Standard 1: Reading Prose and Poetry

This is lesson #3 in the text unit series for Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. In this lesson, students will examine the character of Boo Radley and his acts of kindness through the gifts he leaves in a tree, focusing on chapter 7. Students will then write a journal entry, poem, or lyrics to a song from Boo's point of view.

This unit is part of a larger unit integrating ELA and Civics standards in order to support the understanding through the reading and study of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. This unit’s activities will allow students to connect to the text and explore the blend of historical and literary context as they relate to real-world civic issues, address the application of the Bill of Rights, as well as recognizing responsibilities of citizens at the local and state level. In this unit, students will develop critical thinking and communication skills by engaging in class discussions, written reflections, and collaborative activities.

This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson #4 in the text unit series for Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, which will ask students to identify prevalent themes of chapters 22-31, centered around racial inequity, prejudice, injustice, and empathy. Students will work in small discussion groups to analyze and interpret instances that exemplify their assigned theme within the chapter(s). Once completed, a whole class discussion will allow students to share their findings and interpretations, as well as the connections between the themes, the social issues, and core civic virtues addressed in the novel.

This lesson is part of a larger unit integrating ELA and Civics standards in order to support the understanding through the reading and study of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. This unit’s activities will allow students to connect to the text and explore the blend of historical and literary context as they relate to real-world civic issues, address the application of the Bill of Rights, as well as recognizing the responsibilities of citizens at the local and state level. In this unit, students will develop critical thinking and communication skills by engaging in class discussions, written reflections, and collaborative activities.

This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson #2 in the text unit series for To Kill a Mockingbird. After reading chapters 1-4, students will do a group read-aloud of the exchange between Scout and her new teacher on her first day of school in chapter 2 of the book. As they read, they will use their question handout to analyze the Freedom of Expression issue that is presented when the teacher finds out that Scout can already read. Students will begin to form opinions on how Scout was treated by her teacher.

This lesson is part of a larger unit integrating ELA and Civics standards in order to support the understanding through the reading and study of Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. This unit’s activities will allow students to connect to the text and explore the blend of historical and literary context as they relate to real-world civic issues, address the application of the Bill of Rights, as well as recognizing the responsibilities of citizens at the local and state level. In this unit, students will develop critical thinking and communication skills by engaging in class discussions, written reflections, and collaborative activities.

This resource uses a book that is on the Florida Department of Education's reading list. This book is not provided with this resource.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is the third in a series of three based on O. Henry's short story "The Gift of the Magi." The previous lessons provide instruction in using context clues to determine word meanings and in analyzing the significance of literary devices as they support the theme of Love and Sacrifice. In this final lesson, students will apply their knowledge of context clues from lesson one and their analysis of theme from lesson two as they consider the use of irony in the texts: "The Gift of the Magi" and "The Shivering Beggar," a poem by Robert Graves.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is lesson two in a three-part series on “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. In this lesson, students will analyze the development of the theme of love and sacrifice in O. Henry's classic short story, "The Gift of the Magi." Students will write an extended paragraph analyzing how point of view, setting, or plot contributes to the theme.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will study the prologue of The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury. They'll examine how the author reveals aspects of a character through the use of direct and indirect characterization. They'll also make inferences about a character based on the characterization and text evidence provided. Further, they'll analyze how characterization connects to the specific setting and events within the prologue. At the end of the lesson, students will create a detailed character sketch based on direct and indirect characterization as well as inferences made when reading the text.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze the symbols and imagery present in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "Rain in Summer" to determine its meaning. Formative assessment checks are included as student handouts with text-based questions and charts. Students will also write a short essay as a summative assessment in which they will develop a claim about the poem's meaning, providing text-based examples as support.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will read the short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs, answer text-dependent questions, and examine a theme of the story, "Be careful what you wish for." In the summative assessment students will write their own narrative that shares the same theme.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will read Thomas Bulfinch's Pygmalion to answer text-dependent questions, work with vocabulary from the text, and compare the characterization of the two renditions of the myth. Students will also read an abridged excerpt from Act II of George Bernard Shaw's award-winning play, Pygmalion. Students will compare and contrast key characters and their traits from both texts. As a culminating activity, students will create their own narrative version of the Pygmalion myth.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will read the myth "Apollo and Daphne" as told by Thomas Bulfinch and analyze lines in the story that propel the action, reveal details about a character, or provoke a decision. Students will work in groups to paraphrase text to create a short dramatization of an assigned section of the myth.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson plan explores symmetry in the structure and themes of "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight," delving into the antagonist's representation of the "duality of nature." In examining knightly virtues, students will measure Gawain's strength as the poem's hero. The lesson explains background information that every medieval thinker listening to a performance of the poem would know, in an effort to put the student into the mind-set of the medieval audience, providing a deeper appreciation and understanding of the work.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson (lesson two of a two-lesson unit), students will use Bishop's poem as a model to write their own Florida poem brimming with figurative language and vivid vocabulary. They will also select digital media to reflect the content of their original poems.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will read and analyze “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe and will analyze and discuss the poetic devices and figurative language used in the poem as it supports the topic of “The Death of a Beautiful Woman.” Students will write a short response to explain their analysis.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson students will use T.S. Eliot's poem, “Macavity," to analyze the power of word choice and figurative language devices in creating coherent and purposefully written descriptions. They will cite text evidence to show how specific lines of the poem impact and drive the description of the subject of the poem, who happens to be a cat. They will write their own narrative using figurative language to describe an animal.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will determine connotative meanings of words and phrases in Carl Sandburg's "Chicago" and analyze their impact on the imagery created.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will study the poem "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight" by Vachel Lindsay. Students will identify the examples of imagery within the poem and determine how the use of imagery contributes to the poem's meaning. Students will also practice making connections between the poem and its background information (President Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War) as well as its historical context (World War I). During the lesson, students will also practice determining the meaning of unfamiliar words in the poem.

