Allegories are similar to metaphors: in both the author uses one subject to represent another, seemingly unrelated, subject. However, unlike metaphors, which are generally short and contained within a few lines, an allegory extends its representation over the course of an entire story, novel, or poem. This lesson plan will introduce students to the concept of allegory by using George Orwell’s widely read novella, Animal Farm, which is available on Project Gutenberg.

The purpose of this project is two-fold: first, to encourage students to make the reading of poetry a creative act; and, second, to help students appreciate particular literary devices in their functions as semaphores or interpretive signals. Those devices that are about the imagery of a poem (metaphor, simile, personification, description) can be thought of as magnifying glasses: we see most clearly that upon which the poet focuses our gaze. Similarly, those poetic devices that are about the sound of the poem (alliteration, consonance, enjambment, onomatopoeia, and repetition) can be thought of as volume buttons or amplifiers: we hear most clearly what the poet makes us listen to most attentively.

This lesson concentrates on Anne Frank as a writer. After a look at Anne Frank the adolescent, and a consideration of how the experiences of growing up shaped her composition of the Diary, students explore some of the writing techniques Anne invented for herself and practice those techniques with material drawn from their own lives.

This annotating bookmark pairs great with fictional texts to help students understand what they are reading.

This annotating bookmark pairs great with fictional texts to help students understand what they are reading.

Students will review the text content by viewing Drag and Drop slides in Nearpod. This activity focuses on feeling words that appeal to their senses. Students will view various text phrases and images to determine which feeling word is shown through text evidence. Students will drag the correct feeling word to the slide as they complete the task. The activity is completed with a Time to Climb quiz focused on appealing to senses. Kindergarten Wonders Unit 8 is used for this lesson. 

The Bedouins of ancient Arabia and Persia made poetry a conversational art form. Several poetic forms developed from the participatory nature of tribal poetry. Today in most Arabic cultures, you may still experience public storytelling and spontaneous poetry challenges in the streets. The art of turning a rhyme into sly verbal sparring is considered a mark of intelligence and a badge of honor. Students will learn about the origins and structure of Arabic Poetry.

Organized around the compelling question "How have Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders engaged civically and contributed to U.S. culture?" and grounded in inquiry-based teaching and learning, this lesson brings history, civics, and the arts together to learn about the experiences and perspectives of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) in U.S. history. Primary sources, literature, and works of art created by AAPI individuals and related organizations provide an historical as well as contemporary context for concepts and issues including civic participation, immigration, and culture.

Learn how to identify explicit evidence and understand implicit meaning in a text.You will be able to answer questions about informational text and refer explicitly to the text to support your answers.

 Students will participate in small groups to ask (generate) & answer questions about a text. Students can respond to a fiction or nonfiction text using the available resources. Students will listen and respond to peer answers to further explain or discuss the given “mat card”. Students will program their BeeBot to go to the location. 

I used the idea of the Virtual Word Wall from the Ready, Set, Coteach team. This blank template is just a Google Slide with a table.  You can customize the numbers of rows or column, as well as anything else when you make your own copy.  I like consistency for the user experience, in this case, first grade English Learners.  So the colors stay the same and the format is the same each week.While mine focus on supporting our new adoption of HMH Into Reading, a virtual word wall can work in any content area, at any age level.  It could also be in a World Language setting. 

Through studying Beatrix Potter's stories and illustrations from the early 1900s and learning about her childhood in Victorian England, students can compare/contrast these with their own world to understand why Potter wrote such simple stories and why she wrote about animals rather than people.

Noh, the oldest surviving Japanese dramatic form, combines elements of dance, drama, music, and poetry into a highly stylized, aesthetic retelling of a well-known story from Japanese literature, such as The Tale of Genji or The Tale of the Heike. This lesson provides an introduction to the elements of Noh plays and to the text of two plays, and provides opportunities for students to compare the conventions of the Noh play with other dramatic forms with which they may already be familiar, such as the ancient Greek dramas of Sophocles. By reading classic examples of Noh plays, such as Atsumori, students will learn to identify the structure, characters, style, and stories typical to this form of drama. Students will expand their grasp of these conventions by using them to write the introduction to a Noh play of their own.

A 10-15 lessons (based on time) where students compare / contrast text in literature circles and share jigsawed information using Prezis

Stacey’s original project was created for a 3rd grade lesson with students creating book summary graphics on Canva.com / This idea was remixed for 4th grade AIG and Library collaboration

In the AIG ELA classroom, students will read fiction books in their genre book study groups, as determined by the AIG coordinator. Throughout their reading, students will use Google Keep to manage notes and submit occasional check-in reflections using Google Classroom, with both the AIG coordinator and librarian available to read and respond to these reflection questions.

At the completion of their book, students will use their Google Keep notes and Classroom reflections to create a sharable artifact on a digital platform. Students will be given instruction for three separate digital tools that can be used for their summary: Canva for a graphic, Anchor for a podcast, and Flipgrid for a video.

In the digital artifact, students must include key details (no endings), character and setting descriptions, themes, as well as a “rating”. Students will create their artifact and present them in a digital gallery for other readers in the school to access from the library.

This lesson uses the book, Like a Hundred Drums, by Annette Griessman. The lesson can be used by music educators to practice dynamics and for exposure to classical music, and can be used by ELA or generalist teachers to enhance engagement and understanding of literature.

Combine literacy and music by creating a body percussion accompaniment to the book, Listen to the Rain by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault.  

Combine literacy and music with this fun, rhythmic book!The book is Tanka, Tanka, Skunk! by Steve Webb. The link to the book on Amazon can be found in Resources. Read the book, associate the rhythm of the words with the syllables, add simple movements, and see the literacy connections grow!

This session will bring new, integrated ideas and technology know-how to the K-5 teachers. Our goal for the session is to engage students, teachers, and parents, to share sample lessons, substantial amounts of free resources, and ways to integrate tech.

Link to presentation slides:

bit.ly/Literacy2Life

Reading Robert Browning's poem "My Last Duchess," students will explore the use of dramatic monologue as a poetic form, where the speaker often reveals far more than intended.