http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12.aspxenhttp://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/25585.aspxSun, 15 Nov 2009 18:21:30 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:25585TrentThey know about George and Lennie. They know about Curly and his wife. Do they understand, however, the social significance of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Start teaching Of Mice and Men at a higher level by teaching it as an allegory. Teaching Of Mice and Men Under Pressure It was my first year teaching and Mrs. Harshreview sat in the back of ...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/25587.aspxSun, 15 Nov 2009 18:20:58 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:25587TrentI'm certain that 18th century mouse of whom writes Robert Burns had no idea his home would be destroyed. I'm even more certain he had no idea he would inspire one of the greatest novels in American Literature. After teaching students about allegory, imagery, characterization, and plot in Of Mice and Men , I felt good. I bragged to my superv...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/25495.aspxSun, 15 Nov 2009 18:16:08 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:25495TrentJudging by popular teen movies, intricate plots are not that necessary. Reading great literature, however, necessitates an understanding of plot, chronology, and cause and effect relationships. Class was going well. I was using one of my lesson plans for teaching plot. Bobby Goldman raised his hand and asked, "Why do we have to learn this crap...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/23492.aspxThu, 12 Nov 2009 21:52:01 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:23492TrentThere's one in every class. That kid who argues every chance he gets for that extra point. It's time to give everyone a reason to argue by making ambiguous test questions. John walked in, handed me the green highlighter, and left. The green highlighter was a secret message from Coach Morgan. The principal was on his way down for my yearly o...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/25586.aspxThu, 12 Nov 2009 21:50:30 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:25586TrentTeaching Imagery while reading Of Mice and Men will help readers understand the novel better. Where to Find Of Mice and Men Lesson Plans I taught the elements of literature to my high school English students. I just knew they were all going to get A's on the quiz. Everybody got D's and F's. In despair, I welded a desk to my Oldsmobile and rammed it...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/24132.aspxWed, 28 Oct 2009 20:39:57 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:24132TrentI read "The Interlopers" every year. Every year I'm enriched. Every year, some kid says, "I don't get it. That was stupid!" Every year I'm called into the principal's office for swearing at a student. This year will be different because I've got a great lesson plan for teaching theme. I taught the elements of...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/24133.aspxWed, 28 Oct 2009 20:38:31 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:24133TrentI love identifying sound devices used in poetry. My students didn't until I used this lesson plan. Teaching Sound Devices Used in Poetry It was my first year teaching and Mrs. Boxbreaker sat in the back of the room writing my teacher evaluation. Things were going well until Tammy Shrieker in the second row asked a question. "Mr. Mistake,&q...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/24134.aspxWed, 28 Oct 2009 20:37:23 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:24134TrentWho knew teaching sonnets could be this great? Teaching Sonnets Under Pressure It was my first year teaching and Mr. Sternman sat in the back of the room writing my teacher evaluation. Things were going well until Frankie Ruinlife in the fourth row asked a question. "Mr. Deadmeat," he said, "This is a great sonnet lesson plan and...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/23955.aspxWed, 28 Oct 2009 20:19:56 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:23955TrentRay Bradbury is my favorite author. You should like him too. This lesson plan on teaching setting allows me to enjoy my favorite author while teaching students to analyze setting. Teaching Setting Under Pressure It was my first year teaching and Mr. Brogologadu sat in the back of the room writing my teacher evaluation. Things were going well until ...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/23983.aspxWed, 28 Oct 2009 20:16:39 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:23983TrentRay Bradbury is good at using sensory details. I'm not. This lesson plan compensates for my deficiencies in using sensory details by teaching students to recognize them when reading "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury. Bob turned in this descriptive essay last year: The tree was cool and the rain was wet. I saw an awesome dog. It barked lo...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/23206.aspxMon, 26 Oct 2009 21:23:53 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:23206TrentTeaching short stories with poetry engages students and saves you from reading the same shallow essay 223 times. I felt good about my short story lesson plans. They involved answering questions, small discussion groups, plot diagrans, and characterization charts. I showed them to my principal. He took out a match and burned them. I made new short s...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/23490.aspxMon, 26 Oct 2009 21:23:17 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:23490TrentIf you have students take notes on setting, theme, and characterization, they won't remember any of it. If you have them write a poem, they'll remember some of it. Use poetry to teach literature and you'll have smarter students. I felt good about my lesson plans for teaching setting. I felt good about my characterization lesson plan. Af...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/23203.aspxMon, 26 Oct 2009 21:21:12 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:23203TrentWhat do you get when you combine teaching poetry and teaching literature? One giant mess, unless you use this lesson plan. We had just finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel and I couldn't wait to discuss it with my students. I assigned a paragraph to write, collected it, and began sharing with the class. After reading five shallow paragraphs sh...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/22732.aspxMon, 26 Oct 2009 21:20:13 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:22732TrentI love irony. I once stayed awake all night thinking about how ironic things were. I finally concluded that everything was ironic, which in itself was ironic because not everything is ironic. Irony & Shakespeare I had prepared all week for teaching Shakespeare and teaching irony . I stayed up late the night before putting the finishing touches ...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/22754.aspxThu, 22 Oct 2009 08:15:06 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:22754TrentA Romeo and Juliet character analysis shows that many Romeo and Juliet characters had a role to play in the young lovers' death, but who is most at fault? You decide. Getting Real: Lessons in Romeo and Juliet's Life I received this letter from a former student: Dear Teacher: You may not remember me. I was in your English class years...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/22730.aspxMon, 19 Oct 2009 17:36:43 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:22730TrentStudents think the monster's name is Frankenstein. They think that an "allusion" is the same as an "illusion." As you are teaching Frankenstein, teach allusions too. Important Definitions Before teaching allusions, make sure students understand what an allusion is and what its strengths and weaknesses are. allusion - a figure of...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/22756.aspxMon, 19 Oct 2009 17:35:46 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:22756TrentIf you know someone who doesn't like Edgar Allan Poe, make fun of him&#59; then, check out this lesson plan about teaching suspense using "The Black Cat". My dad liked teaching suspense. When I was 4-years-old, he'd turn off the lights, hide behind the couch, and scare me as I walked by. One day, I was carrying an axe up the cellar stai...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/32478.aspxSun, 04 Oct 2009 20:45:17 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:32478TrentWriting about literature can be fun (kind of) with this creative writing assignment. Use this analyzing point of view in literature activity to help students understand perspective. Getting a Different Point of View about Literature I was excited about teaching my favorite novel. I was the only one. "So class what do you think?" &...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/46881.aspxWed, 26 Aug 2009 01:28:30 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:46881Lynx350These “Number the Stars” questions, based on the historical fiction novel by Lois Lowry, are designed to help your students think on several levels about the book. They include literal, inferential, and evaluative study questions. Literal Questions To make sure that students actually understood the story, it is important to ask literal ...http://www.brighthub.com/education/k-12/articles/40207.aspxFri, 26 Jun 2009 19:37:58 GMTb133e95a-c263-4882-8f2a-b24547eff78e:40207AnneV'Ten Mile River' is a novel with strong themes of friendship and resiliance. These themes can be well explored in English Literature and Novel Study classes. Friendship and resiliance help Ray and Jose through homelessness, poverty, theft and juvenile detention as they cope with street life. Themes in Ten Mile River From a teaching perspect...