LAFS.910.W.3.7Archived Standard

The hero's journey is an archetypal plot structure found in novels and epic poems, yet it can also be found in popular poetry and music. After students have read the novella Anthem, the poem "Invictus," and the song "Run Boy Run," they will craft an argument proving that the appearance of the hero's journey in shorter texts is just as developed and apparent as its appearance in longer texts by synthesizing and citing directly from three different sources. They will find and organize evidence, draft their arguments, and perform a peer review as they complete the writing process. This lesson is lesson two in a two-part series.

Type: Lesson Plan

Dramatizing life stories provides students with an engaging way to become more critical readers and researchers. In this lesson, students select American authors to research, create timelines, and write bio-poems. Then, they collaborate with other students in small groups to design and perform a 'panel of authors' presentation in which they role-play as their authors. The final project requires each student to synthesize information about his or her author in an essay. There are tons of additional links and resources included in this lesson plan!

Type: Lesson Plan

Protest songs serve as a means to combat social ills and cover a wide array of topics, including racism, sexism, poverty, imperialism, environmental degradation, war, and homophobia. This lesson makes a connection to popular culture by asking students to work in pairs to research and analyze contemporary and historic protest songs. After learning about wikis, each pair posts their analysis of the protest songs to a class wiki, adding graphics, photos, and hyperlinks as desired. The class then works together to organize the entries. Finally, students listen to all of the protest songs and add information and comments to each other's pages.

This lesson works well with a unit focusing on a piece of literature in which a character(s) actively fights for social, political, or economic justice. For example, this lesson can build on a discussion of the issues that Atticus Finch contends with in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this introduction to Homer's The Odyssey, students will work with peers and technology to determine if the main character of Wreck it Ralph is an epic hero. Through this multimedia study, students will evaluate the characteristics of an epic hero through a webquest, film, and final paper. In the end, students will be prepared to apply this knowledge to Homer's epic poem.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will research different genocides in history through internet based investigation. Through the selection of appropriate and fully developed facts and applicable multimedia images, they will synthesize and organize their information into a Padlet "Web Wall" that will showcase their research in digital form. The lesson will wrap up with students previewing the work of their peers, and will culminate in a Socratic Seminar discussion on genocide. This lesson can be used as a follow up to the completion of students reading Night by Elie Wiesel.

Type: Lesson Plan

The text of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is not only challenging, but presents students with opportunities to explore a wide variety of timeless themes. As students typically struggle with the language of Shakespeare, it is important that we pause from time to time and allow students to process the new knowledge. The story boards are a great way to assess students' understanding of the plot, characters, and setting before the final test.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will conduct research, go through the steps of the research paper process, and write a paper on the history of Miami. The teacher will provide support on how students should document their citations, will model summarizing material and using notecards to record their research, as well help students determine if a website provides credible information. Students will explore primary and secondary sources, will practice summarizing information they have read from their source materials and record that information on notecards. As the summative assessment, students will take their research and draft an informative paper using the material they have gathered. Students will receive peer and teacher feedback before turning in the final draft of their paper with a works cited page.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will briefly examine the history and myths that led to the creation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein by reading and discussing the article, "Frankenstein, Meet Your Forefathers" (link provided within the lesson). Students will then choose a text to research the backstory for how that written work came to be. A list of detailed research questions is provided, as well as optional book titles for students to research. Students will present their findings through creating a poster that illustrates the interesting points from their research. A number of engaging extension ideas, interdisiciplinary connections, and questions for further discussion are provided.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will work in small groups to analyze the multiple perspectives represented in Emily Dickinson's writing. They will generate research and investigate primary and secondary documents on movements that influenced Dickinson. Through this research they will create a reference kit - a collection of materials that are representative of the period. They will then analyze similar poetry from other like-minded writers before moving on to Emily Dickinson, using the movements they researched as "lenses" through which to view the poems. The culminating activity includes a thorough analysis of Dickinson's poem "I Dwell in Possibility" and a resulting essay.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will use meta-cognitive skills, read multiple texts, conduct online research, brainstorm ideas, and analyze and synthesize information. Students will also practice the arts of note-taking, writing concise and informative summaries, and collaborating with peers. In addition, students will be encouraged to use their curiosity to dig for information related to Africa"s Anti-Apartheid (A.A.A.) movement and the hero who saved them.

Type: Lesson Plan

How do places and experiences affect writers' lives and works? Is where a writer comes from relevant to reading their work? In this lesson, students consider the power of place in their own lives, research the life of a writer, and develop travel brochures and annotated maps representing the significance of geography in a writer's life.

Type: Teaching Idea

This is a resource looking at life on the Mississippi River during the time period of Mark Twain. Students will learn to evaluate the reliability of primary sources while scaffolding their knowledge of the time period.

Type: Teaching Idea

Type: Unit/Lesson Sequence