Eighth Grade - ELA
1: Semester 1
Unit 1: Abigail Adams
Lesson 1
Getting to Know Abigail Adams
Students are given a focused vocabulary list with definitions and illustrative sentences drawn from the text (confidences, lucrative, wistfully, foreboding, affliction, fortitude, entail) and are asked to use those words correctly in a letter. Reading questions ask students to interpret figurative or context-dependent language directly (e.g., explain what Abigail's grandmother meant by "wild colts make the best horses" and what John Adams meant by needing "ballast" in his life). The activity pages direct students to consult chapter sentences and page references to determine word usage in context.
Lesson 3
Unrest and War
Students identify clauses as active or passive and rewrite passive clauses in active voice in Activities 1 (Option 1 and 2), practicing analysis of verb forms and sentence focus. Students choose two passive-voice sentences from the reading and explain why the author used passive voice and whether active voice would be more effective, prompting analysis of how voice influences emphasis and tone. In the engraving and Boston Tea Party writing tasks, students are instructed to use active voice and to argue how wording and presentation shape readers' impressions, which requires them to consider the effect of specific word and structure choices on meaning.
Lesson 4
Continental Congress
Students are asked to review a list of vocabulary terms from Abigail Adams and to either write sentences using words they know or look up definitions and then use the words in sentences (Vocabulary Review activity). The Parent Plan and Skills section explicitly lists "Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words or phrases" and "Acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate... words and phrases," which frames vocabulary meaning work for students.
Lesson 5
Remember the Ladies
Students are directed to closely read Abigail Adams's letters (Activity 1) and to read the letters aloud to make meaning clearer when older language differs from modern English. Option 2 asks students to analyze primary sources by answering questions about content and point of view/bias and to look for specific places in the letter that provide evidence for their answers. Activity 1 also requires students to compare how the biographer quoted and used selections from a letter, asking what point the author was attempting to convey with those selections.
Lesson 6
Separation
Students are given a set of target vocabulary words with brief definitions (protocol, abolish, destitute, sedition, apprehension, abhorrence, disconsolate, impudence) and complete a crossword using that word bank, with instructions to look up unfamiliar words. A parent-plan skill explicitly states that students should "acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general, academic, and domain-specific words and phrases; gather vocabulary knowledge when considering a word or phrase important to comprehension or expression." The proofreading chart and paragraph-editing activity direct students to consider word choice, verb tense, and meaning when correcting text.
Lesson 9
The Vice Presidency
Students answer a question asking what Benjamin Franklin meant by calling the vice president "His Superfluous Excellency," explaining that Franklin alluded to the office's lack of power. Students respond to a question about George III "literally turned his back on him," which prompts consideration of phrase meaning (literal vs. figurative). Students read original letters and are asked to judge impressions of tone (polite, funny, smart, rude, intellectual, political) and to write a diary entry that reflects the language and attitudes in those letters.
Final Project
A One-Person Play
Students complete a vocabulary fill-in exercise (Part 1) using eight targeted words in contextual sentences, and the study guide asks them to review "All of the vocabulary terms covered in previous lessons." In Part 2 (Paragraph Analysis) students answer questions about a passage on Abigail Adams, including one that asks them to evaluate the role of a quoted sentence ("...Remember the Ladies...") in the paragraph. The lesson also requires students to quote and cite at least one primary source in their play, which asks them to explain the impact of that event or quotation in their scenes.
Unit 2: Animal Farm
Lesson 3
The Rebellion
Students are asked to evaluate the anthem "Beasts of England," including questions about the song's importance, the animals' reaction, and its emotional impact, which asks them to consider tone and meaning. In Option 2, students compare the Seven Commandments to the Bill of Rights and answer questions about which document places more restrictions on leaders or citizens, requiring students to analyze relationships between two texts. The Characters as Leaders activity asks students to cite specific examples from the novel to support claims, prompting textual analysis of character actions and themes.
Lesson 4
Work on the Farm
Students read Chapter 3 and answer questions that ask them to interpret symbols and phrases (e.g., Question #3 asks students to describe the farm's flag and its symbolism; Question #2 asks about Boxer's motto). Activity 1 directs students to cite specific examples from the text when comparing work on Manor Farm and Animal Farm, requiring them to use textual evidence to support interpretations. The unit's guiding questions prompt students to consider how authors use characters, settings, and plots to develop themes, which invites attention to how language and details convey meaning.
Lesson 6
Comrade Napoleon
Students research historical figures from the Russian Revolution and fill in a worksheet section titled "Connection to 'Animal Farm'" and "Specific evidence that leads to that connection," which requires them to identify how characters allude to real people. The lesson explicitly defines satire and asks students to answer interpretive questions such as "What do you think Orwell is trying to say about the leaders of the Russian Revolution?" and to cite examples from literature, TV, film, or news, prompting consideration of tone and authorial intent.
