English & Literature Lesson Plans: High School

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Note - Lesson plans for specific books and/or authors appear with those listings in the Literature Web Resources section. Also, grade level groupings are approximate. Check Middle School Lessons for additional selections.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Grades 9-10 - This lesson plan involves seven separate stand-alone activities; teachers can assign some of them as homework or skip some of the activities altogether so the length of the plan is variable. The lesson should be offered in conjunction with reading the book. There are some individual and some group activities, which include writing a five-paragraph essay comparing and contrasting Tom and Huck, drawing a detailed map of the area covered in the novel, and researching the humor in the novel. This lesson plan meets Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum standards.

Appreciating Our American Heritage - (AP): Grades 11-12 - Study Asian-American poetry through a new perspective in this lesson from the Ask Asia web series.

Asia Through A Glass Darkly: Classroom Activities - World Cultures/ Literature: Grades 9-12 - Use literature as study of cultures and stereotypes.

Ballads - Grade 10 - This lesson plans takes three and a half class periods. This introduction to ballads requires use of a tape recorder for some of the activities. After learning the basic characteristics and history of the ballad, students will analyze some ballads in groups. The mini-unit ends with students writing ballads of their own and taking a quiz. This lesson plan meets Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum standards.

Banned Books Webquest - Grades 9-12 - Developed by a high school in Indiana, this is a quest that asks high school students to assume various roles in a community debate about removing selected books from the shelves in the high school library. This is a nicely balanced presentation which raises numerous literary and social studies issues. The topic should keep students' attention.

Bioethics in the Language Arts Classroom : Engaging Middle School Students in Civic, Social, and Moral Issues - Source: NCTE - English/Language Arts: Grades 6-9 - Teach research skills and critical thinking skills through investigation of controversial issues in the sciences. The write up includes sample student handout questions and a format for research.

Chinese Handcuffs - Grades 9-12 - The length of this lesson plan is variable, since the activities are stand-alone. The three activities help students further explore the issues in the book. The first activity has students divide into groups to research issues like teen pregnancy and suicide, then presenting findings to the class. The second involves students writing letters to someone they lost who was close to them. For the final activity, students research the cost of living in their area, along with statistics on single parents. They must conduct three interviews during their research. This lesson plan meets Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum standards.

Cultural Unity Through Folk tales by Stella Samuel, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute - Reading/ English and Social Studies: Grades 7-12 - Study folk tales to discover the diversity and the essential unity of cultures.

Cultural Values Through Hero Mythology - English/ World Cultures: Grades 9-10 - Read, analyze, and compare hero myths as indicators of a culture’s value systems. From the Asia Society.

 

Dante's Infernal Grammar - Grades 9-12 and AP - This TeachersFirst exclusive offers high school teachers a way to teach a literary classic and prepare their students for the SAT II. The ten-part literature unit explores Dante's Inferno and then offers lessons on ten devilish grammar topics that appear on the SAT II test. Wonderful resource for literature study, grammar lessons, or test preparation. The various elements can be used together or individually.

Dave's ESL Cafe - All Grades - Here's a site with resources specifically for ESL students. The concentration is on building fluency in English using a variety of conversational and reading strategies. There are also links to a number of other ESL resources. Some of the material is designed for adult learners, but could be adapted for secondary students.

Diary of Anne Frank - Teaching Guide for the Play - Grades 6-12 - This is McDougall Littel's teacher's guide for the play The Diary of Anne Frank. It includes brief study ideas and questions, along with introductory context information.

Dickens House Tour - Grades 6-9- Students visit the web site for Dickens London home, tour the rooms, then answer questions about the house and Dickens writing. Designed as a background activity for any study of Dickens works and 19th century London.

Electronic Read-Arounds and Other Computer-Writing - Source: NCTE - English/Language Arts, Grades 7-12 - Use the computer lab to teach writing in new ways using the ideas in this article. Scholarly references and practical ideas are both included. This site give teachers new ways to emphasize writing process and willing revision.

Finding Chaucerian Pilgrims in Real Life - Source: NCTE - English: Grades 10-12 - Use this "hook" of an idea to capture and hold student interest and involvement when teaching Canterbury Tales. Your students will read and write with new enthusiasm.

