This book provides about 130 short, easily-prepared activities to supplement the longer teaching procedures that make up the main body of an English course. Suitable for elementary to advanced levels, the activities presented in the book can serve as a quick warm-up for the students, an idea for a brief vocabulary review, a light filler to provide…

A high school English teacher used her weekly Impromptu Poetry session to find out what 11th graders thought veterans had accomplished. The teacher developed a writing prompt that asked the students to describe a family member who had served in the military and to show what they understood about that person. Students who did not have a family…

Not only inspiring teachers to help students become environmentally literate, this book also provides the tools to make it happen in the literature classroom. Beginning with readings and exercises about perception, it explores a wealth of nature writing activities, the history of people's relationship with nature from mythological times to the…

Observing that basal readers and standardized testing lead teachers to focus on facts when dealing with novels or poetry in class, this monograph discusses research on response to literature. The monograph also presents classroom activities designed to allow students to explore the forms, the language, and the imagery of fiction, poetry, and…

Based on characters in the Arthurian legend, this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that many writers have told the tale of King Arthur and the people around him, including Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin, and Mordred. The main activity of the lesson involves students writing a dramatic monologue supposedly composed…

Based on Arthur Miller' play "The Crucible," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that in 17th-century New England, people were persecuted for allegedly practicing witchcraft; students of this period have looked into the allegations and offer alternatives to witchcraft to explain the people's behavior; and…

Discussing a teacher's effort to improve the research techniques of her secondary students, this paper outlines the implementation of controlled research projects. It suggests using many small projects to develop researching techniques, rather than one large "end-of-the-semester" project. The paper gives 8 different topic options for these "micro…

This lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Keiko, the killer whale, lived for a long time in an aquarium and had to be taught to live independently; and that computer users can get updates on how Keiko is doing. The main activity of the lesson involves middle school students working in small groups to produce a…

Based on John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand the universal nature of Steinbeck's characters' struggles and some of the complex forces affecting their lives; and the value of primary source material in presenting an authentic picture of a given period in history.…

Based on Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the novel is grounded in facts that Melville acquired in his own experiences at sea; New England was the center of a prospering whaling industry in the 19th century; and journal keeping was not uncommon among 19th-century…

Based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that the ending of a novel does not resolve all of the questions that may occur to readers; and that readers may imagine characters living out their lives beyond the ending the author gave to a novel. The main…

Reflecting on the partnership that exists between teachers and students, this resource guide provides a glimpse into the experiences of educators who reflect on their own teaching and learning about writing. The resource guide is part of the "Student Expressions" series, whose aim is to provide a forum for celebrating the writing of…

Based on Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that critics have debated some of Conrad's choices in the novel; and that the novel reflects the world as Conrad saw it. The main activity of the lesson involves students rewriting the ending of the novel so that Marlow…

Based on Machiavelli's book "The Prince," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that Machiavelli's enumeration of leadership qualities for a prince has always been controversial; and that leaders and followers may differ in what they identify as the qualities of a good leader. The main activity of the lesson…

Based on Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice," this lesson plan presents activities designed to help students understand that classics are those pieces of literature that continue to be popular long after they were written; classics tend to have universal themes; and Austen's writing has been updated and dramatized and, most likely, will…