Lesson 8
The End of the Rebellion
Activity 2 asks students to read two sample letters, identify which is friendly or business, and "talk with a parent about... which portions of each letter helped her decide what kind of letter it was," which requires pointing to specific wording and tone. The lesson also explains differences in tone between business and friendly letters (formal/terse vs. informal/emotional) and asks students to write a friendly letter using an appropriately informal and friendly voice. Activity 1 asks students to write persuasively from Napoleon's point of view and to use appeals and examples, which involves choosing words for effect on readers.
Lesson 9
The Battle of the Windmill
The lesson defines personification and directs students to identify and re-imagine scenes using animal characters (Activity 1), asking them to explain how personification changes the scene or shifts its meaning. The personification activity requires students to write two paragraphs or create art plus 2-3 sentences describing how the device alters meaning. The lesson also directs students to attend to tone when writing a formal business letter (Activity 2), requiring them to produce concise, professional language appropriate to the intended tone.
Unit 3: Einstein Adds a New Dimension
Lesson 1
Expository Writing
Students practice identifying words and phrases that signal narrative versus expository writing by underlining/circling terms on the book cover and jacket and by answering questions that ask whether passages suggest narrative or expository text. Students use the index activity to select search terms (e.g., choosing "forces" vs. "atoms") and evaluate which terms locate the intended information. The materials note that sidebars and a glossary/definitions appear in nonfiction texts, and students match sidebar types and use front/back matter to locate publication information.
Lesson 2
Descriptive Writing
Students are asked in Activity 1 to read an italicized paragraph (p. 36), underline words or phrases they find most effective, and explain what makes them effective, which requires attention to word choice and its effect. The lesson explicitly teaches descriptive techniques (use of strong verbs, adjectives, sensory details) and discusses similes, even giving an example of a simile used in the paragraph, which directs students to notice figurative language. The Student Activity Page has exercises asking students to select adjectives and phrases that appeal to specific senses and to combine senses, which engages students in choosing precise, connotative language.
Lesson 3
The Curies' Discoveries
Students are asked to determine definitions, produce synonyms or similes, and write example sentences for vocabulary words (e.g., tasks asking "What is it? What is it like? What is an example?" for words such as incongruity, cogitate, radioactivity, crystal). The parent notes and activity instructions direct students to write definitions in their own words, use the sidebar/context on the referenced pages, and check accuracy against the green-text definitions. Highlighting and annotation options ask students to mark key terms, definitions, and important phrases in the text and to add margin notes explaining those terms.
Lesson 4
Process Writing
The Parent Plan includes a discussion question asking, "What is Schrödinger's famous cat story an analogy for?" and provides the explanation that it illustrates probabilistic states, prompting students to interpret an analogy. The Option 2 planning page asks students to list "Terms or concepts that need explanation," which directs students to identify and explain domain-specific vocabulary. The Skills section instructs students to "use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary," indicating attention to word choice in students' own writing.
Lesson 7
Relativity
Students are asked to look up specific domain-specific vocabulary (fissile material, uniform motion, frame of reference, relativity, invariant), write definitions in their own words, and provide examples or drawings. Students compare two versions of technical writing and identify problems (wordiness, unnamed tools, unclear transitions), which prompts analysis of how word choice affects clarity and tone. Students must design a poster that uses at least three domain-specific terms and define unfamiliar terms for a specified audience, practicing precise word choice and audience-appropriate definitions.
Lesson 8
Comparison and Contrast Writing
The Parent Plan lists the skill "Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context," which directs students to identify technical vocabulary. Reading questions require students to explain technical concepts (the twin paradox, why gravity cannot act instantly, how light bends), which asks students to interpret domain-specific meanings in context. The Wrapping Up section tells students to re-read analogies (the stretched rubber sheet and the man in the dropping elevator) to help understand concepts, showing students use analogies to make meaning.
Lesson 9
Avoiding Plagiarism
Students read passages and choose the best paraphrase for a technical term (the "luminosity" example) and must justify why one paraphrase preserves meaning while avoiding original phrasing. Students practice rewriting a caption and writing chapter summaries in their own words, which requires them to determine what words and phrases mean well enough to restate them accurately. The CK/GC/GCQ classification activity asks students to decide when wording is an exact quote versus a paraphrase, requiring attention to specific phrasing and nuance.
Unit 4: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Lesson 1
Introduction to Mark Twain and the Novel
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill: "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone." Activity 3 has students read vocabulary from Chapters 1–21 in context and select definitions, requiring them to use context clues and dictionaries to determine word meaning. Activity 4 asks students to analyze dialect, answer questions about how people make judgments based on speech, and consider whether Twain's use of dialect promotes stereotypes, which asks students to consider how word choice and dialect affect meaning and tone.
