University of Southern California
Coming to America After the War
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...
Curated OER
Words Have Meaning
Learners interpret and analyze art for meaning and a Maya Angelou poem for meaning. For this art and literature analysis lesson, students analyze Alison Saar's "Lost and Found" and Maya Angelou's poem "Alone." Learners write creative...
Novelinks
The House of the Scorpion: Multigenre Research Paper
As the culminating project for a unit study of The House of the Scorpion, class members craft a multi-genre research paper to demonstrate not only their depth of knowledge of a topic of interest to them, but also their...
Curated OER
Other Voices - Latino and Chicano Literature and Identity in America
Twelfth graders analyze "Dedication" and "Child of the Americas" using a double-journal format. They compare responses and infer meaning from the connotations of select images in the poems write a paragraph describing the importance of...
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Digging Deep for Figurative Language (Hyperbole)
What are hyperboles? Examine the attributes of hyperboles with your high school classes. Pupils read selected poems and prose selections that feature hyperboles and discuss their functions in each work of literature. Specific poems and...
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A Call for Change
"Come gather round people, wherever you roam..." Bring the voice of Bob Dylan to your class with this lesson plan, which takes Dylan's song "The Times They Are A-Changing" and analyzes both the message and voice in the lyrics. Your class...
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Reading/English Language Arts/ Instructional Strategies
Students are given a line drawing that only that students sees. They are asked to describe the drawings to the reset of the class to see if they can draw it as the teacher describes it. Students work with a partner, and they are given a...
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A poem about India
Students read and discuss the poem Khwab before writing poems of their own. Students get the opportunity to explore impressionistic poetry about place.
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The Verbal Sketch
Students use perspective observation sketches to understand verbal description. In this subjective writing lesson, students practice writing subjective conversations using the cartoon worksheets.
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Imagery
Ninth graders explore poems, various poetic devices, and identify imagery used in poetry. In groups, they examine poetic devices, define them, paraphrase and summarize poetry. Students study poetry by Robert Frost as they explore...
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As the Kids Come and Go: Mapping a Classroom
Map the classroom with your kids to help them understand how maps work and how to read them. The lesson starts off with a story about animals living and moving around the globe, and then kids create maps of their classroom to show how...
Curated OER
In the Eye of the Tiger
Young scholars read about tigers in both fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose. They study tiger markings in photographs of living tigers to create a sculptural mask reflecting their knowledge of tiger markings. Afterward, they write...
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Haiku
Students work collaboratively to create a class Haiku and illustrate the poem individually in this elementary school lesson. The lesson includes five possible enrichment activities.
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Four Foot Feat
Learners examine cultural customs and practices in family histories. In this family history lesson, students read the poetry in 'All the Colors of the Race' to analyze the family history. Learners complete guided reading activities....
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Calling Names
Students explore how language shapes debate by researching the names and tags both advocates and opponents use when discussing a topical issue. For homework, they create name collages and write prose poems.
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Love To Langston
Learners complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Love To Langston. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions,...
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Lincoln's Legend and Legacy
Students evaluate Lincoln's impact on American History. In this Civil War lesson, students view a film clip of writings about Lincoln. Students take notes and compare how the writings define his legacy. Students write their own poem or...
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Headless Horseman, Heady Author
Twelfth graders explore figurative language as it appears in Washington Irving's original text, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, answer questions based on story, and write sequels to it by using the different types of figurative language...
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The History of the Holocaust From A Personal Perspective
Students research and identify how Holocaust events affected lives of real people who lived in Europe from 1933 through 1945 and after, and create original artwork, poetry, and essays that reflect understanding of Holocaust, and its...
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Coming to America
Students interview a person who has immigrated to America and, based on that interview, to write an article about the person.
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Unit Plan for Mark Twain and American Humor
Students create brochures about the humor of Mark Twain. In this literature-analysis lesson plan, students read "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" and other short stories by Twain. Students write analytical paragraphs and...
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The Way to Rainy Mountain
Students read and analyze the N. Scott Momaday novel, The Way to Rainy Mountain. They share photos of an older family relative, write about the relative, listen to an excerpt from the book, and conduct an Internet research on the Kiowa...
Curated OER
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Students read and analyze the novel "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou. They discuss the poetry and prose of the book, the importance of role models, complete a worksheet, and write a narrative using figurative language.
Curated OER
Literature is Alive and Everywhere
Students discuss things that are valuable and things that are beautiful. In this ode instructional activity, students look for something beautiful that inspires them and take a picture of it. Students write an ode to one of the...