Standard 1: Reading Prose and Poetry

In this lesson, students will read and analyze two poems by John Donne: "Holy Sonnet X" and "Holy Sonnet VI." Text-dependent questions, an answer key, and teacher's help notes are included. Students will write a brief comparison/contrast essay to examine how Death is portrayed across both poems. A rubric for the essay is included, along with a writing organizer to help writers draft a basic essay.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will consider the literary elements Shakespeare uses to communicate King Henry's inability to sleep. Students will analyze how diction, tone, syntax, and imagery help to convey King Henry's state of mind, and will write a short response to outline their analysis, using text to support their answers.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is part two in a series of three exploring and analyzing Emily Dickinson's style. In part two, students will use the historical and literary research conducted in part one and they will read and analyze a variety of her letters written during the Romantic Period. Students will use their analysis of the letters as sources for the summative assessment, a letter to the editor written in response to one or several of Dickinson's letters or topics.

Type: Lesson Plan

This lesson is part one in a series of three lessons analyzing the language of Emily Dickinson, researching the Romantic Period, and comparing her works to her contemporaries. In part one of this lesson series, students will work in small groups to analyze the language of Emily Dickinson's poems, they will research the literary period of The Romantic Period, and they will create a re-envisioned poem using information gleaned from their small group discussions, research, and whole group discussions.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will analyze how Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson each used figurative language to develop a specific tone in relation to mortality. They will also consider how each poet reflected the time periods within which they wrote.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this four-part lesson series, students will delve into the topic of grief through analysis of poetic devices, form, and point of view in poems by Emily Dickinson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Students will connect theme to the poets’ viewpoints on the emotions, or the lack thereof, that one experiences during times of pain and loss. Students will read the poems multiple times to seek layers of meaning and write an in-depth analysis.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is the culminating lesson in a three-part series exploring and analyzing Emily Dickinson's style. In part one, students conducted historical and literary research on the Romantic Period, in part two, students used historical and literary research as they read and analyzed a variety of Dickinson’s letters written during the Romantic Period. In this lesson, students will investigate primary and secondary documents on movements that influenced Dickinson and will create a literary reference kit to share with the class - a collection of materials that are representative of the period.

Type: Lesson Plan