Wes Magee's poem "The Chimney Boy's Story" about chimney sweeps/climbing boys is used as an introduction to a lesson that asks groups to research child labor in Victorian Britain. 

After answering comprehension questions (good for a homework reading check), class members analyze "Comin' Thro the Rye," and using the included guidance questions, discuss Holden's misreading of Robert Burns' poem. The URL to text of...

Students examine how the epic poem, "Ramayana" teaches dharma, one of Hinduism's most important tenets. They read the abridged version of the "Ramayana," identify the main plot points, complete a chart, and write an essay on a moral...

Students create new words to convey their thoughts. They find, list and discuss the poetic devices used by the poet in creating his or her war poem and create their own war poems. They use sensory perception words and memory in...

Students use the Internet and video to discover how find evidence in poetry in order to discover the theme(s) of the poems. They are able to define poetic devices like simile, metaphor and repetition. Students identify themes in...

Be as romantic as a poetic. Appear as clever as Einstein. Wow others with your powers of observation by using similes to point out the similar aspects in two different things. This short video focuses on similes found in Shakespeare and...

Improve pronunciation and phonemic awareness in your first and second graders! With this plan, they distinguish between the sounds for short vowel e and long vowel e. They are introduced to the vowel patterns that comprise long vowel...

Analyze the poem "Casey at the Bat." Your team of analysts will read the poem and complete a variety of activities, including describing how Casey looks and acts, describing how he feels before and after he strikes out, and sharing...

High schoolers study the literature and literary techniques of the early Middle Ages, thus preparing students to read Beowulf with an appreciation for its artistry and beauty. High schoolers solve online riddles, write riddles and study...

Students review the Show Don't Tell method of writing haiku poetry. They practice distinguishing poetic language from academic language and create poems based on images, not explanations.

After learning the main ideas of the Decadent movement, young scholars work in small groups to read and translate poems by the French poet Charles Baudelaire using basic etymology skills. They then read the accurate English translations...

Students practice reading and writing using a short poem and information about kites. In this kite poem lesson plan, students read and write using a common poem. This lesson plan includes practice with reading, rhyming, handwriting,...

Twelfth graders define what a hero is and watch a video. In this hero lesson, 12th graders discuss the characteristics of a hero and list heroes and their attributes.  Students read the poem Beowulf and identify...

Students write poems and a narrative story.  In this writing lesson, students read stories and poems written by other students and read examples of haiku's and diamonte's.  Students write an acrostic poem and a diamonte...

Students examine how Robert Hayden and Theodore Roethke incorporate poetic devices to convey meaning in the poems, 'Those Winter Sundays,' and 'My Papa's Waltz.' They listen to audio clips, explore websites, and write an analysis of the...

Ninth graders compare the development of text in Book 5 of "The Odyssey" to Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Lotus Eaters." After discussing the comparison's of the two text within a group, they create an original piece of work or...

Kindergarteners spell patterns of the long vowel phoneme /ay/. After listenting to The Birthday Day, learners work together to construct a class book that utilizes words that end in /ay/. Since the /ay/ phoneme is used so much...

Learners recognize words by common spelling patterns. The teacher reads a poem to the class and look at rhymes for the word moon. They practice handwriting in conjunction with spelling, and they can even write their own -oo- poem! 

Your developing literary critics discuss 'perspective' and discuss how the same occurence can be interpreted by two different people in two different ways. They read Ryszard Kapuscinski's untitled poem, infer meaning of the poem, and...

As a follow-up activity to being introduced to the Dewey Decimal Classification System, 3rd graders listen to poems from Jackie Mims Hopkins' book The Shelf Elf Helps Out and sort book jackets by category and call number.

Start your poetry unit with this basic overview of Robert Frost's life and works. A PowerPoint presentation starts off the lesson, which ends in a short recall quiz about Robert Frost. The presentation would be sufficient for your lesson...

Eighth graders focus on the Shakespearian sonnet as a form and analyze the sonnet in terms of structure, the particular rhyme scheme of the quatrains and the rhyming couplet, the rhythm of iambic pentameter, as well as any figurative...

Young scholars read the epic, Beowulf and examine the nature of good and evil. They compile a list of questions about loyalty tests and take turns asking and answering them. they create Beowulf comic strips and research other epic tales.

Learners brainstorm independently first, then ask their best friend on the team, or seat partners, depending on the year & student mix, to add to their list of personal characteristics and/or to name three words they think of...