William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a novel that engages middle school students in thought-provoking discussion, and provides practice in literary analysis skills. The three lessons in this unit all stress textual evidence to support observations and generalizations uncovering the novel’s central character traits, symbols and themes.
Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, is a CCSS exemplar for grades 11 – CCR taught at the upper high school level and in AP English. This three lesson unit looks at a variety of schisms and divisions in the novel. It provides a close reading of the novel by considering Dostoevsky’s view of human nature, through his characters; the theoretical division Man v Superman; the societal setting in the novel.
Not only is Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol a classic for the holidays, but it serves as an important novella in British literary history. This series of lesson plans allows students to explore unfamiliar words, new themes, and the ghostly experiences of Mr. Scrooge.
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is considered the first great Latin American poet and one of the most important Hispanic literary figures. She wrote following the complex style of the Spanish Golden Age masters, and in this lesson students will be able to explore her poetry and contribution to literature
Long perceived as a recluse who wrote purely in isolation, Emily Dickinson in reality maintained many dynamic correspondences throughout her lifetime and specifically sought out dialogues on her poetry. These correspondences—both professional and private—reveal a poet keenly aware of the interdependent relationship between poet and reader.
As the students learn the history of the alphabet they will be introduced to three important ancient civilizations, and to the idea of cultural inheritance. The concept of chronological order will be reinforced through an emphasis on the fact that each group of people passed on the alphabet. In addition to learning history, the children will practice language arts and art skills.
Published in 1929, The Sound and the Fury is often referred to as William Faulkner's first work of genius. Faulkner's style is characterized by frequent time shifts, narrator shifts, unconventional punctuation and sentence structure, as well as a stream-of-consciousness technique that reveals the inner thoughts of characters to the reader. This curriculum unit will examine narrative structure and time, narrative voice/point of view, and symbolism throughout The Sound and the Fury.
In this three-part curriculum unit, students examine structure and characterization in several short stories and consider the significance of humor through a study of several American writers.