Lesson 3
What is Narrative Writing I
The lesson explicitly asks students to analyze author word choice (e.g., comparing 'clever' vs. 'smart') and notes that Pap's word choices express an angry mood and that the use of the racial slur has a negative connotation that affects reading. The "And You Can Quote Me on That" activity asks students to read quotes and record what each quote reveals about characters, requiring students to analyze dialogue and specific word choices. The "Show, Don't Tell" and narrative writing options require students to show emotions through descriptive language and dialogue, which practices using and interpreting words and phrases to convey tone and feeling.
Lesson 5
Expository Writing
Students are asked to analyze a quoted line ("...you feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.") and compare life on the raft to life with other characters, which requires interpreting the phrase in context. Students are directed to examine quotes/dialogue they have studied to support comparisons between Huck and Jim, and to think about how dialect reveals differences and similarities between characters. The reading questions prompt students to explain character responses and meaning drawn from specific events and dialogue.
Lesson 6
The Power of Persuasion
The lesson explicitly teaches and models figurative language: it defines and gives examples of similes, metaphors, and analogies (e.g., "Smith is a rock that won't falter" and "Owning a dog is like living with your best friend"). Students are directed to read the example page "Dogs Are Better Pets Than Cats" to see these persuasive techniques and to produce their own sentences using similes, metaphors, or analogies on the Powers of Persuasion activity page. The lesson also asks students to read and analyze a persuasive student essay, giving context for where such word choices might appear.
Lesson 7
Persuasive Writing
Students are instructed to use context clues or a dictionary to figure out unfamiliar words and to define vocabulary taken from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn based on how the words are used in the story. Students must write original sentences using each vocabulary word, with an option to relate the sentences to the novel. Students also complete a persuasive writing task that asks them to take a position on whether the publisher should replace the n-word with "slave," which requires them to consider and defend the impact of that specific word choice.
Lesson 8
Hiding the Money
The lesson asks students to "consider what the raft and the river symbolize" and to "include some symbol of what the raft and river meant to Huck and Jim," which prompts analysis of figurative meaning. The Wrap-Up and Questions to Discuss explicitly ask for examples of what the Mississippi River and raft represent (freedom, uncivilized life), requiring students to identify symbolic meaning in the text.
Lesson 9
Irony
Students watch videos defining verbal, situational, and dramatic irony and take notes, recording examples in an "Irony Chart" that requires them to identify verbal irony instances. Students read Chapters 29–32 of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and categorize quoted lines (e.g., Pap's "Oh, yes, this is a wonderful government, wonderful...") as verbal irony on an activity sheet. In Option 2, students are asked to analyze examples of irony to make sure they match the definitions and to create or revise situations so they become ironic.
Lesson 10
Figures of Speech
Students read chapters of Huckleberry Finn and are asked to identify where Mark Twain uses figurative language and to interpret its meaning and how it enhances the story. Activity pages require students to classify expressions from the novel (e.g., "thrilling tragedy," "It would make a cow laugh") by type and to create their own examples of puns, hyperbole, oxymoron, simile, and idiom. In the Fred's Letter activity students underline and label instances of figurative language using color codes, and the parent answer key models interpretation of those phrases.
Lesson 11
Mark Twain's Influence
Students are asked to explain what Hemingway meant by his quote and to consider questions such as "How does Twain's use of plain language and dialect affect the reader?", which prompts interpretation of word choice and tone. In Activity 2 students listen to slave narratives and are directed to "Make note of any figurative language you hear" and to compare/contrast dialects with the novel, engaging them in identifying figurative forms and dialectal word use. In Activity 3 students must produce a narrative that includes specific figures of speech (irony, pun, oxymoron, idiom, hyperbole) and the story map includes a box for "Figurative Language Techniques," giving practice in using and recognizing figurative language.
Final Project
Cultural Biography
Students are asked to identify and produce figurative language (Block 2 directs students to put hyperbole, idiom, pun, and simile on the faces of a block; the unit test asks students to write a hyperbole, simile, and an idiom). Students must select and include quotes on blocks and posters and write sentences using three vocabulary words related to characters. Activities also require explaining an idiom that could represent a character and developing a simile to describe a character.
Unit 5: Elijah of Buxton
Lesson 1
Introduction to the Novel
Students study a list of vocabulary words with provided definitions (commence, daft, truck patch, vile, smarting, brogans, flimflam, plaits) and are instructed to illustrate each word on an index card and have a partner guess the word. Students are given the definition of a flashback and complete a "Flashback" activity page that asks them to highlight the flashback and answer questions about its effect. The Parent Plan skills list asks students to discuss the effects of literary devices including allusion, and Day 2 directs students to look for historical connections (e.g., Frederick Douglass) as they read.
