A concept sort is a strategy used to introduce students to the vocabulary of a new topic or book. Teachers provide students with a list of terms or concepts from reading material. Students place words into different categories based on each word's meaning. Categories can be defined by the teacher or by the students. When used before reading, concept sorts provide an opportunity for a teacher to see what his or her students already know about the given content. When used after reading, teachers can assess their students' understanding of the concepts presented.

In this lesson, students engage in a choral reading of Shakespeare in an effort to better understand his works. By reading rearranged character lines - sometimes out of context - students see new sides to characters in Shakespeare plays they have already read.

Students learn to understand unfamiliar terms using context clues. Students will read an excerpt from the Gettysburg Adress in order to practice and improve this skill.

A series of worksheets with answer keys to help students of differing levels define unfamiliar vocabulary using context clues.

This quick activity assists learners with improving their understanding of unfamiliar words by using context clues. Students will also use their knowledge of parts of speech to assist them with deciphering meaning of highlighted terms.

In this lesson, teachers scaffold student reading of websites that highlight science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. Before choosing a text for close reading, the teacher models how to "read" the variety of texts and features of different websites, including images and interactives. Then the teacher models a close reading with students, setting a purpose and asking text-dependent questions to help students find evidence, use inferencing skills, and peer edit.

In this lesson students view examples of applealing blogs, learn the basic elements of blog creation, and then create a blog from the perspective of a fictional character. Students demonstrate their understanding of the text by including images, quotations, links, and commentary on their blogs. Students then help one another develop their blogs by acting as editiors during the creation stage and reviewing one another's blogs upon completion.

In this lesson, students use vocabulary words to create small posters that illustrate the terms.

Students will read and analyze sonnets to discover their traditonal forms. Students will chart the poems' characteristics, including the poetic features and their emtional responses to the poems. Then they review the details for similarities, deducing traditional sonnet forms that the poems have in common. After this introduction, students write original sonnets, using one of the poems they have analyzed as a model.

In this lesson students explore ekphrasis, writing inspired through art. Through discussion poems inspired by works of art, students examine ways in which poets can approach a piece of artwork. Students then research piece of art that inspires them and in turn, compose a booklet of poems about the pieces they have chosen.

This resource provides a lesson designed to help students understand the use of satire and the myriad technicques that authors may use to add it to their writing. Students use the film Shrek to examine the four techniques of exaggeration, incongruity, reversal and parody. Students prove their understanding by using satire to rewrite a fairly tale.

This resource includes a lesson plan designed to assist learners with the concepts of freedom, justice, discrimination and the American Dream. Students will examine the "I Have a Dream Speech" and select powerful words and themes from the text and arrange them into original diamante poems.

This mini lesson and activity assist learners with improving their ability to read and decipher unfamiliar terms by utilizing context clues.

This adaptable lesson plan shares the four-square method for teaching vocabulary. Teachers choose the vocabulary words from whatever their students might be reading at the time, and students create a box on their paper with four squares that are filled with different information related to those terms.

The Frayer Model is a strategy that uses a graphic organizer for vocabulary building. This technique requires students to (1) define the target vocabulary words or concepts, and (2) apply this information by generating examples and non-examples. This information is placed on a chart that is divided into four sections to provide a visual representation for students.

In 1845, the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, and Written by Himself was published. In it, Douglass criticizes directly often with withering irony those who defend slavery and those who prefer a romanticized version of it.

This activity engages students in an analysis of the 2008 speech by Barack Obama on race. Students will then create an annotated version of the speech that has them analyze and comment upon Obama's use of history, rhetoric, and language in his message. Students can also create a hypertext of this assignment in order to publish works in different media.

This lesson-plan focuses on students analyzing, critiquing, and examining the language and meanings of historical and cultural documents such as The Pledge of Allegiance and the First Amendment. Through this activity they will also examine the impact and meaning of language, as well as the relevance of the meaning behind the words of each document. All handouts are downloadable and printable from this site.

Students will read scientific text about top predators in Arctic marine ecosystems and how they may be affected by global climate change. Students will work individually or collaboratively to write a report based on the scientific text they have read and participate in a large-group discussion session based on their analysis.

In this lesson, students play a fun game with a foam ball to examine and master important vocabulary words from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.