American
Literature
Online
Books for Educators--Includes American
and English Literature
The
Puritans: Colonial Period (1608-1700)
Outline
of American Literature--Excellent Site
Literary
Movements
Perspectives
in American Literature--A Research and
Reference Guide Including a Link to Most Major Writers
Argument
(Also called Persuasion or Rhetoric)
Persuasive
Essay Topics
How
to Write Argumentative Essays
Th
e Five Paragraph Essay
Personal
Reflections on Vietnam: A WebQuest
Identifying
the Argument of an Essay
The
Forest of Rhetoric This site is
intended to help beginners, as well as experts, make sense of rhetoric,
both on the small scale (definitions and examples of specific terms) and
on the large scale (the purposes of
rhetoric,
the patterns into which it has fallen historically as it has been taught
and practiced for 2000+ years).
The
Three Elements of ArgumentUse
these elements to evaluate the effectiveness of an argument.
Cicero
on the Genres of Rhetoric
Stephen
Toulmin on Rhetoric
A
Webquest for Understanding Fallacies
Logical
Fallacies Files
Wholistic
Scoring Rubruc for Critical Thinking The
rubrics found at this site apply well to how to evaluate an argument.
Rhetorical
Arguments - A Coca-Cola Study
Agree
or Disagree Questions
Assignment:
Essays - Search either of the two sources below for a quote. Tie
the topic into a larger concept. Then write a carefully reasoned,
persuasive essay which defends, challenges, or qualifies this concept as
you have defined it. Be sure to use evidence from your observations,
experience, or reading to develop your stance.
Bartlett's
Familiar Quotations
A
Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources
in Ancient and Modern Literature by John Bartlett.
Simpson's
Contemporary Quotations
Over
10,000 quotes from over 4000 sources, including 25 categories of
quotes, and 60 sections.
Biography
Writing
a Biography of a Famous Person Using Biography Maker: Grades 7-12
Book
Reviews
Book
Notes Use this chart to record information
about your reading.
The
Evils of Book Reports
Twenty-five
Book Report Ideas
Web
Link
Literature
Circle Strategies
Characterization
Dear
Character
Descriptive
Character Analysis
Close
Reading
Assignment:
Learn the skill of close reading.
The
Reading Process: Reading, Re-Reading, Explorations
Uses Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour"
Columnists
Assignment:
Browse through the newspaper columnists linked below. Read something
daily. Various tasks could include writing an agree or disagree essay
on a topic covered by an article read, evaluating the effectiveness
of the argument raised in a particular editorial, etc. The possibilities
are endless.
American
Media Columnists
Online
Newspaper Columnist and Commentator Index Hundreds of North American newspaper
columnists and commentators. Also political and editorial cartoons and
cartoonists, political scientist resources, political sites.
Boston
Globe Online / Columnists
Choose
from a list of all Globe columnists and writers who publish occasional
columns.
Chicago
Sun-Times columnists
Choose
from a list of all Sun-Times columnists who publish occasional columns.
Newspaper
Columnists Pages and
Op/Ed
Pages from Around the World
Editorials,
opinions and commentaries, columns and columnists from English newspaper
and magazine Web sites.
Boston
Herald.com Columnists
Select
article by topic and columnist.
The
Denver Post Online - Columnists
Select
from Columns, Discussions, Editorials, Growth forum, Mike Keefe , Letters,
Perspective.
Houston
Chronicle.com Select an editorial by title.
SF
Gate - Columnists
Select
a columnist by name and subject.
Dallas
Morning News Select an editorial columnist by name and subject.
The
College Application Essay
Assignment:
Practice personal expression by writing a college application essay.
Seniors should use these sites to help write essays they are going to submit.
Writing
the College Application Essay
Covers
Brainstorming, Selecting An Essay Topic, and Writing the Essay, Tips for
Success
Your
College Essay - Excellent site from the College Board.
Comparison
and Contrast
Assignment:
Compare treatments of a news item from one newspaper columnist to another.
Find those that have varying opinions on the same subject. Evaluate
these opinions and develop your own personal stance.
Creative
Suggestions
Book-A-Minute
Classics Ultra-Condensed Classic
Books Try making some of your own.
