1 The Tell-Tale Hearts of Writers: Exploring the Lives of Authors Through Their Literature Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grade 7 Professional Commentary: In this promising practice lesson, students use a piece of literature by and an article about Edgar Allan Poe to investigate the relationship between word choice and the reader's mood and interpretation of a piece of writing. Each student then creates a visual display that examines a favorite writer through biographical information, analysis of quotations about... 2 Discovering Poetic Form and Structure Using Concrete Poems Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–12 Professional Commentary: Concrete poems, poems that relate the placement of the words on the page to the meaning of the poem, provide an enjoyable literary experience that focuses students' attention on how a poet does more than simply put words together but can place them meaningfully on the page by paying attention to the subtle (or not so... 3 Writing a Flashback and Flash-Forward Story Using Movies and Texts as Models Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 6–8 Professional Commentary: Flashbacks and flash-forwards devices commonly used in literature and films. This lesson uses the film, The Sandlot, to introduce to examples of these devices.... 4 Unlocking Soliloquies and Unleashing the "Dogs of War" Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: To help students feel confident about breaking down and interpreting soliloquies, this lesson uses Mark Anthony's soliloquy over Caesar's dead body. Active participation and movement is required as students join in a sequence of oral reading experiences to examine the soliloquy's pattern of lines, meter, and emotional impact.... 5 Language Arts: Shakespeare's Sonnets Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: One of the difficulties teachers face when they teach Shakespeare is language accessibility. Twenty-first century students often have difficulty understanding the words, and so they miss the meaning of his plays and sonnets.... 6 Discovering Traditional Sonnet Forms Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: In this lesson, students read and analyze sonnets to discover their traditional forms. In groups students chart the characteristics of the poems then review the details for similarities, deducing traditional sonnet forms that the poems have in common.... 7 Recognizing Similes: Fast as a Whip Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: Similes are used often in literature, appearing in every genre from poetry to prose and from epics to essays. Utilized by writers to bring their literary imagery to life, similes are an important component of reading closely and appreciating literature.... 8 Introducing Metaphors Through Poetry Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: Metaphors are used often in literature, appearing in every genre from poetry to prose and from essays to epics. Utilized by poets and novelists to bring their literary imagery to life, metaphors are an important component of reading closely and appreciating literature.... Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–10 Professional Commentary: This thematic unit explores war and conflict by examining stories, poems, songs, and films around this theme. Developed as part of a project funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, this instructional unit allows students to analyze a variety of texts and to create original pieces of writing.... 10 Listening to Poetry : Sounds of the Sonnet Resource Type: Lessons Discipline: Reading Grades: Grades 9–12 Professional Commentary: This lesson combines the teaching of formal terms used to describe sonnets with appreciating the sounds of poetry. Focusing on the sounds of poetry, this resource provides a series of sound exercises to illustrate the underlying form or structure in poetic language.... |