Students analyze characterization by creating their own superheroes or super-villains,
complete with related gadgets and settings.
Fantastic Characters: Analyzing and Creating Superheroes and Villains
Grades
|
Facilitating Student-Led Seminar Discussions with The Piano Lesson
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard 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
|
An Exploration of The Crucible through Seventeenth-Century Portraits
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this lesson, students incorporate analyses of characters from The Crucible with examinations of original seventeenth-century portraits of Puritans to create a visual portrait of the character. The project culminates in a "Portrait Gallery Walk" where students present and defend their artwork.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Characters for Hire! Studying Character in Drama
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this alternative to the traditional book report, students respond to a play they have read by creating a resume for one of its characters.
Grades
|
An Introduction to Julius Caesar Using Multiple-Perspective Universal Theme Analysis
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
This resource is an introduction to William Shakespeare's tragic play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, through the study of universal themes using multiple-perspective investigations of betrayal scenarios.
Grades
|
Blending the Past with Today's Technology: Using Prezi to Prepare for Historical Fiction
6 - 10
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
To prepare for literature circles featuring historical novels, students research the decades of the 1930s to the 1990s and share their information using Prezi, a web application for creating multimedia presentations.
Grades
|
Book Report Alternative: Glog That Book!
5 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this alternative book report, students identify the elements of fiction in books they have read by creating glogs, interactive multimedia posters, and then share their glogs.
Grades
|
Boars and Baseball: Making Connections
4 - 7
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this lesson, students will make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections after reading In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson. After sharing and discussing connections, students choose and plan a project that makes a personal connection to the text.
Grades
|
Writing Acrostic Poems with Thematically Related Texts in the Content Areas
2 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students read thematically related texts, scaffolded from simple to complex, to help them gather necessary concept vocabulary and background knowledge in a content area. They then write acrostic poems to organize and present their learning in a creative way.
Grades
|
Power of Picture Books, The: Using Content Area Literature in Middle School
5 - 9
Professional Library
| Book
Featuring descriptions and activities for fifty exceptional titles, Mary Jo Fresch and Peggy Harkins offer a wealth of ideas for harnessing the power of picture books to improve reading and writing in the content areas.
Grades
|
Socratic Seminars
Grades
6 - 12
Strategy Guide
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
|
All's Well that Sells Well: A Creative Introduction to Shakespeare
9 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students compare attending a performance at The Globe Theater with attending a modern theater production or movie. They then create a commercial for an Elizabethan audience promoting a modern product.
Grades
|
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
|
Latino Poetry Blog: Blogging as a Forum for Open Discussion
8 - 12
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
In this lesson, students use blogs to hold discussions about the effect of the factors of culture, history, and environment on Latino poetry.
Grades
|
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
|
Promoting Cultural Values Through Alphabet Books
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Minilesson
C is for Culture in this lesson in which students research a culture different from their own and compile an alphabet book that showcases cultural symbols for each letter of the alphabet.
Grades
|
A Musical Prompt: Postcards From the Concert
3 - 5
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
Students won't miss a beat in this musical lesson that combines listening with personal response on a postcard.
Grades
|
ABC Bookmaking Builds Vocabulary in the Content Areas
6 - 8
Lesson Plan
| Standard Lesson
V is for vocabulary. A content area unit provides the theme for a specialized ABC book, as students select, research, define, and illustrate a word for each alphabet letter.