Create
your Own Utopian Society Based on the novel
Anthem
by Ayn Rand
Collection
of Book Report Ideas 109 Different
Ways to Respond
More
Ideas Than You'll Ever Use for Book Reports
341
ideas for book projects from three different teachers.
E-mail
Classics Just for Fun Puns, Parodies,
Language Play, Bloopers, etc.
91
Ways to Respond to Literature
Shields,
Knights and Heraldry Free software to create a personal
coat of arms and directions on how to make a medieval shield.
Inventions
Understanding the Relationships Between Things and Words (7-12)
Assignment:
Write a short story.
Twenty
Fives Ways to Find Story Ideas
Creatives suggestions about where to
find story ideas by Michelle Giles.
Assignment:
Write cartoon captions.
USA
Today Cartoon Contest Different cartoons are pictured periodically.
Students in two age categories (age 13 and older or under age 13) are invited
to submit captions for the cartoon.
Assignment:
Write persuasion.
Post
Your Opinion USA Today has an interactive forum on the day's
critical issues where you are invited to post your opinion.
Review
BasketballLearning to Use Reading Material
to Find Information
Inventions
This
activity allows the student to exercise his creative faculities while grounding
it both concretely and abstractly through creation of an artifact as well
as conceiving of its design, uses, application and feasibility. If
done in dyads, it may also be used instrumentally for collaborative learning.
Creative
Writing
Rewrite
"Little Red Riding Hood" in the Voice of another Author.
An
Unsolved Mystery: Grades 11 and 12 Write
a historical mystery to demonstrate what crime
was
committed and "who done it".
Writing
for Fun (9-12)
365
Writing Prompts from Writer's Digest
Writing
Poetry
Teaching
Creative Writing
Writing
Creating a Class Directory (9-12)
Spotting
Details Creative Writing Activity (9-12)
Like
the Back of My Hand
Discussion
Socratic
Seminars
Drama
Study Guides, Pairings, and Other Help
Antigone(Grades
9 - 12) An introduction to moral dilemma in Greek theater.
Lorraine
Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
American
Scenes Analysis of several aspects of the play along with a message
board for comments and questions.
Learning
Guide to A Raisin in the Sun Summary, background information,
discussion questions from TeachWithMovies.com.
PAL:
Lorraine Hansberry A discussion of Maslow's hierarchy of needs,
an extensive bibliography, study questions. From Perspectives in American
Literature.
Teacher's
Guide to A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Biography,
synopsis, themes, irony, symbols, activities.
Arthur
Miller,
The Crucible
The
Crucible (Grades 10 - 12) Arthur Miller's play is studied in
conjunction with McCarthyism. An excerpt from Cotton
Mather's The Wondersof the Invisible Worldis used as a
companion piece.
The
Salem Sentinel
William
Shakespeare
Teaching
Shakespeare A Different Approach (9-12)
Romeo
and Juliet
Teacher's
Guide
Rewriting
Romeo and Juliet
Family
Feud Fun Format to review Romeo and Juliet (9-12)
MacBeth
Made Easy (6-12)
Hamlet
on Trial (Grades 9 - 12) The students enact a courtroom
trial where Hamlet is tried for multiple murders.
Tennesse
Williams
A
Street Car Named Desire Study Guide
Web
Link Menu
Criticism,
Biographies, and Study Guides Galore
Extended
Writing Projects
Assignment:
Use the following authoritative sites to research good writing practices.
The
Writing Process This page is designed to aid students at various
points in the writing process.
On
the Art of Writing Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, 1916.
This collection of lectures capture the artistic and vital nature of language.
Existentialism
Jean-Paul
Sartre NO EXIT Webquest
Herman
Hesse
Demian
Reading
Group Guide
Autobiography
Biography
Read
the following CHAPTER
EXCERPT OF DEMIAN carefully. Then write a well-organized
essay that analyzes how Herman Hesse manipulates the language to create
meaning.
SHORT
ANSWER TEST FOR DEMIAN
Plot
Summary of Demian and Discussion Topics.
Open
Essay Test for Franz Kafka's
The Metamorphosis
Extended
Writing Projects
The
Evils of Books Reports
Expository
Writing
A
Lesson in Expository Writing
Fables
Assignment:
Read fables of your choice; write fables, etc.