Lesson 2
The Preacher
Students read paired passages by Fitzhugh and Frederick Douglass and answer questions comparing their perspectives. Students are instructed to reread the Douglass passage and circle vivid adjectives and to underline the verb ("whip/whipped") each time it appears, considering why the repetition is effective. Students complete a "Showing Emotion" activity in which they choose precise adjectives and at least two verbs and are asked to repeat powerful verbs to convey tone without naming the emotion.
Lesson 3
Creating a Character
The lesson explicitly defines idioms and proverbs in "Things to Know" and asks students to explain the true meaning of the proverb "familiarity breeds contempt" in the discussion questions. Students are also asked to interpret Mr. Leroy's remark about worrying and fishing, which requires them to explain figurative or proverbial language in context. These tasks require students to determine the meaning of specific sayings as they are used in the text.
Lesson 4
Tone and Mood
Students identify specific words or phrases that create tone by completing a chart labeled 'Words that created that tone' for events in Elijah of Buxton. Students analyze how word choice produces mood by listing 'Words or images that made you feel that way' for specific events. Students explain the connotative impact of the n-word when answering why Mr. Leroy found it offensive, using his explanation about hatred and abuse to analyze meaning and impact.
Lesson 5
Colorful Language
Students read Chapters 9 and 10 and are asked to examine how authors choose specific words and figurative language to communicate vividly. The lesson provides explicit definitions of idiom, simile, metaphor, personification, pun, and hyperbole and includes a Figures of Speech activity where students identify and label examples from the text (with an answer key interpreting items such as "My blood ran cold" as an idiom). Activity 1 asks students to analyze sensory language, precise verbs (e.g., "slapped," "mashed," "peering"), and descriptive details and to explain why the author chose those words.
Lesson 6
Symbolism
Students are asked to identify and explain symbolic meanings for items from Elijah of Buxton (Liberty Bell, Emma's doll, Mr. Taylor's dagger) and to create a personal symbol and write 2–3 sentences about its meaning. Students practice using and producing figurative language by being required to include at least one simile or metaphor when describing a feeling and by rewriting children's song lyrics with more precise word choices. A discussion question asks students to interpret a quoted line attributed to Frederick Douglass, prompting students to explain the meaning and implications of that quotation in context.
Lesson 7
The Importance of Education
Students read Chapters 13 and 14 and are asked to consider new vocabulary words by determining their meanings from context. The student activity asks students to read passages with italicized vocabulary, write definitions inferred from the context, and then compare those definitions to provided definitions. The materials explicitly state the skill: "Use context ... as a clue to the meaning of a word or phrase," and require students to discuss word meanings with a parent and to categorize vocabulary words.
Lesson 8
Transitions and Characters
Students practice identifying and using transition words through multiple activities: they read passages and are asked to circle transition words, insert appropriate transitions into sentences (Activity 1), and consult a categorized 'Transitions List.' Students are also prompted to consider word choice when discussing Elijah's sign — one discussion question asks how Elijah learned to 'craft words carefully' and that 'words have power,' which asks students to consider the effect of particular words.
Lesson 9
Transitions and Humor
Students read explicit explanations and examples of humor techniques (understatement, hyperbole, comic irony, dialect, satire) with quoted passages from Elijah of Buxton that illustrate those devices. Students are asked to discuss the use of humor in the text and to explain whether it is appropriate, which requires considering how those word choices affect tone. Students must produce a humorous paragraph or mock newscast using at least three of the named techniques, applying figurative language and word choices to create tone.
Lesson 10
Allusions and Authors
Students are given an explicit definition of an allusion and multiple example allusions (Pinocchio, Scrooge, Trojan horse, biblical examples). Students are asked to use the "Allusions" pages and Student Activity Page to write 2–3 sentences explaining an allusion's origin and connection to Elijah of Buxton, and to analyze specific allusions (e.g., "stones into fish," the Liberty Bell, Jericho, "den of vipers") using provided biblical passages. The Answer Key and Parent Plan model how those allusions map onto meaning in the novel, showing students how to link the referenced text to meaning in the story.
Lesson 11
Story Reflections
The lesson asks students to explain which events created specific emotions and to answer how "the author set the stage for you to have these responses," noting that the author used "descriptive language, powerful action, and even unexpected humor." The Skills section lists analyzing elements such as style, mood, and tone. The Wrap Up and Parent Plan prompt students to discuss how language elicited feelings and to consider the author's techniques in setting tone.
Final Project
Personal Narrative
Students are asked to define seven vocabulary terms in their own words on the unit test and to use two vocabulary words correctly in their personal narrative, which requires determining word meanings. Students complete a Figures of Speech activity that asks them to identify devices (simile, metaphor, personification, idiom, hyperbole, symbol, pun) and answer why an author might use a flashback, which engages with figurative language. Students are asked to identify an allusion (Garden of Eden) and explain why an author might make an allusion, and are instructed to use strong verbs and adjectives to communicate tone and create mood when composing their narrative.
