Images have power—they can trigger memories or symbolize abstract ideas. Students put the power of images to the test as they analyze symbolism in Night and create symbolic photomontages.

Students learn how to walk a mile in someone else's shoes by reading historical fiction about the Underground Railroad.

Movie music and magic set the scene for this lesson in which students analyze a scene from Good Morning, Vietnam and then create a scene of their own.

Students will find their inner poet laureate in this lesson that involves writing a poem in the style of Robert Frost.

What's that sound? Students participate in a Directed Listening–Thinking Activity (DLTA) using "The Tell-Tale Heart," make predictions, and respond in the form of an acrostic poem or comic strip.

Students' groans about studying poetry may disappear with this lesson in which students read poetry from various writers and use these poems to examine the sounds and sense of language.

Students use a Discussion Web to engage in meaningful discussion of the question, "Are people equal?"

What does the world look like through someone else's eyes? Guide students in using colorful paper glasses to examine a story of school desegregation from multiple perspectives.

Writing gets personal when students interview family members in order to write a personal narrative about that person.

Students learn about organic gardening by developing their own research questions, conducting research, gardening at their school, creating signs about their plants, and presenting their research to the class.

Literature takes on a life of its own as students take a hands-on approach to exploring A Raisin in the Sun for cultural and historical context.

Vocabulary gumshoes use context clues and semantics to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words.

Students become online authors in this lesson in which they write and post a short story using wiki technology.

Students read a text to identify important words, discuss them with peers, summarize the text, and read related texts to identify how those words are used in other contexts.

In this lesson, students learn to ask the right questions about the validity of surveys.

Students circle their desks as they analyze their own participation within a small group discussion.

Students put their heads together in a poetry circle to learn and practice different forms of poetry.

This assignment will go viral with students as they think about the meanings of words and images in public service announcements from YouTube before creating a PSA of their own.

Make the most of your students' diverse ability levels and experience with a prewriting activity in which they describe an abstract idea using blogging and photographs that they have taken.