Authentic Lessons for 21st Century Learning
In this lesson, students explore the essential question, "How do mood and tone contribute to the reader's experience of a piece of literature?" through reading and analyzing the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. Read more »
Created by: Jane Baber
Date Updated: June 21st, 2023
Mood and Tone
This lesson, used in conjunction with Ray Bradbury's short story "A Sound of Thunder," guides students to determine their own definitions for cause, effect, and foreshadowing, find examples of these concepts in the text, and create a brochure based on the story's fictional Time Travel, Inc. This lesson... Read more »
Created by: Chelsee Wilson
Date Updated: August 10th, 2023
Analyzing Short Stories
Students will evaluate what motivates people, especially as it relates to the main characters in “The Gift of the Magi.” As they read and listen to the story, students will identify thoughts and feelings that relate to the motivations and actions of the main characters. Students will also look for and... Read more »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: June 21st, 2023
Motivation in Characters
Students will read and analyze the short story "The Interlopers." They will determine multiple themes throughout the story, compare character motivation, and evaluate the effects of setting on the story. Using a similar format, students will research a popular “feud” in contemporary culture or history... Read more »
Created by: Polly Base
Date Updated: September 10th, 2024
Conflict, Motivation, and Setting
Day and night, yin and yang, love and despair, Biggie and Tupac—all opposite yet equal counterparts to one another. In this lesson, students explore the reaction to the American Transcendental movement, dark romanticism. They Jigsaw informational texts of this subgenre and come to a consensus on what... Read more »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: May 31st, 2023
Dark Romantic Author Nathaniel Hawthorne
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 »
Created by: Margaret Salesky
Date Updated: April 25th, 2024
The Weirdest Sentence I'd Ever Heard
This lesson on comma usage focuses on equipping students with a solid understanding of comma rules and their practical application in writing. Through interactive activities and examples, students will learn how to use commas to separate items in a list, set off introductory elements, join independent... Read more »
Created by: Polly Base
Date Updated: October 2nd, 2024
Comma Usage
In this lesson, students will read “They’re Made Out of Meat” by Terry Bisson and analyze its dialogue structure. They will focus on the significance of punctuation marks such as quotation marks, commas, and ellipses in conveying tone and meaning within a conversation. Through guided analysis and group... Read more »
Created by: DeLayna Basham
Date Updated: September 25th, 2024