Aesop's
Fables
Fun
Things
Teacher's
Pit Cartoon Strip
Grammar
Usage
Create
Your Own Grammar Exercise
Appropriate
Use of Helping Verbs
Adjective
and Adverb Taboo
Daily
Grammar
Guide
to Grammar and Writing
Guide
to Grammar and Style
11
RULES OF WRITING
HyperGrammar
Dictionary.com
Guide to Grammar
Post-Its
for Grammar
Journalism
For
Journalism Teachers Only
High
School Journalism Lesson plans,
teaching tips, and lots more. |
|
Listening
Increase
Listening Skill Activity (9-12)
Literature:
Literature
Review Using Knowledge, Interpretation & Judgement Questions
(10-12)
Literary
Movements
Romanticism
Realism
and Naturalism
Mythology
Assignment:
Use the following authoritative sites to research the allusions in your
reading.
The
Age of Fable Thomas Bulfinch, 1913. Revised and enlarged
four-volume edition of the classic work on the mythology and fable of the
ages.
Dictionary
of Phrase and Fable
Brewer,
E. Cobham. 1898. Comprising over 18,000 entries that reveal
the etymologies, trace the origins and otherwise catalog ìwords with a
tale to tell.î
Newspapers
Locate
Any Online Newspaper in the World
Assignment:
The following newspapers can be read for pleasure, for news , and as texts
for thousands of assignments. Just search each newspaper for
ideas. They are already there!
Newspapers.com
A lengthy list of newspapers can be found here. The Top Ten
Newspapers Online is updated on a weekly basis, and posted every Friday
at 5:00 p.m. US Central Time. Newspaper links are listed in order of most
visited to least visited from Newspapers Online!. Here is the
list for June 2000. They are listed in order of most visited to least
visited from Newspapers Online!.
THE
ATLANTAJOURNAL
NEW
YORK TIMES
ST.
LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
LOS
ANGELES TIMES
DALLAS
MORNING NEWS
THE
WASHINGTON POST
BALTIMORE
SUN
THE
BOSTON GLOBE
NEW
YORK POST
MIAMI
HERALD
Non-Fiction
Elie
WeiselNight
WebQuest
Background Research
Narrative
Samples
of narrative writing prompts
Novel
Excerpts, Study Guides, Pairings, Mindspring Activities, and Other Help
Introduction
to American Literature Creative Freewriting Activity (11)
Louisa
May Alcott
Little
Women
Sherwood
Anderson
Winesburg,
Ohio
Willa
Cather
O Pioneers
Excellent
Wequest to go along with O Pioneers
My
Antonia
Charles
Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
A
Dickens of a Quest.
A
Christmas Carol
F.
Scott Fitzgerald,
The Great Gatsby
Theme:Symbolism:Important
Quotes:
Lesson
Plans
Writings,
biography, essays, sound clips, and scrapbook
William
Golding, Lord of the Flies
Theme/Symbolism:Important
Quotes:
Links
to Lord of the Flies websites
50
Question Quiz
Teacher
Cyberguide
Study
Guide
Novel
Guide
Life
After the Fact Creative Culmination Activity after reading Lord
of the Flies , (9-12)
Harper
Lee,
To Kill a Mockingbird
Lesson
Plan
Themes:
Quotes:
Mockingbird
Project
Jack
London
The
Call of the Wild
Cormac
McCarthy,
All the Pretty Horses
Reading
Group Discussion Questions
Geroge
Orwell
Animal
Farm WebQuest
Erich
Maria Remarque
All
Quiet on the Western Front
Teacher
CyberGuide
Discovery.com
Lesson Plans
Teaching
Tools Create your own material.
J.
D. Salinger,
The Catcher in the Rye
Themes:Symbols
and Motifs: Quotes:
Salinger's
Writing Style
John
Steinbeck
Nobel
Prize Acceptance Speech
The
Grapes of Wrath Study Site
Poems
to Go With Grapes of Wrath
Mark
Twain,
The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Home
Page
Paul
Zindel,
The Pig Man:
Teacher's
Guide Grades 6-10
Persuasive
Writing
Required
for the State Basic Skills Tests
The
Five Paragragh Essay
Everything
you need to know about writing persuasive essays.
