LEARN NC

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

Goal 2

The learner will inform an audience by exploring general principles at work in life and literature.

Objective 2.01

Locate, process, and comprehend texts that explain principles, issues, and concepts at work in the world in order to:
- relate complex issues from a variety of critical stances.
- discern significant differences and similarities among texts that propose different ideas related to similar concepts.

Resources aligned to this objective

The hero connection: From Beowulf to Batman
After reading Beowulf,students will identify Beowulf's heroic traits, generalize from these traits a list of typical traits for heroes, and then use these traits to compare Beowulf with contemporary heroes. As a culminating activity, students will define their concept of hero and then create a booklet of personal heroes from various areas.
Format: lesson plan (grade 12 English Language Arts)
By Hilda Caldwell.

Resources on the web

Weaving the multigenre web
In this lesson, students read novels, analyze the literary elements, and create a multigenre project to present information to their peers. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: IRA/NCTE
Paying attention to technology: Exploring a fictional technology
This lesson asks students to complete a short survey to establish their beliefs about technology and then compare their opinions to the ideas in a novel that depicts technology (such as 1984, Brave New... (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9 and 11–12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: IRA/NCTE
Monsters
In this lesson, from ARTSEDGE, students use Beowulf to investigate views about “monsters” in society. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 12 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Music Education)
Provided by: The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
In literature, interpretation is the thing
This lesson challenges students to examine the relationship between the text and a reader’s interpretation. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: IRA/NCTE
Identifying and understanding the fallacies used in advertising
Students examine the fallacies that they encounter daily through exposure to advertising. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: IRA/NCTE
Geography and history in songs
Students look at some historical paintings on the Internet and describe the things the paintings reveal about the places depicted in the paintings. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Visual Arts Education and English Language Arts)
Provided by: National Geographic
From Dr. Seuss to Jonathan Swift: Exploring the history behind the satire
In this lesson, after exploring the historical allusions in Dr. Seuss’s The Butter Battle Book, the whole class discusses the history behind a passage from Gulliver’s Travels. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: IRA/NCTE
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
Analyzing character in "Hamlet" through epitaphs
Students compose epitaphs for deceased characters in Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, paying particular attention to how their words appeal to the senses, create imagery, suggest mood, and set tone. (Learn more)
Format: lesson plan (grade 12 English Language Arts)
Provided by: IRA/NCTE