2: Semester 2
Unit 1: The House of the Scorpion
Lesson 1
Cloning
Students read Chapters 1–4 of The House of the Scorpion and answer questions that note when Matt is called an "animal" and ask why people react that way, prompting consideration of the word's demeaning connotation. Students analyze persuasive paragraphs to identify persuasive strategies and the author's tone, and they discuss what might happen if an author creates a negative tone in a persuasive essay. Students practice labeling thesis statements, identifying persuasive techniques (pathos, ethos, kairos), and highlighting language that creates persuasion and tone.
Lesson 2
Revising and Editing
Students are given a targeted vocabulary list (disconsolately, caches, furtively, harangued, servile, rite, malevolence) with definitions for study. In Activity 1 students create scenes or pose a toy to represent the meanings, encouraging them to embody the words' emotional or situational senses. In Activity 2 Option 2 students are asked to write analogies (e.g., gladly is to happily AS disconsolately is to sadly), practicing relationships between words.
Lesson 3
Cast of Characters
The lesson's skills list explicitly asks students to "Analyze how a text makes connections among and distinctions between individuals, ideas, or events (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories)," which asks students to consider comparisons and analogies. The parent-plan discussion prompts ask students to compare El Patrón and Matt (e.g., Tam Lin's surmise about talent and access to music), which requires students to analyze connections between characters and ideas.
Lesson 4
Rhetorical and Logical Fallacies
Students read the essay "Human Cloning" and are instructed to identify and underline loaded terms, caricatures, leading questions, false assumptions, and incorrect premises using a color-coded key. The lesson provides explicit examples and an answer key labeling specific phrases (e.g., "the most serious threat known to mankind," "Cloning is an irresponsible, terrorist act") as loaded language and identifies other phrases as leading questions or false assumptions. Students must also create advertisements that purposely employ at least three rhetorical or logical fallacies, requiring them to choose words and phrases to produce a desired tone and persuasive effect.
Lesson 5
Arguing the Issue
Students are asked to identify logical and rhetorical fallacies in two essays about cloning, including a prompt to record "Logical and Rhetorical Fallacies" and a fallacy list that names "Loaded Terms." The parent answer guide explicitly labels examples of loaded terms from the texts and points out specific phrases (e.g., "live forever") as loaded language. Students also play a game using fallacy cards (including "Loaded Terms") to practice applying rhetorical word-choice strategies to arguments.
Lesson 6
Societal Comparisons
The Parent Plan discussion question asks students to explain why the author described a historical agreement as "a pact made in hell," prompting interpretation of a figurative phrase and its connotations. The Skills section explicitly asks students to "analyze how a text makes connections... (e.g., through comparisons, analogies, or categories)," which relates to examining analogies or allusions. The Dystopian Literature activity asks students to consider warnings the author offers and to compare the book to other dystopian works, which could involve recognizing allusions or parallels to other texts.
Lesson 7
One-Act Play
Students are asked to consider why the author named a character Esperanza and to discuss the connotative meaning of that name (Parent Plan question about Esperanza meaning "hope"). Students are instructed to decide what mood they want to invoke and to "encourage this mood through your dialogue," which requires choosing words and phrasing to create tone. The activity asks students to model the contrast between characters' chatter and Matt's silence in the sample scene, prompting attention to how specific lines and silence affect audience perception.
Lesson 8
Family Crest
Students are directed to consult dictionaries and record each vocabulary word and its part of speech, finding meanings using both reference materials and the book sentences. Students use the sentences from the novel to determine which dictionary definition applies and to verify inferred meanings in context. Students create index cards with either original sentences or illustrations to practice and reinforce each word's meaning.
Lesson 11
Wisdom and Love
Students are asked to identify and reflect on Celia's religious symbols and messages (e.g., the Virgin of Guadalupe, lullabies, feathers) and explain how Matt internalizes those symbols in Activity 1. The Parent Plan skill list explicitly states students will "Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on themes, patterns of events, or character types from myths, traditional stories, or religious works," which points to consideration of allusions. Question #3 has students note that Matt's foot tattoo is revealed and that characters assume it means he is a "zombie" (eejit), which involves recognizing an assumed/connotative meaning in the text.
Lesson 13
Unit Test and Essay Reflections
Students are asked to define four words from a given list (disconsolately, furtively, harangued, rite, welter, creosote, aristocrat, purgatory, brine) in their own words on a Student Activity Page, and vocabulary questions appear in the Parent Plan with expected definitions. The lesson's Skills section explicitly lists the target skill of determining meanings of words and phrases. Several short-answer and comprehension questions require students to recall and use word meanings in context.