Frankenstein - Grades 9-12 - This short lesson plan requires only one class period, and should take place while teaching the novel. It is a journal-writing exercise, but it could be modified for class discussion. There are three questions for students to answer about the Creature – was it truly evil, etc. This lesson plan meets Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum standards.

Jane Eyre - Grades 9-12 - Students must read the book before this one-class lesson plan. This journal-writing exercise could be modified to use as a class discussion while teaching the book. Three questions are offered that focus on the almost-marriage of Jane to Rochester – what was inherently wrong with Rochester’s decision to propose, etc. This lesson plan meets Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum standards.

Joseph Campbell, Cinderella, and Eudora Welty: Using the Journey of a Hero to Explore "A Worn Path" - Source: NCTE - English: Grades 9-12 - This lesson presents idea on the use narrative patterns familiar to students to teach literary analysis.

Language Arts Web Sites and Resources: -  Language Arts Educators K-12 - Here’s a treasure-trove of lessons, materials, ideas, units and resources. Lots and lots of great material here from sources as various as the academy Curriculum Exchange, Houghton Mifflin, Addison Wesley, AskERIC, Encarta and the Peace Corps. Print ‘em out and turn ‘em loose on the kids! This is definitely worth a browse!

Let Music Enrich Learning - Source: NCTE - English: Grades 9-12 - Use these practical suggestions to draw all types of music into the English classroom to teach literary analysis, research, and oral presentation skills while allowing for individual student interests.

Mood Museum - Source: NCTE - Language Arts/English: Grades 6-12 - Teach the concept of mood in literature using this visual representation idea. This teacher used it with A Wrinkle in Time, but could be applied to any literary work.

Meeting the Blues - A collection of interdisciplinary lessons on the music, art, and literature of the American "blues" musical art form. There are individual lessons suitable for elementary, middle school, and high school students.

Murder, Mischief, and Mayhem: A Process for Creative Research Papers - Source: NCTE - English: Grades 9-12 - Use murders and mayhem to teach research skills and generate GOOD research papers from your high school students without pulling teeth. They will actually want to find things in the library!

Outta Ray's Head - Literature - Grades 6-12 - Don't be scared off by the title! This is a collection of literature-related lesson plans compiled by an English teacher in Ontario, Ca. The selection includes everything from simple log sheets to term paper and discussion ideas. All materials have been designed and tested by classroom teachers.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Grades 9-12 - TeachersFirst presents a Reader's Response unit to Annie Dillard's beautiful book. There is an assignment - writing, internet research, or simply reflection and discussion - for each chapter. This unit would be ideal for a combined study of literature and life sciences.

The Plays of Shakespeare - Grades 9-12 - TeachersFirst's own guide to the Shakespeare plays commonly encountered in the high school curriculum. Includes web resources, e-texts, lesson plans, multi-media materials, and student-developed projects.

 

Public Speaking Workbook - Grades 9-12 - This is an on-line guidebook from Penn State University for developing public speaking skills. While designed for entry-level college students, much of the material could easily be adapted for secondary school use in debate or public speaking activities. Includes a series of lessons and supporting materials.

Puerto Rican Folktales - by Doris M. Vazquez - Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute - Social Studies/Language Arts - Grades 7-12 - Explore the cultural heritage of Puerto Rico through a study of the myths, legends, folktales, and fairy tales. Students learn to analyze tales by identifying the character, problem, setting, sequence of events, ultimate solution, and implied lesson/moral.

The Scarlet Letter - Grades 9-12 - Taking only one class period, this lesson plan involves journal writing on the issues in the novel. Teachers may modify the plan to make it a class discussion. Questions for students to answer involve Chillingworth’s evil and the fairness of Hester’s punishment. This lesson plan meets Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum standards.

Tales From Around the World by Delci Lev, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute - Language Arts: Grades 6-8 - Help students learn about diversity and commonality between cultures through stories from many different places, providing strong reinforcement of social studies concepts.

