LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

English II

Goal 5: The learner will demonstrate understanding of selected world literature through interpretation and analysis.

Objective 5.01. Read and analyze selected works of world literature by:

  • using effective strategies for preparation, engagement, and reflection.
  • building on prior knowledge of the characteristics of literary genres, including fiction, non-fiction, drama, and poetry, and exploring how those characteristics apply to literature of world cultures.
  • analyzing literary devices such as allusion, symbolism, figurative language, flashback, dramatic irony, situational irony, and imagery and explaining their effect on the work of world literature.
  • analyzing the importance of tone and mood.
  • analyzing archetypal characters, themes, and settings in world literature.
  • making comparisons and connections between historical and contemporary issues.
  • understanding the importance of cultural and historical impact on literary texts.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

Using extended similes to elaborate and add style
Students will analyze a series of extended similes, develop criteria for strong and weak extended similes, and begin using extended similes as a tool for elaboration in their own writing.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
By Jennifer Smyth.
Teaching voice
This lesson helps students to develop an effective voice by selecting words that are clear, concrete, and exact. Exercises are based on model sentences from world literature selections.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
By Pamela Beal.
Tableaux tour of texts
Students express their empathy for characters and events from books read in small groups by creating tableaux (freeze-frames) of key scenes to present to the class.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
By Kim Bowen.
Story tellers and poets
Students will examine the style, purpose, and organization of folktales and poetry in order to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of both genres. With this knowledge, students will use the word choice and repetition of traditional folktales to transform them into modern poetry.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8–10 English Language Arts)
By Heather Bower and Michele Hicks.
Setting and Symbolism in A Doll's House
This lesson is designed as a follow-up to the reading and discussion of the play A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen. An understanding of the two literary terms setting and symbolism, and their impact on a work of literature, are essential to students' success in following the guidelines outlined in the North Carolina English Language Arts Standard Course of Study. This lesson has been modified for English Language Learners at the intermediate high proficiency level, but would also be adaptable for learners at the novice or advanced levels.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts and English Language Development)
By Guy Hill and Crystal Brown.
Replica of a period newspaper: World literature
Students will research a specific time in history in order to create the front page of a newspaper relevant to the selected time period.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
By Kim Dechant.
A matter of identity: Writing an extended metaphor poem
Students apply their knowledge of literary devices by reading and analyzing the poem “Identity” by Julio Noboa Polanco. Students then create their own poem incorporating the literary devices studied and analyzed in the above mentioned poem. This lesson includes modifications for a Novice Low Limited English student.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts and English Language Development)
By Susan Brooks and Carrie Mabry.
Marketing Song of Roland: The Movie
This enrichment and review lesson ties the French epic poem Song of Roland to workforce development marketing skills. It allows students to imagine themselves as entrepreneurs engaged in marketing schemes for Song of Roland: The Movie as they read the epic in English world literature class.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9 English Language Arts)
By Betty Eidenier.
Foreshadowing: Quote identification, discovery lesson, and essay prompt analysis
During the course of this lesson, students identify selected quotes from literary works studied in class. After a brief discussion of what all of the quotes have in common, students will determine that each quote foreshadows an important, upcoming plot development. The class will then examine an essay prompt on foreshadowing, vote on the literary work to be used in planning a response to the prompt, and, as a teacher-led, whole-class activity, come up with a thesis and main point outline for the essay.
Format: lesson plan (grade 10 English Language Arts)
By Martha Owens.
Escapes
This lesson will help students become more understanding of cultural differences. Students will analyze the theme of escape in two poems. They will recognize and record literary elements found in the poems and connect the poems to life in a meaningful way.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
By Mary Lou Faircloth.
Do you really believe in magic?
Students are introduced to the genre (or mode) of Magical Realism in World Literature by reading Gabriel Garcia-Marquez's short story, "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings." This lesson plan is modified for an English Language Learner (ELL) at the Intermediate Low (IL) proficiency level.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts and English Language Development)
By Ann Gerber and Tericia Summers.
Oedipus the King reader's theatre
Students will rewrite the Greek tragedy in a modern context in order to review and analyze the plot. This assignment is designed as a final project in a Greek Theatre unit. It is expected that the literature has already been read and analyzed as a class. I have found that this project is an innovative way to review for a unit test on the play and Greek Theatre.
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
Oedipus the King: Personal letter-writing assignment
Students will work in groups to evaluate the personality of various characters from Oedipus the King. Each student will write two personal letters in the role of one character from the play responding to the events of the play and the various relationships within it.
Format: lesson plan (grade 10 English Language Arts)
By Greg Townsend.

Resources on the web

Writing about writing: An extended metaphor assignment
In this writing assignment, students have the opportunity to reflect on their writing process, and the teacher learns more about their habits and techniques as writers. Students use Richard Wilbur’s poem “The Writer” as an inspiration as they... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Varying views of America
Students will study tone and perspective while reading and analyzing Walt Whitman's “I Hear America Singing,” Langston Hughes' “I, Too, Sing America,” and Maya Angelou's “On the Pulse of the Morning”. The teacher begins... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–11 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Using technology to analyze and illustrate symbolism in Night.
This lesson integrates technology with the exploration of symbolism in Night, by Elie Wiesel. A series of activities introduces students to modern narratives of hate crimes, genocide, and ethnic cleansing and prepares students... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts and Information Skills)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Unlocking the underlying symbolism and themes of a dramatic work
In this lesson, students choose a character from the play A Raisin in the Sun, to explore and write a character-idea poem about. Then, using an interactive drama map tool, students study a character and the literary element... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Teaching the epic through ghost stories
In this lesson, students examine the connection between ghost stories and epics. After students are engaged in brainstorming a list of the qualities that make ghost stories vivid, they attempt to write their own stories. Students use a series of questions... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Reader response in hypertext: Making personal connections to literature
This multi-genre lesson that focuses on setting, plot, and metaphor, uses novels that contain a strong sense of place, focus on closeness of characters, and are metaphorical in character. In this lesson students will demonstrate their... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink
Put that on the list: Independently writing a catalog poem
Students use a list structure to write powerful poetry, after reading Raymond Carver's poem “The Car”. Working individually, students compose catalog poems based on concrete objects that hold personal meaning for them. After students brainstorm... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)
Provided by: ReadWriteThink