Unit 2: Watership Down
Lesson 1
Preparing to Read
Students use sentences taken from the novel to choose the appropriate definition and part of speech for each vocabulary word and complete a Vocabulary Cube with the word, definition, alternate definition, part of speech, synonym, and the word in a sentence. Students assemble cubes and play a dice-style game that requires them to recall which word matches a given definition, synonym, part of speech, or sentence context. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill of determining the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, indicating the lesson's intended focus on meaning-in-context.
Lesson 2
Foreshadowing
Students read passages labeled 'Foreshadowing and Symbolism' that contain vivid, figurative images (e.g., dreams of blood, a black river) and are asked to "describe what you think is being foreshadowed" and to "record any symbols you see and what you think they may stand for." The Parent Plan also asks students to "cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis" and provides character quotes and passages for students to reference. Character analysis pages require students to record quotes and others' reactions, which can prompt attention to wording in context.
Lesson 3
An Epic Journey
Students are directed to use the Lapine Glossary at the back of Watership Down and a provided list of English words borrowed from other languages to write sentences or a short poem using at least 10 borrowed or Lapine words. The activity includes an explicit discussion of word origin and form, including an example that "Hruddud" is onomatopoeic because it sounds like an engine. The Parent Plan Skills state that students should identify common words or word parts from other languages that are used in written English.
Lesson 4
Comparing Rabbits
Students are given lists of Latin roots and suffixes and complete a worksheet that asks them to write definitions for italicized words by using roots/prefixes/suffixes and sentence context. Students are prompted to discuss word meanings in the Parent Plan (e.g., indolence, lassitude, plausible, prudence, undulated, inducement) and to review these roots and affixes. Students are asked to interpret a figurative comparison when Pipkin describes the rabbits as reminding him of "trees in November," which requires explaining the implied meaning and tone.
Lesson 5
Quotes and Creatures
Students are asked in Activity 1 to research chapter-opening quotations and explain the nature of the cited works and how each quote relates to the events and theme of the corresponding chapter, which requires analyzing allusions to other texts. The Parent Plan Skills explicitly list determining meanings of words and phrases (including technical meanings) and analyzing the impact of specific word choices. In Activity 2 students research whether named organisms are producers or consumers and record technical vocabulary (producer/consumer, herbivore/carnivore/omnivore) and then create a food-web diagram, integrating technical terms visually.
Lesson 6
Dramatic Irony
Students use a "Latin Roots and Affixes" worksheet to hypothesize meanings of unfamiliar words by analyzing roots, prefixes, suffixes, and sentence context, then look up and record dictionary definitions. Students read Chapters 22 and 23 and complete a dramatic irony activity that asks them to state what the reader knows, what the characters believe, and the effect on the reader for specific passages. Students take on the literary role of Questioner by developing 3–5 big-idea discussion questions, which requires attention to meaning and interpretation of the text.
Lesson 7
Rabbit Societies
Students complete a "Vocabulary: Multiple Meanings" activity where they read words in context, write a contextual definition, look up and record at least two dictionary meanings, and star the meaning that matches the passage. The parent plan and skills list direct students to use context clues, consult dictionaries or glossaries, and verify preliminary word-meaning determinations. In discussion questions, students are asked to consider the narrator's comparisons (e.g., the batsman and actor analogies) and to explain why the author includes these comparisons and what effect they have on the reader.
Lesson 9
Characters
Students are given explicit definitions of denotation and connotation and an example (relaxed vs. lazy) that contrasts literal meaning and associated feeling. Students complete a "Denotations and Connotations" activity page that asks them to read passages and analyze italicized words in context (e.g., run/bolt, strange/marvelous, punt/raft) to describe different connotative senses. Students are prompted to look for words with similar denotations but different connotations in daily use and to write their sense of each word's connotations on the activity page.
Lesson 12
Dramatic Enactment
Students play a Root Charade game that has them act out Latin roots and then name English words that use those roots, and the Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill: "Use common, grade-appropriate Greek or Latin affixes and roots as clues to the meaning of a word." Students are asked to read Chapters 41–45 and to add "memorable quotes" to character cards, and discussion questions prompt students to give examples of how the author creates humor through perspective, which touches on tone.
Lesson 13
A Fantasy Story
Students are asked to define and contrast denotation and connotation in the Unit Test/Literary Terms section and to provide examples of foreshadowing and other literary terms. Students practice word meaning through vocabulary fill-in items and Latin root/affix flash cards and match exercises, using roots to determine word meanings. Students are prompted to choose "strong, specific words" to establish mood in their own stories and the rubric explicitly evaluates "Word Choice: Use of strong, specific words; Word choice supports a consistent mood."
