Standard 1: Reading Prose and Poetry

This lesson is #2 in an ELA/Civics Integrated Text Unit designed to support students with the integration of civics into the ELA classroom through the reading and study of Homer’s The Odyssey. After reading excerpts from Part 1 of The Odyssey, students will complete a research activity and include information in their writing plan for a comparative analysis of democracy in Ancient Greece and republicanism in the United States.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson 1 in a series of integrated civics lessons for the text The Odyssey by Homer. After reading and discussing Book One of The Odyssey, students will analyze how Odysseus fits the description of an epic hero by creating a trading card. Additionally, students will research one of the Founders of the United States to create a trading card as they determine and analyze how he fits the description of an epic hero.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is #3 in an ELA/Civics Integrated Text Unit designed to support students with the integration of civics into the ELA classroom through the reading and study of Homer’s The Odyssey. This lesson should take place after students have read excerpts from Part 2 of The Odyssey. Students will use knowledge from lessons one and two as well as information from Article II of the United States Constitution to identify and explain the different presidential responsibilities such as receiving foreign heads of state. They will then create a “White House Press Briefing” outlining the U.S. President’s events of the day which includes a visit from a foreign head of state- Odysseus-who has come to the United States to learn more about how the United States borrowed from Greece when creating a constitutional republic.

Type: Lesson Plan

After discussing the universal theme of “the struggle for equality,” in an epic, students will compare the theme to American government and The Declaration of Independence. This lesson is to be used before, during, or after reading and studying at least one Epic such as “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” “The Odyssey,” “Antigone,” “Beowulf,” “The Iliad,” and/or “The Aeneid,” and is one part of a complete text unit. In this lesson, students will complete a chart with examples and textual support from an epic to outline examples of the theme of “the struggle for equality” as well as examples and textual support from The Declaration of Independence.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan designed for the debate classroom, students will read and critically analyze various American foundational texts, identify a common theme, and create a thesis statement that encompasses the identified theme. Students will work individually and collaboratively to find commonalities among the various pieces of literature.

Type: Lesson Plan

"Pyramus and Thisbe" is a tragic love story in which two lovers are separated by forces seemingly beyond their control. This lesson guides students through an analysis of the story elements and how they function together to create a theme. A plot diagram helps students to analyze this classic story after the teacher models analysis using the familiar children’s story, Cinderella. Students will write a response analyzing how the plot elements and symbols develop the story's themes.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson focuses on an excerpt from Markus Zusak's novel The Book Thief. Students will read an excerpt to discover Zusak's powerful writing style, as well as the power of words through the eyes of Liesel, the novel's protagonist. Students will demonstrate their analysis through answering a short response question.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will analyze protagonist, antagonist, conflict, resolution, and hubris in three classic myths: "Odysseus and Polyphemus," "Athena and Arachne," and "Echo and Narcissus." They will write an essay explaining the message of each myth using examples from the myths and discuss the impact of the recurring theme of hubris on the ancient Greek audience.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this second lesson out of a three-lesson unit, students will continue analyzing the characteristics of an Epic Hero as they read books 1-10 of The Odyssey. Students will analyze characteristics by looking at the ways in which characters are developed through the decisions they make and/or fail to make.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will explore books 13-23 of The Odyssey through text coding and analysis of both character development and theme. For the summative assessment, students will write a short response analyzing characterization and universal themes of Courage and Perseverance in the text and drawing conclusions, supported by textual evidence, about the nature of the Epic Hero.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson provides students with an opportunity to read, analyze and interpret William Shakespeare's "The Seven Ages of Man." Students are then asked to compare and contrast the different ages of man identified in the monologue and those that they developed as a class prior to reading the text.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is designed to prepare students for reading I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. Students will learn a notetaking strategy, strategies for determining character development, tracking key events happening during a chapter, and determining the central idea of a chapter.

Type: Lesson Plan

Upon reading “The Masque of the Red Death,” students will analyze the universal theme of humans trying to escape death and will create a one-page visual summary of their analysis in this lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson teaches students to identify and analyze conflict, suspense, and sequence within a text using the short story "The Sniper" by Liam O' Flaherty. Students will engage in class discussion and will complete short responses to questions to analyze conflict and suspense.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will create story boards to show their analysis of plot, characters, and setting in Act One of Romeo and Juliet. Students will then use the information analyzed with the the reading of Act One and the story board creations to answer a short response question.

Type: Lesson Plan

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce to students the various types of irony. When examining an excerpt from "The Cask of Amontillado", students will be expected to identify and analyze how and why an author would choose to incorporate irony into their writing.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will be provided with an opportunity to learn about an easy-to-follow process for writing effective short response questions, using support from the text. While this lesson teaches the process using an excerpt from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, it could also be adapted to fit with any short excerpt from a literary text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson (part one of a three-part unit), students will analyze the characteristics of a Greek hero and explain how these characteristics are developed in the myth of "Perseus." Students will closely read the text, and ask, and answer text-dependent questions as they read the story. These skills will then culminate in later lessons (parts two and three) with a product in the form of an essay or written speech about "Perseus."

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read the O. Henry short story "Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen." and analyze the two main characters and their interactions throughout the story. Students will also analyze the author's word choice, including his use of figurative language, and its impact on the tone of the story.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will read the short story, "Harrison Bergeron," and analyze the universal themes as they relate to dystopian literature in this lesson.

Type: Lesson Plan

Examine the use of symbolism within the short story "The Most Dangerous Game" and explain how it contributes to the story’s meaning. In this interactive tutorial, you’ll also learn about the specific motif that occurs throughout the story and see how it adds another layer of meaning to the text.

This is Part Three of a three-part tutorial series. Be sure to complete Parts One and Two before starting this one.

Click HERE to launch Part One.

Click HERE to launch Part Two.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Analyze how the author uses various narrative techniques, includuing the manipulation of time, to build suspense in the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game" with this interactive tutorial.

This is part two in a three-part series. Be sure to complete all three parts! 

Click HERE to launch Part One.

Click HERE to launch Part Three.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how authors create tension and suspense to keep readers on the edge of their seats in the classic short story "The Most Dangerous Game." In this interactive tutorial series, you'll analyze how authors create tension and suspense by using four narrative techniques: exposition, foreshadowing, pacing, and the manipulation of time. In Part One, we'll just cover exposition, foreshadowing, and pacing. 

This is part one in a three-part series. Make sure to complete all three parts!

Click HERE to launch Part Two.

Click HERE to launch Part Three.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how authors create mood in a story through this interactive tutorial. You'll read a science fiction short story by author Ray Bradbury and analyze how he uses images, sound, dialogue, setting, and characters' actions to create different moods. This tutorial is Part One in a two-part series. In Part Two, you'll use Bradbury's story to help you create a Found Poem that conveys multiple moods.

When you've completed Part One, click HERE to launch Part Two.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Dive deeper into the famous short story “The Bet” by Anton Chekhov and explore the impact of a fifteen-year bet made between a lawyer and a banker.

In Part Three, you’ll learn about universal themes and explain how a specific universal theme is developed throughout “The Bet.”

Make sure to complete the first two parts in the series before beginning Part three. Click HERE to view Part One. Click HERE to view Part Two.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Are your students having trouble understanding Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron"? Use this resource from EDSITEment! to select videos that describe Vonnegut's America, dig into the character of Harrison Bergeron, and examine the satire in the story. Discussion questions are included for extended analysis.

Type: Teaching Idea