Students use the SPACECAT strategy to analyze reading. It is a mnemonic device for analyzing various components of a rhetorical situation. By breaking down these components, SPACECAT aids in a structured and thorough analysis of the piece. Read more »
This lesson engages students in exploring, assessing, and drawing conclusions about the validity of various media sources through exploration of the 2019 "Alienstock" phenomenon. Students will work independently and in groups to compare and analyze different media sources and evaluate the validity and... Read more »
Analyzing Information, Media, and Validity
In this lesson on Greek and Latin roots, guide students to explore word origins by discovering root words and applying them to their writing. Have students work in groups to recognize Latin and Greek roots using learning strategies. Lead them through a reading and annotation activity to identify English... Read more »
Greek and Latin Roots
This lesson, based on W.W. Jacob's short story "The Monkey's Paw," is designed to help students understand foreshadowing. Students identify passages in the text that foreshadow the end of the story and predict how they think the story will end. After reading the full story, students compare their predictions... Read more »
Foreshadowing
Julia Child helped us Master the Art of French Cooking. In this lesson, you will help your students master the art of apostrophes! Your students will start by analyzing the incorrect apostrophes in comics and everyday signage before moving on to a card matching activity that enables them to explore... Read more »
Apostrophes
This introductory philosophy lesson begins by introducing students to existentialism through artwork. Once they have a basic understanding of philosophical inquiry, which explores the issue of human existence, students will delve further into the key themes: Philosophy as a Way of Life, Anxiety and... Read more »
Existentialism
This companion lesson to "Screaming into the Void" explores the idea of nihilism and what it can teach us about the search for meaning and purpose in our lives, how we can reconcile existential questions with our own values and beliefs, and how one finds meaning, purpose, and value in a world seemingly... Read more »
A dash of this and a dash of that works in cooking, but does it work in writing? In this lesson, students will explore the use of em and en dashes. Through reading the short story “Cooking Time,” students will get to explore the use of dashes. Students will also have the opportunity to write a response... Read more »
The Weirdest Sentence I'd Ever Heard
Chaucer's Wife of Bath Tale
In this lesson on The Wife of Bath’s tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, students will examine different perspectives of characters from the story. They will do a deeper dive on “What Women Want?” and the history of women’s movements. Read more »
Chaucer's Wife of Bath Tale
During this lesson, students will analyze the techniques used in classical literature compared to comic book writing to determine how they contribute to the meaning of unknown vocabulary words. Students will use excerpts from the original text, Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney, and the corresponding... Read more »
Vocabulary in Beowulf