Unit 3: The Book Thief
Lesson 1
The Author and Narrator
Students read the Prologue and Part One and answer questions that identify the novel's unique narration and the specific colors Death associates with Liesel, directing attention to the author's color imagery. Students complete a personification activity in which they list and describe three abstract things that could be personified and may write short imagined passages or create illustrations, practicing figurative language. Students create a color-collage of a personal event and write three sentences that use chosen colors to explain feelings, linking word/image choice to tone; they also read an author interview about figurative language and are signposted to similes and metaphors in the next lesson.
Lesson 2
Similes and Metaphors
Students look up six vocabulary words in context, write definitions in their own words, and create symbols for each word in a mini picture dictionary, practicing determination of word meanings. In the Similes and Metaphors activity, students identify the two things being compared, label phrases as similes or metaphors, choose quotes and explain why they are similes or metaphors, and write original figurative language, which asks them to analyze the effect of these word choices. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill of determining meanings of words and phrases (including figurative meanings) and analyzing idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes.
Lesson 3
Burning Books
Students research and define historical terms and references from The Book Thief (e.g., Kommunist, Aryan, Mein Kampf, anti-Semitism, yellow stars) on the "Historical References" activity page, using linked sources to determine what those words and phrases meant in context. Students analyze Nazi propaganda posters in Part A of the "Propaganda" activity by identifying target groups, goals, and what makes each poster effective, including use of colors, fonts, words, and images to stir emotions. The lesson also prompts students to record examples of propaganda from the text and to connect those examples to meanings and motives.
Lesson 4
The Value of Books
Students are asked to record examples of effective images that appeal to the five senses and to mark descriptions in the text, which directs them to identify figurative language (e.g., similes and vivid adjectives). Activity 2 explicitly presents figurative examples from the text ("The sky was murky and deep like quicksand," "the foul taste of his own hungry breath") and asks students to consider what made each example effective. Students are instructed to consider vivid adjectives, simile/metaphor, and unexpected descriptions as tools Zusak uses, and to revise word choice using a thesaurus to find stronger synonyms.
Lesson 5
The Accordion Player
Students are asked to compare denotation and connotation (e.g., stroll, trudge, stomp) and to discuss how different word choices create specific images and feelings. Students examine and discuss figurative or unusual phrases from the book (e.g., "He unleashed his quietest words," "the conversation of bullets," "think clumsy silence") and are prompted to explain why those phrases are memorable. In the "Be Specific" activities, students revise underlined words and phrases to more precise, descriptive choices, practicing how word choice affects imagery and tone.
Lesson 6
The Standover Man
Students answer a question asking why Max draws himself as a bird and connect this image to Liesel's line, "His hair is like feathers," which requires interpreting a figurative description. Students discuss how the meaning of the phrase "standover man" changes over the course of Max's story, tracing a shift in connotation. Students record examples of propaganda from the pages and note the presence of Mein Kampf, identifying a reference to another text.
Lesson 7
The Seven-Sided Die
Students read and analyze specific propaganda quotes (for example, statements attributed to Hitler and passages from the German National Catechism) and are prompted to identify emotions the arguments appeal to and explain why the argument may have been effective. Students identify logical fallacies in quoted passages and complete guided analysis sections that ask them to explain the persuasive effects of particular lines. Students also practice applying these analyses to ads and commercials by identifying fallacies and explaining the intended influence on readers/viewers.
Lesson 8
The Thief Strikes Again
Activity 2 presents three literal examples from the reading (e.g., "trees standing like emaciated statues") and asks students to write their own descriptions using similes or metaphors in the narrator's voice. The "Ideas to Think About" prompts students to consider how figurative language and word choice create tone and emotionally engage the reader. The Parent Plan explicitly names determining meanings of words/phrases and analyzing the impact of word choices as a targeted skill.
Lesson 9
Close Calls
Students are asked in Activity 1 to locate and record examples of personification, simile, metaphor, and onomatopoeia from Part Six, with definitions and an answer key provided. The lesson includes guiding questions that ask students to consider how figurative language and word choice create tone and emotionally engage the reader, and Question #4 asks students to analyze Death's disturbing descriptions and their relation to Liesel's story. The Painting Sentences activity has students choose words to expand and refine, practicing deliberate word choice to make writing more descriptive.
Lesson 10
The Trilogy of Happiness
Students are asked to interpret Max's phrase that the stars "burned" or "set fire to [his] eyes," prompting them to propose possible figurative meanings. Students are directed to record and analyze examples of propaganda language from the text (e.g., characters saying "Heil Hitler," soldiers calling the march a "parade," and descriptions like "the Führer in their eyes"). In the War Journalism activity, students compare informational versus propagandistic elements of newsreel footage and analyze how Ernie Pyle "creates living pictures with his words," which asks them to consider how word choice shapes meaning and tone.