Teacher Guide: Using the Professional Cartoonists' Web Site in your classroom - Grade 4+ - Bookmark this one! This site has excellent and separate lesson plans for teaching editorial cartoon analysis, current events, fact and opinion, and related topics to elementary, middle , and high school students. Developed jointly by the journalists and a classroom teacher, these plans can pop into reality with ease, with ready-to-go handouts and high-interest activities. From the American Journalism Review Newslink.

Teaching Detective Fiction Through A Cross Curriculum Unit by Angelo J. Pompano - Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute - Language Arts - Grade 7 - Agatha Christie’s short story "Miss Marple Tells A Story," is the basis for this two-week introduction to detective fiction. Emphasizing deductive reasoning, critical thinking, and a cohesive team-teaching atmosphere, this unit ideally involves every subject area, including technology, math, art, and drama. Through related activities, students strengthen their abilities to formulate questions, find information, and use that information intelligently.

Teaching Storytelling - Source: NCTE - Target: K-12 - Discusses strategies and approaches to the use of storytelling in the classroom This site addresses such questions as: Why is storytelling important? And "How can storytelling be included in the school curriculum?"

Teaching the Epistolary Novel Form through Fanny Burney’s Evelina - Source: NCTE - Target: Grades 9-12 and AP - Rationale and specific learning projects for teaching the epistolary novel Evelina. Useful activities include studies of the epistolary form, etiquette of the 18th century and the themes of rites of passage and teenage relationships.

Teaching Shakespeare When They Don’t All Speak English - Source: NCTE - Target: Grades 7-12 - This site provides tactics for introducing the works of Shakespeare to English as a Second Language students. A helpful narrative provides specific learning activities and exercise to help a teacher accomplish such a mission!

Thematic Units: Integrating the Curriculum - Source: NCTE - Target: Kindergarten - This site gives specific strategies and plans for thematic teaching. Thematic teaching is grounded in the notion that we learn best when things make sense. The information is centered around a topical collection of children's literature to be used in a kindergarten class.

To Kill a Mockingbird - Historical Perspective - Grades 9-12 - The Library of Congress created this extensive site, which uses archival images and texts to provide background and context for a multi-part study unit on To Kill A Mockingbird. The entire project takes about eight weeks, but the unit can be subdivided into smaller components. If this book is in your syllabus, this site is well worth a visit.

Twice Told Tales - Source: NCTE - Target: Elementary - This site is one of the NCTE Teaching Ideas and Topics series. It presents ideas and strategies for using children’s literature to foster critical thinking skills.

The University in Ruins Study Group forum - Source: NCTE - Target: Professional/Staff development. This site is one of the NCTE Conversations series. It provides a forum where readers can discuss Bill Reading’s book The University in Ruins. Interesting exchanges on the "state of the university."

Using Film and Literature to Examine Uncle Remus: A Comparison and Analysis of the Film Song Of The South by Felicia R. McKinnon, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute - History, Language Arts, Social Studies, Drama, Grades 6-8 - Through the use of films, recorded books, and literary readings, this unit exposes students to the oral tradition of storytelling, provides facts about African American contributions to this tradition, and offers a comprehensive approach to understanding African American folklore.

What Makes the Japanese Laugh? - World Culture/Literature: Grades 6-12 - This lesson plan from Ask Asia compares cultures through the unique sense of humor that each shows in its literature and entertainment.

Why Talk About Phonics? - Source: NCTE - Target: Teachers of all levels - An interesting discussion and explanation of the importance of phonics. Discussion of reading as "meaning making" as opposed to merely "decoding." The site discusses such concepts as phonemic awareness, invented spelling and sound/letter knowledge.

World War II As Seen Through Children’s Literature by Laura Pringleton, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute - Integrated Unit: Language Arts, Mathematics, Social Studies and Science: Grades 5+ - This long-term unit uses all four academic disciplines to learn about World War II in a wonderfully integrated study. Materials are mostly middle school level but easily adaptable upwards.

Wuthering Heights - Grades 9-12 - This lesson plan requires one class period, and has students write answers to three questions about the book in a journal. The plan may be modified to take the form of a class discussion. The questions involve the students likes and dislikes of the characters and their reasons, and whether the two ‘Cathy’ characters were confusing. This lesson plan meets Georgia’s Quality Core Curriculum standards.