Poetry
Poetry
and the Planets
Writing
Poetry
Postmodernism
in Literature
Introduction
to Postmodernism
Another
Definition
The
World's Largest Online Library Several
links for Postmodern Literature
Postmodernism,
Literature, and the Good Life
Philosophy
Research Base
Contemporary
Philosophy, Critical Theory and Postmodern Thought
Propaganda
Junk
Mail Explosion Activity to Increase Student Awareness of Persuasion
Tactics (7-10)
Reading
Map
of Ship Trap Island Reading for Detail (9)
On
the Art of Reading Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, 1920. This series
of lectures is rich with insight on the activity of effectual and intelligent
reading.
Research
Paper
Olympic
Shadow Boxes Learning to Use Reference Materials (9-12)
Timelines
Using
Research Activites to Discover History of City, State and Self, (9-12)
A
Research Guide for Students
Choosing
Topics for Reserch Papers
The
New Guide to Writing Research Papers
Research
Paper Links
The
Five Paragraph Essay
A
Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
Rhetorical
and Stylisic Devices
Glossary
of Rhetorical and Stylistic Devices
A
Dictionary of Symbolism
Literary
Terms Glossary
A
Handbook of Rhetorical Devices
CHIASMUSTons
of great examples from Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, Oscar
Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Shakespeare, Benjamin
Franklin, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Dennis Ridley, Ridley Presidential Tour,
and Confucius
Rubrics
Chicago
Schools Instructional Intranet Assessments Page
The
Pennsylvania Writing Assesment Domain Scoring Guide
Pennsylvania
Writing Assessment Holistic Scoring Guide
University
of Charleston Communication Scale
Study
Skills
Setting
Goog Goals
School
Work. ugh!
KidsClick!
Ten
Tips for Survival in the Classroom
Study
Skills Handouts
Building
Study Skills
How
to be a Student
Study
Strategies Homepage
Ten
Traps of Studying
Study
Skills Package
Notetaking,
The Cornell System
Resources
for Student Development
Links
for Adults Working on Tools for Coping Series Materials: Online Resources
to Improve Your Study Skills
Study
Skills Gateway Academic Program
Survival
Skills
Here
is on school's Top Ten List of Skills that
every high school English student should possess.
Speeches
and Essays of Literary Merit
Basic
Public Speaking
Speeches
and Essays Chart
Standards
and Assessments
Assessments
in Writing Compared State by State
Style
Merriam-Webster's
Dictionary of Allusions
Theme:
The
American Dream This is designed as an interdisciplinary project
for high school classes. America Dreams could be a year long theme for
American history and literature in a high school setting. The
flexibility inherent in this project will allow teachers to adapt the project
to their classroom needs.
Teacher
Tools
TrackStar
helps
instructors organize and annotate Web sites (URLs) for use in lessons.
The resource list remains visible allowing the user to easily stay on track.
Test
Preparation
Study
Guides for Testing, Reading, Writing, and Classroom Participation Units
include: Preparing to learn, Participating in Classrooms, Studying,
Reading Skills, Webtruth: a guide to the understanding and design
of websites, Math testing, Preparing for Tests, Taking Tests,
Writing Skills, Writing Essays.
Students can take
the current
SAT Test
from the CollegeBoard - directions are on the site at - and then enter
their answers into an on-line form. The site will respond with areas
students should improve.
Students can get
test-taking tips, test preparation hints, and take the current ACT
Test
Vocabulary
Go
to our Vocab Library
Word
Splash Bingo
A
Word A Day
A
Dictionary Game
Teacher
Tools
Perpetual
Calendar and Days to Celebrate
Teacher
Web Sites
Make
Your Own Web Page
Create
Notes for homework and class information
and post them on the web in seconds using this free community service.
What
is a WebQuest?
The
WebQuest Design Process
Pre-Writing
Your WebQuest
The
GeoCities Way to Build a Web Site
The
Tripod Way to Build a Site
Writing
Symbols
of Language Understanding Written Communication (6-11)
Using
Prominent Personalities with Identifiable Social Causes to Stimulate
Writing (8-12)
Write?
No Way! "Re-newed" Writing Activity (7-12)
Young
Writer's Club
Writing
about Literature Good Instruction on Analysis and Interpretation
Writing
About Literature
The
Summary Analysis
Three week unit based
on the summary analysis of a poem.
Checklist
for the Summary Analysis
The
Theme Analysis Checklist.
Writing
Strategies |
