Name | Description |
A Need for Sleep: A Close Reading of a Soliloquy from King Henry IV, Part II | In this lesson, students will consider the literary elements Shakespeare uses to communicate King Henry's inability to sleep. As they close read this passage multiple times, students will discover how diction, tone, syntax, and imagery help to convey King Henry's state of mind. Once they have grappled with the text in small groups and on their own, they will bring their discoveries and interpretations together in a final essay. A text marking handout and key, independent practice questions and key, a planning sheet, and a writing rubric have been included with the lesson. |
Advice to Youth - A Satire by Mark Twain | This close reading lesson focuses on Mark Twain's comical satire, "Advice to Youth." Students will close read the text three times to analyze Twain's powerful satirical style, as well as the power of nuances. For the first reading, students will focus on academic vocabulary. In the second reading, students will answer text-dependent questions as a guide for their comprehension of the satire. In the third close reading, students will analyze the advice Twain gives, the ways in which his essay critiques society and its behaviors, and how he uses humor, irony, and exaggeration to reveal his advice. For the summative assessment, students will write an argumentative essay in which they make a claim regarding whether or not Twain's advice is still pertinent for the youth of today. Graphic organizers and worksheets, along with teacher keys, and a writing rubric have been provided. |
Shakespearean Soliloquy Fluency: A Close Reading and Analysis of "To be or not to be" | In this lesson, students will perform multiple close readings of the well-known "To be or not to be" soliloquy from William Shakespeare's Tragedy of Hamlet. The lesson is appropriate for 11th or 12th grade students who have some familiarity with reading Shakespeare but would benefit from fluency practice with the difficult text, as well as vocabulary building and argumentative writing about literature. The closure and extension activities provide suggestions for taking this study further using other Hamlet (or other Shakespearean) soliloquies. |
The Modernist Struggle: Allusions, Images, and Emotions in T. S. Eliot’s Prufrock | Students will research modernism, analyze allusions and images in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," diagnose the character's mental weakness using evidence from the poem, and write him an email about how to improve his state of mind from the perspective of a hypothetical online mental health professional. |
"Lonesome for a Change": Close Reading an excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God | In this lesson, students close read chunks of this challenging excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God, which was included on the 1987 AP English Literature exam. As they read and mark the text, students will uncover Zora Neale Hurston's layers of meaning within beautiful figurative language and symbolism, all of which communicate Janie's realizations and maturity following Joe Starks's death. The close reading and provided questions lead students to develop interpretations of Janie's character as she reflects on her past and realizes she likes "being lonesome for a change." |
Symmetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight | This lesson plan explores symmetry in the structure and themes of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," delving into the antagonist's representation of the "duality of nature." In examining knightly virtues, students will measure Gawain's strength as the poem's hero. The lesson explains background information that every medieval thinker listening to a performance of the poem would know, in an effort to put the student into the mind-set of the medieval audience, providing a deeper appreciation and understanding of the work. |
"The American Puritan Tradition: Part III" | This lesson is part three of a three-part unit that will explore and analyze how different authors convey American Puritanism. In this lesson, students plan to write and then complete an essay to explore how two different authors and texts portray American Puritanism, Jonathan Edwards in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Arthur Miller in “The Crucible.” |
The American Puritan Tradition: Part 1 | This lesson is part one of three in a unit that will explore and analyze how American Puritanism has been represented in different texts. The goal of this lesson is for students to analyze the central idea and how the authors' style (figurative language, persuasive techniques) contributes to establishing and achieving the purpose in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." |
Poetry Analysis and Time Periods | Students will analyze how Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson each used figurative language to develop a specific tone in relation to mortality. They will also consider how each poet reflected the time periods within which they wrote. |
Close Reading Exemplar: Living Like Weasels | The goal of this four-day exemplar is to give students the opportunity to use the reading and writing habits they've been practicing on a regular basis to discover the rich language and life lesson embedded in Dillard's text. By reading and rereading the passage closely and focusing their reading through a series of questions and discussion about the text, students will be equipped to unpack Dillard's essay. When combined with writing about the passage, students will learn to appreciate how Dillard's writing contains a deeper message and derive satisfaction from the struggle to master complex text. |
Close Reading Poetry Analysis Lesson 1: Figurative Language Creates Tone | Students will identify and analyze how Emily Dickinson uses figurative language to create tone. Students will complete text marking and annotations to show their analysis and will write a response that explains their analysis. |
