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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.

The Great Gilly Hopkins: Characterization and prediction

In the final chapters of the novel, Gilly's grandmother learns she has a granddaughter and decides to take Gilly out of foster care. Many of my classroom readers are often dismayed by this unexpected conflict and its outcome. In this lesson, the classroom becomes a courtroom where students predict the outcome of this conflict.

This activity can be used at the end of the novel, but I like to use it after reading chapters 10 and 11 so students can compare the courtroom decision to the end of the novel.

Format: lesson plan (grade 6 English Language Arts)

By Emily Vann.

"The Cask of Amontillado"

The short story "The Cask of Amontillado," by Edgar Allan Poe is an effective venue for teaching English I literary terms. The following lesson plan is designed to engage the reader in a deeper than superficial reading of the text. It is also designed to elicit discussion and written critical-thinking responses. This lesson assumes that the literary terms have already been introduced. However, if they have not, the teacher may use this lesson to introduce these terms in the context of the literature.

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

By Guy Hill and Crystal Brown.

The mystery of the first Americans

In Prehistory, contact, and the Lost Colony, page 2.2

In the second half of the twentieth century, archaeologists agreed that those “first Americans” migrated from Asia across Beringia and into North America between fourteen and twenty thousand years ago. Recently, though, new evidence has come to light that has led some archaeologists to doubt that theory and to suggest new possibilities.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Culpeper's Rebellion

In Colonial North Carolina, page 1.11

In the 1670s, the British government insisted that exports from Carolina be taxed, but a group of settlers in the Albemarle region rebelled against what they saw as an unreasonable burden. The Lords Proprietors eventually regained control of the colony, but in the meantime, colonists set a precedent for governing themselves.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Resources on the web

Designing museum exhibits for “The Grapes of Wrath”: A multigenre project

In this lesson, students read The Grapes of Wrath and create multigenre projects that explore issues from the Depression era. (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: IRA/NCTE