Type: Lesson Plan

Discover the elements of the archetype in a magical quest with this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Analyze how the small town setting archetype enhances the plot and characterization in a text with this interactive tutorial.

This is part one in a two part series on the small town archetype.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore the famous speech “All the World’s a Stage” from Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. In this interactive tutorial, you’ll analyze how connotation and imagery develop a character's perspective. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how the sound devices of rhyme and repetition are used in the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and analyze how they contribute to the poem's meaning. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Identify rhyme, alliteration, and repetition in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and analyze how he used these sound devices to affect the poem in this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Analyze how O. Henry uses details to address the topics of value, sacrifice, and love in his famous short story, "The Gift of the Magi." In this interactive tutorial, you'll also determine two universal themes of the story.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore key story elements in more excerpts from the classic American short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry.

In Part Two of this two-part series, you'll analyze how important information about two main characters is revealed through the context of the story’s setting and events in the plot. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how character development, setting, and plot interact in "The Gift of the Magi."

Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part One. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Explore key story elements in the classic American short story “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry. Throughout this two-part tutorial, you'll analyze how important information about two main characters is revealed through the context of the story’s setting and events in the plot. By the end of this tutorial series, you should be able to explain how character development, setting, and plot interact in excerpts from this short story.

Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to view "How Story Elements Interact in 'The Gift of the Magi' -- Part Two."

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn to analyze the interaction among setting, character development, and plot using the classic short story "To Build a Fire." Examine how a story's setting frames the events of the entire story with this interactive tutorial.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn to identify aspects of setting and character as you analyze several excerpts from “The Yellow Wallpaper," a chilling short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. You'll also determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting better reveal her emotional and mental state.

This interactive tutorial is Part One in a two-part series. By the end of Part Two, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting. Click below to launch Part Two.

The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part Two 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Continue to examine several excerpts from the chilling short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, which explores the impact on its narrator of being confined to mostly one room. In Part Two of this tutorial series, you'll determine how the narrator’s descriptions of the story’s setting reveal its impact on her emotional and mental state. By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to explain how the narrator changes through her interaction with the setting.

Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch "The Power to Cure or Impair: The Importance of Setting in 'The Yellow Wallpaper' -- Part One." 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn more about how dialogue, a character’s thoughts, and key events can reveal aspects of a character as you read excerpts from the exciting science fiction novel Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. As you learn more about Ender, the main character, you’ll piece together information about the world in which he lives and his unique situation given the demands of his environment.

This interactive tutorial is Part Two of a two-part series. Make sure to complete Part One first! Click HERE to launch Part One.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how dialogue, a character’s thoughts, and key events can reveal aspects of a character as you read excerpts from the exciting science fiction novel Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. As you learn more about Ender, the main character, you’ll piece together information about the world in which he lives and his unique situation given the demands of his environment.

This interactive tutorial is Part One of a two-part series. Make sure to complete both parts! Click HERE to launch Part Two.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Analyze the interaction between characters and specific events to help reveal aspects of the infamous Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. In this interactive tutorial, you’ll examine how specific character interactions and plot events help provoke Scrooge to make a decision about the way he lives his life.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this two-part tutorial series, you’ll analyze the interaction among character development, setting, and plot in the short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. In Part One, you’ll read the first three excerpts from the story and analyze how the author reveals important information about a main character in the context of the setting and in the events of the plot. 

Make sure to complete both parts of this series! Click HERE to launch Part Two. 

Type: Original Student Tutorial

In this two-part tutorial series, you’ll analyze the interaction among character development, setting, and plot in the short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. In Part Two, you’ll read the rest of the story and analyze how the author reveals important information about a main character in the context of the setting and in the events of the plot. By the end of Part Two, you should be able to explain how the setting and events in the plot have transformed the character of Louise Mallard by the end of the story. 

Make sure to complete Part One before beginning Part Two. Click HERE to launch Part One.

Type: Original Student Tutorial

A great way to understand literature from epic poetry to literary series is to understand what makes a hero. In this very engaging animated video from TEDed, you will learn about the hero cycle, a common literary trope that can been found in many works like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and even The Odyssey!

Type: Tutorial

In this animated video from TEDed, you will learn about the power of metaphors in your reading and in your writing. The video explores questions like: "How do metaphors help us better understand the world?", as well as "What makes a good metaphor?"

Type: Tutorial