Scott Filkins

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Brave New Words: Novice Lexicography and the Oxford English Dictionary

Students become novice lexicographers as they explore recent new entries to the dictionary, learn the process of writing entries for the Oxford English Dictionary, and write a new entry themselves.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan

Choose, Select, Opt, or Settle: Exploring Word Choice in Poetry

Students investigate the effects of word choice in Robert Frost’s “Choose Something Like a Star” to construct a more sophisticated understanding of speaker, subject, and tone.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Demonstrating Understanding of Richard Wright's Rite of Passage

Students use the elements of persuasion for a specific audience to demonstrate their understanding of Richard Wright’s accessible and engaging coming-of-age novel, Rite of Passage.

 

Grades   11 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Examining the Legacy of the American Civil Rights Era

As part of their study of Richard Wright’s Black Boy, students research and reflect on the current black-white racial divide in America. By examining the work of literature in the context of contemporary events, students will deepen their understanding of the work and of what it means to be an American today.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Exploring Setting: Constructing Character, Point of View, Atmosphere, and Theme

Students read texts by Dybek, Dickens, Poe, and Morrison to explore how authors use language to create setting and, in turn, how setting constructs other elements in a literary work.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Facilitating Student-Led Seminar Discussions with The Piano Lesson

August Wilson's play The Piano Lesson invites students to ask a number of questions—big
and small. Students learn how to create effective discussion questions and then put them to use in student-led discussions.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Unit

Having My Say: A Multigenre Autobiography Project

Students compose a multigenre paper, modeled after the Delany sister's autobiography, Having Our Say, that includes the autobiographical narrative essay as well as an informational nonfiction piece.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

If a Body Texts a Body: Texting in The Catcher in the Rye

Students imagine the possibilities afforded by text messaging technology in The Catcher in the Rye; They compare and contrast major forms of communication, select points in the novel to represent with text messages, and share and discuss their creative work.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Investigating Genre: The Case of the Classic Detective Story

After critiquing a list of conventions for the genre, students read, view, or listen to a classic
mystery, and then produce a mystery of their own, reflecting on the purposeful ways in which
they adhered to or altered the genre conventions.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Preparing for the Journey: An Introduction to the Hero Myth

Students read a variety of picture books that contain elements of the hero’s journey and use an online interactive tool to analyze the stories.

 

Grades   8 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Responding to Tragedy: Then and Now

After reading several poets’ personal responses to the September 11th terrorist attacks, students write a "then and now" poem that puts their early memories of the event in conversation with their current understanding of and response to the tragedy.

 

Grades   7 – 10  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

The Blog of Anne Frank?: Taking on Social Roles through Online Writing

Anne Frank shared her experiences through a private diary that became public as a book. In this lesson, students will consider how writing creates social identities as they blog about a political issue.

 

Grades   9 – 12  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

There Are No Small Parts: Minor Characters in David Copperfield

This lesson capitalizes on students’ interest in social networking by asking students to build an online profile for a minor character in Charles Dickens' David Copperfield.

 

Grades   6 – 8  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Young Adult Literature about the Middle East: A Cultural Response Perspective

Adapted from Sheryl L. Finkle and Tamara J. Lilly’s Middle Ground: Exploring Selected Literature from and about the Middle East, this variation on traditional literature circles exposes students to a variety of young adult fiction from and about the Middle East. Students read and share research and responses in collaborative groups. At the end of the lesson, they write a letter to welcome an immigrant student to their school and community.

 

Grades   6 – 12  |  Strategy Guide

Preparing Students for Success with Reading in the Content Areas

In this strategy guide, you’ll learn how to determine the level and type of support you need to provide students based on careful preparation as a content area expert.

 

Grades   8 – 12  |  Strategy Guide

Promoting Student-Directed Inquiry with the I-Search Paper

The sense of curiosity behind research writing gets lost in some school-based assignments. This Strategy Guide provides the foundation for cultivating interest and authority through I-Search writing, including publishing online.

 

Grades   6 – 12  |  Strategy Guide

Reading with Purpose in the Content Areas

In this strategy guide, you’ll learn how to organize students and instruction to establish a sense of purpose for reading authentic texts in the content areas.

 

Grades   6 – 12  |  Strategy Guide

Socratic Seminars

This strategy guide explains Socratic seminars and offers practical methods for applying the approach in your classroom to help students investigate multiple perspectives in a text.

 

Grades   6 – 12  |  Strategy Guide

Supporting Student Comprehension in Content Area Reading

In this strategy guide, you’ll learn a few simple, yet powerful, techniques to encourage students to use peer talk and writing to enhance their understanding of content area texts.

 

Grades   3 – 8  |  Strategy Guide

Using the Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Technique

In this strategy guide, you will learn how to organize students and texts to allow for learning that meets the diverse needs of students but keeps student groups flexible.

 

Grades   6 – 8  |  Activity & Project

A Trip to the Museum: From Picture to Story

Visit a museum or art gallery (either online or in person) with children and teens, helping them find inspiration for a story based on a piece of art that they particularly enjoy or relate to.

 

Grades   6 – 8  |  Activity & Project

Finding Poetry in Pleasure Reading

After reading a book or magazine, children and teens can choose a section and transform it into what’s known as a “found poem.”