Analyzing the Purpose and Meaning of Political Cartoons

It is important for students to know how to evaluate messages conveyed by the news media. Exploration of the artistic techniques used in political cartoons leads to critical questioning.

Recording Readers Theatre: Developing Comprehension and Fluency With Audio Texts

Students investigate audio texts of mystery stories, evaluate them in terms of both literary and audio qualities, and create Readers Theatre scripts, which they use to record their own podcasts.

Discovering Poetic Form and Structure Using Concrete Poems

This lesson uses concrete poems to explore the connection between a poem's layout and its meaning. While appropriate any time of year, the lesson is especially topical near Columbus Day.

Many Years Later: Responding to Gwendolyn Brooks' "We Real Cool"

Students analyze the Gwendolyn Brooks' poem "We Real Cool" and then write about how the character's pool hall days might influence who the character becomes fifty years in the future.