Close Reading Poetry Analysis Lesson 2: Figurative Language and Theme | Students will identify and analyze how two authors use figurative language to support the themes of each of their poems. Students will complete text marking and annotations to show their analysis of each, and will write a response that explains their analysis of each. |
Dealing with Grief: A Comparison of Tone and Theme | In this four-part lesson series, students will delve into the topic of grief through analysis of poetic devices, form, and point of view in poems by Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Students will connect theme to the poets’ viewpoints on the emotions, or the lack thereof, that one experiences during times of pain and loss. Students will read the poems multiple times to seek layers of meaning and write an in-depth analysis. |
Name | Description |
Symbolism & Allegory in "The Devil and Tom Walker" (Part Two) | Learn all about symbolism and allegory in this interactive tutorial. We'll use the classic short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving to explore the use of symbolism and allegory as types of figurative language. We'll break down the events of the story and analyze how the use of symbolism contributes to the powerful allegory in this haunting tale. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series. Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch Part One. |
Symbolism & Allegory in "The Devil and Tom Walker" (Part One) | Learn all about symbolism and allegory in this interactive tutorial. We'll use the classic short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving to explore the use of symbolism and allegory as types of figurative language. We'll break down the events of the story and analyze how the use of symbolism contributes to the powerful allegory in this haunting tale. In Part One, we'll cover some important background information and read the opening excerpts of the text. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two. |
Language Liaisons: A Relationship Between Words | Explore word relationships by identifying and interpreting various figures of speech in context. In this interactive tutorial, you'll analyze the use of several kinds of figures of speech, including hyperbole and paradox. You'll also analyze the nuances in the meaning of words with similar definitions. |
Wild Words: Analyzing the Extended Metaphor in "The Stolen Child" | Learn to identify and analyze extended metaphors using W.B. Yeats' poem, "The Stolen Child." In this interactive tutorial, we'll examine how Yeats uses figurative language to express the extended metaphor throughout this poem. We'll focus on his use of these seven types of imagery: visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic, and organic. Finally, we'll analyze how the poem's extended metaphor conveys a deeper meaning within the text. |
Name | Description |
Langston Hughes' Drafts of "Ballad of Booker T.": Exploring the Creative Process | This teaching idea involves analysis of original drafts and edits that Langston Hughes made to the poem "Ballad of Booker T." The Library of Congress site provides a primary source analysis tool, teacher guides, and supplemental resources about Booker T. Washington. |
Name | Description |
Analyzing a Famous Speech | After gaining skill through analyzing a historic and contemporary speech as a class, students will select a famous speech from a list compiled from several resources and write an essay that identifies and explains the rhetorical strategies that the author deliberately chose while crafting the text to make an effective argument. Their analysis will consider questions such as: What makes the speech an argument?, How did the author's rhetoric evoke a response from the audience?, and Why are the words still venerated today? |
Name | Description |
Symbolism & Allegory in "The Devil and Tom Walker" (Part Two): | Learn all about symbolism and allegory in this interactive tutorial. We'll use the classic short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving to explore the use of symbolism and allegory as types of figurative language. We'll break down the events of the story and analyze how the use of symbolism contributes to the powerful allegory in this haunting tale. This tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series. Make sure to complete Part One first. Click HERE to launch Part One. |
Symbolism & Allegory in "The Devil and Tom Walker" (Part One): | Learn all about symbolism and allegory in this interactive tutorial. We'll use the classic short story "The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving to explore the use of symbolism and allegory as types of figurative language. We'll break down the events of the story and analyze how the use of symbolism contributes to the powerful allegory in this haunting tale. In Part One, we'll cover some important background information and read the opening excerpts of the text. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two. |
Language Liaisons: A Relationship Between Words: | Explore word relationships by identifying and interpreting various figures of speech in context. In this interactive tutorial, you'll analyze the use of several kinds of figures of speech, including hyperbole and paradox. You'll also analyze the nuances in the meaning of words with similar definitions. |
Wild Words: Analyzing the Extended Metaphor in "The Stolen Child": | Learn to identify and analyze extended metaphors using W.B. Yeats' poem, "The Stolen Child." In this interactive tutorial, we'll examine how Yeats uses figurative language to express the extended metaphor throughout this poem. We'll focus on his use of these seven types of imagery: visual, auditory, gustatory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic, and organic. Finally, we'll analyze how the poem's extended metaphor conveys a deeper meaning within the text. |