English II

Resources on the web

Propaganda techniques in literature and online political ads

This lesson suggests using Aldous Huxley's Brave New World to introduce students to propaganda techniques used in literature and popular culture. This short unit would be appropriate to use with various novels and when discussing advertising campaigns... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Literary scrapbooks online: An electronic reader-response project

This lesson leads students to reflect on and respond to literature by creating an online scrapbook. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Is a sentence a poem?

In this lesson, students analyze syntax, imagery, and meaning in a chosen one-sentence poem to decide what makes it a poem. Then students write one-sentence poems describing a picture. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Holocaust and resistance

Students reflect on the Holocaust from the point of view of those who actively resisted Nazi persecution. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

"Hamlet" and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film

This lesson contains a set of five activities for students to explore the themes of honor, loyalty, and revenge in selected scenes from Hamlet. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Gods, heroes, and other celebrated Greeks

This lesson, one of a multi-part unit from ARTSEDGE, is designed to help students shape a frame of reference for examining specific areas of ancient Greek influence on Western thought and culture. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies)

Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Ghosts and sea monsters: Analyzing mythology

In this high school language arts lesson, students discuss the characteristics of myths. They then examine historical maps of North Carolina looking for images of sea monsters and write their own descriptions of the monsters and myths about them. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: UNC Libraries

Form and theme in the traditional Mexican Corrido

In this lesson, one of a multi-part unit from ARTSEDGE, students learn about the traditional Mexican musical form of corridos, which dates back to the 1800s and continues to be very popular. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10 English Language Arts, Music Education, and Social Studies)

Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

Focus on first lines: Increasing comprehension through prediction strategies

In this lesson, students examine opening sentences in literary works and make predictions about the content of the texts they will read later. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying": Crossing the River

Students consider the symbolism of the river crossing in As I Lay Dying and how Faulkner's use of multiple narrative perspectives relates to the author's thematic concerns. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying": Burying Addie's Voice

Students consider the role of Addie Bundren in Faulkner's As I Lay Dying, the effect she has on the other characters, and the impact created by Faulkner's use of multiple narrative perspectives on revelation of character and exploration of themes.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: National Endowment for the Humanities

Decoding “The Matrix”: Exploring dystopian characteristics through film

In this lesson, students are introduced to the definition and characteristics of a dystopian work by watching video clips from The Matrix and other dystopian films. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Critical reading: Two stories, two authors, same plot?

This lesson encourages students to read and respond critically to two different pieces of literature with the same title. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

A Biography Study: Using Role-Play to Explore Authors' Lives

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students select American authors to research. They create timelines and biopoems about their authors and then collaborate in teams to design and present a panel presentation where they role-play their authors. The final project... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Behind the masks: Exploring culture and self through art and poetry

This ReadWriteThink unit engages high school students in a study of the relationship between masks and cultures. Students research mask making from various cultures, draw sketches of the masks, and take notes that highlight the connections between the masks... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Visual Arts Education, Computer/Technology Skills, English Language Arts, and Information Skills)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Audio listening practices: Exploring personal experiences with audio texts

In this lesson designed to develop students’ involvement with media literacy, students keep a daily diary that records how and when they listen to radio, music (e.g., songs on MP3 players, podcasting), and other streaming media or archived broadcasts. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE

Analyzing symbolism, plot, and theme in Death and the Miser

In this lesson, students apply analytical skills to an exploration of the early Renaissance painting Death and the Miser by Hieronymous Bosch. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE