In this lesson, students analyze similarities and differences among depictions of slavery in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Frederick Douglass' Narrative, and nineteenth century photographs of slaves. Students formulate their analysis of the role of art and fiction, as they attempt to reliably reflect social ills, in a final essay.
Comparing Portrayals of Slavery in Nineteenth-Century Photography and Literature
Grades
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Analyzing the Stylistic Choices of Political Cartoonists
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students explore and analyze the techniques that political (or editorial) cartoonists use and draw conclusions about why the cartoonists choose those techniques to communicate their messages.
Grades
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Renaissance Humanism in Hamlet and The Birth of Venus
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
After reading Shakespeare's Hamlet, students identify, analyze, and explain how elements in Botticelli's painting Birth of Venus and examples from the play illustrate the philosophy of Renaissance Humanism.
Grades
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Graffiti Wall: Discussing and Responding to Literature Using Graphics
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Tap students' desires to doodle and draw by having them create a Graffiti Wall, using graphics to discuss a piece of literature that has been read by the whole class.
Grades
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Read Across America Day: Celebrate a Nation of Diverse Readers
K - 12
Calendar Activity
| Literacy-Related Event
Bring the celebration of reading and literacy into your classroom, library, school, and home all year long.
Grades
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Using the RAFT Writing Strategy
Grades
5 - 12
Strategy Guide
This strategy guide introduces the RAFT technique and offers practical ideas for using this technique to teach students to experiment with various perspectives in their writing.
Grades
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Using Word Walls to Develop and Maintain Academic Vocabulary
Grades
K - 12
Strategy Guide
In this guide, you will learn how to use Word Walls to support vocabulary development and retention.
Grades
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Designing Effective Poster Presentations
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students explore the genre of posters, review informational writing and visual design, and then design poster presentations to share in class or at a school-wide fair.
Grades
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Hoax or No Hoax? Strategies for Online Comprehension and Evaluation
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Are your students easily fooled? You'll find out in this lesson in which students carefully and critically examine hoax websites to determine their validity.
Grades
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Semicolons and Swift: Analyzing Punctuation and Meaning
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
This lesson will help punctuation make a mark on students as they read Jonathan Swift's work and analyze his use of punctuation.
Grades
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In the Style of Ernie Pyle: Reporting on World War II
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students will think this lesson should make the headlines when they finish researching Ernie Pyle's work in preparation for writing their own news articles.
Grades
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Pictures Tell the Story: Improving Comprehension With Persepolis
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students get the big picture of the Middle East when they read and analyze Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis.
Grades
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I've Got the Literacy Blues
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Unit
Students will be singing the blues in this lesson in which they identify themes from "The Gift of the Magi" and write and present blues poetry based on those themes.
Grades
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Exploring Disability Using Multimedia and the B-D-A Reading Strategy
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
History takes on new dimensions in this interactive multimedia lesson that emphasizes the B-D-A approach to research as students investigate the experiences of people with disabilities since the early 1800s.
Grades
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Discovering a Passion for Poetry With Langston Hughes
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Through a study of Langston Hughes' poetry, students connect his writing to his place in history.
Grades
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Magazine Redux: An Exercise in Critical Literacy
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Paper and pixels get compared in this lesson in which students compare both printed and online versions of a magazine.
Grades
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Playlist for Holden: Character Analysis With Music and Lyrics
7 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Minilesson
Students compile a playlist of 10 songs representing a literary character and explain their choices based on the book's dialogue, plot, conflict, and resolution.
Grades
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Comparing a Literary Work to Its Film Interpretation
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students will really get into the swing of things as they analyze the text and film versions of Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Pit and the Pendulum."
Grades
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Profile Publisher
6 - 12
Student Interactive
| Writing & Publishing Prose
Students use the Profile Publisher to draft online social networking profiles, yearbook profiles, and newspaper or magazine profiles for themselves, other real or fictional characters.