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How ironic!

This lesson will introduce students to the concept of irony. Verbal, situational, and dramatic irony will be defined, but the focus of the lesson is situational irony. This lesson can be used prior to teaching longer, more complex short stories that contain situational irony. This lesson is modified for an English Language Learner (ELL) who reads at the Intermediate Low (IL) level.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and English Language Development)

By Ann Gerber and Tericia Summers.

A survivor's story: How does it really feel?

Students use oral history excerpts of a Hurricane Floyd survivor to explore the concept of contradiction or irony.

Format: lesson plan (multiple pages)

Finding an emotional outlet you can get into

In The First Year, page 3.8

If you don't take care of yourself and respect your own needs, you can't meet your students' needs, either.

Format: article

By Kristi Johnson Smith.Commentary and sidebar notes by Lindy Norman.

Tar Heels pitch in

In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 2.7

"Tar Heel," evidence indicates, was a derogatory nickname applied to North Carolina soldiers by others in the Army of Northern Virginia. It was a natural, given that the boys from the piney woods oftentimes were harvesters of tar, pitch, and turpentine. It...

Format: article

Elberta's story: A humor moment

In this excerpt from an oral history interview, Elberta Hudson describes a moment of irony in her experience at a shelter after her home in White Stocking, North Carolina was flooded during Hurricane Floyd.

Format: audio

Connecting with colleagues: No tricks, all treat!

In The First Year, page 2.4

You're busy, but making time for conversation with colleagues will pay off in the long run.

Format: article

By Kristi Johnson Smith.Commentary and sidebar notes by Lindy Norman.

Railroads in Western North Carolina

In North Carolina in the New South, page 2.6

In the nineteenth century, Asheville, a crossroads for agriculture, became a destination for tourists, loggers, and miners. New railroads meet the needs of all these groups.

Format: article

Desegregating the armed forces

In Postwar North Carolina, page 3.4

Although African Americans had served in the U.S. military since the American Revolution, until after World War II, they did not receive the same treatment and opportunies as white soldiers and sailors. In 1948, President Harry Truman ordered that the armed forces be desegregated.

Format: article

"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 9–10 English Language Arts and English Language Development)

By Guy Hill and Crystal Brown.

"We have unexpectedly become civilized"

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 10.4

In North Carolina History: A Sampler, page 4.3

Letter from citizens of Turkey Town in the Cherokee Phoenix and Indians' Advocate, 1829, opposing relocation. The authors pointed out the irony that even after becoming "civilized" as white people had claimed to want, they were nevertheless being pushed off their land. Includes historical commentary.

Format: newspaper/primary source

Commentary and sidebar notes by David Walbert and L. Maren Wood.

Using sound in the classroom

This article discusses the benefits of using sound in the classroom, and shares some activities to help you and your students get the most out of the experience.

Format: article/best practice

By Kristin Post.

The impact of hog farms

In Recent North Carolina, page 4.4

Newspaper article about a 1995 spill of hog waste into the New River in southeastern North Carolina. Includes historical background.

Format: article/primary source

Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.

Rose O'Neal Greenhow describes the Battle of Manassas

In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 2.6

Excerpt from the memoir of the Confederate spy in which she describes the First Battle of Manassas in June 1861 and her role in getting intelligence to Confederate generals. Includes historical commentary.

Format: book/primary source

Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.

Reading for relevance in literature

A unit-length instructional plan for using graphic organizers to promote active reading of novels, using The Count of Monte Cristo as an example.

By Suzanne Micallef.

The not-so-famous person report

In Rethinking Reports, page 3.2

Instead of teaching the history of the famous, use research in primary sources to teach students that the past and present were made by people like them.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Using knowledge of student cognition to differentiate instruction

In Reaching every learner: Differentiating instruction in theory and practice, page 8

This article explains the concept of working memory, identifies different kinds of learning problems, and discusses ways to differentiate instruction for students with learning difficulties and disabilities who have attention and working memory problems. Includes twenty research-based, user-friendly teaching strategies that are proven effective for teaching all students.

Format: article/best practice

By Silvana M. R. Watson, Ph.D. and Robert A. Gable, Ph.D..

Resources on the web

Debate Central

A video collection that covers debate instruction and sample debates. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: University of Vermont

Mark Twain and American humor

When Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" first appeared in 1865, it was hailed by James Russell Lowell, the Boston-based leader of the literary elite, as "the finest piece of humorous literature yet produced in America." This was... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Analyzing the purpose and meaning of political cartoons

Students learn to evaluate political cartoons for their messages in this lesson. The teacher introduces the activity by exposing students to a political cartoon that presents a puzzling or contradictory perspective that will stimulate critical inquiry.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink