students perform a sonnet by Shakespeare but treat it as a script to be acted out. Students work in pairs to create motions for two lines from...
Curated OER
D-day Message from General Eisenhower to General Marshall
Students analyze a "top secret" document written by Eisenhower. They identify and chart cliches for those about to go into battle and read related poetry. They invite a veteran to describe the D-Day invasion.
Curated OER
"Colors" a poem by Shel Silverstein
Learners collect data, graph it, and use the data to find measures of central tendencies, and find probabilities.
Curated OER
Geography and Culture of China
Take out a map, a paper, a ruler, and those coveted colored pencils for a lesson on Chinese culture and geography. This is a multifaceted approach to basic geography skills that incorporate story telling, class discussion, primary source...
Curated OER
Ornithology and Real World Science
Double click that mouse because you just found an amazing lesson! This cross-curricular Ornithology lesson incorporates literature, writing, reading informational text, data collection, scientific inquiry, Internet research, art, and...
Curated OER
Investigating the Harlem Renaissance
The work of Langston Hughes opens the door to research into the origin and legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and how the literature of the period can be viewed as a commentary on race relations in America. In addition, groups are assigned...
Curated OER
Grand Canyon Suite
Take a trip to the Grand Canyon! Lesson one explores how Ferde Grofe painted a musical landscape of America when he wrote the Grand Canyon Suite. Learners then examine art that shows the Grand Canyon in lesson two. Finally, lesson three...
Curated OER
Poetry: What's on Your Plate?
Students analyze "The Road Not Taken" and discuss examples of "roads traveled" by their own age group. In this poetry lesson, students read and discuss the meaning of the poem. Students choose another poem and review it for their...
Curated OER
Wordsworth's Poetry
Students read Wordsworth sonnet, "The World is Too Much With Us," and complete reader response criticsm worksheets. They examine the poet's ideas and techniques then write a letter to Mr. Wordsworth and explain how he might feel about...