Lesson 11
The Word Shaker
Students identify and analyze specific word choices in the "Descriptive Examples" activity by finding 2-3 adverbs, adjectives, and strong verbs from the reading and explaining why each example is effective. Students interpret figurative language and symbolism in Max's allegory on the "Descriptive Examples" page by answering questions about what Hitler is "planting," what the conveyor-belt scene represents, and who the "word shakers" are. The Parent Plan and Activities prompt students to compare writing styles (primary sources vs. historical fiction) and to record phrases and sentences that fit categories, which requires attending to connotative and stylistic effects of words.
Lesson 12
The Teddy Bear
Students are prompted in the "Ideas to Think About" section to consider how writers use figurative language and word choice to create tone and engage readers. The reading notes instruct students to jot down instances of figurative language (personification, simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, allegory, and symbolism) as they read. A Parent Plan discussion question asks students to explain what Death means when he says, "No person was able to serve the Führer as loyally as me," which asks students to interpret a figurative/connotative statement.
Final Project
Think-Tac-Toe
Students are asked to jot down especially effective instances of figurative language as they read and to identify examples such as personification, simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, allegory, and symbolism. In the Think-Tac-Toe Descriptions students define six figurative devices, provide examples from the book for several devices, illustrate chosen examples, and transform sentences from the book into figurative forms while explaining the changes. The Propaganda Posters activity and parent skill list prompt students to evaluate tone, style, and how features (color, design, symbols) add to a message or emotion.
Unit 4: To Kill a Mockingbird
Lesson 1
Historical Context
Students are asked to interpret figurative language in discussion prompts, for example explaining what Atticus means that there were "other ways of making people into ghosts." Students are also asked to explain the meaning of Scout's line, "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read," which requires interpreting connotative nuance. The lesson has students read text passages and answer comprehension questions that draw attention to specific lines and descriptions from the first two chapters.
Lesson 2
Home and School
Students are given a focused vocabulary list and a Student Activity Page that directs them to determine the meaning of specific highlighted words from passages in To Kill a Mockingbird using context and then verify those meanings with a dictionary. The lesson repeatedly asks students to review and record definitions (both "my definition" and "dictionary definition") for words such as "assuaged," "predilection," "sojourn," "disapprobation," and "asinine." Students are also asked to refer to specific examples from the book in their written responses, which can connect word usage to passages.
Lesson 3
The Mystery of Boo
Students are asked to "Review the meaning of hearsay" and are given a definition of hearsay, and Activity 1 has students classify statements about Boo Radley as "Hearsay and Gossip" or "Personal Experience and Reliable Sources," which requires determining literal meanings in context. The parent-plan discussion prompts students to interpret Miss Maudie's line ("...sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whiskey bottle...") and to explain what she means and the example she gives, which asks students to analyze a figurative analogy.
Lesson 4
Snow and Fire
Students read Chapters 8–9 and record "memorable descriptions" and "quotes or dialogue" on a Character Line-Up chart, collecting specific wordings from the text. Students must write a literature response that includes at least one quotation and an explanation of its meaning and importance. Students discuss the connotative meaning of the "n" word and explain why Atticus does not want Scout to use it, recognizing its derogatory historical associations.
Lesson 7
A Moral Dilemma
The lesson provides a targeted vocabulary list with definitions (e.g., elucidate, amiably, mollified, volition, indicted) and example sentences drawn from the novel, and students are prompted to write their own sentences for each word. The Student Activity Page explicitly asks students to use the words in context by composing sentences, and example sentences from chapters 14–15 show how the words function in the text. The Parent Plan section names the exact skill of determining word meaning and includes a reminder for parents to review their child's sentence use, reinforcing word-meaning practice.
Lesson 9
Order in the Court
Students are explicitly assigned the skill in the Parent Plan, which lists "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone." Students read chapters 18–20 of To Kill a Mockingbird and complete vocabulary and application tasks: they learn definitions of legal terms on the "Order in the Court" page and use those terms to fill in blanks on "The Trial" worksheet. Students diagram sentences and identify how prepositional phrases function, practicing analysis of phrase function and literal meaning in context.
Lesson 11
The Mockingbird
Students read chapters 24–26 and are asked to identify the mockingbird as a symbol, citing Atticus's line and Miss Maudie's explanation that mockingbirds 'don't do one thing but make music' and 'that's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.' Students analyze Mr. Underwood's editorial likening Tom Robinson's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds and answer a question recognizing Scout's comparison between Hitler's treatment of Jews and African-Americans (an explicit analogy/allusion). Students complete a graphic organizer listing instances where innocence is threatened or destroyed and respond to discussion prompts explaining figurative passages such as 'secret courts of men's hearts.'
Lesson 12
Wise Words
Students are asked in Activity 1: Wise Words to choose five quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird and "rewrite each, or explain it in your own words," which requires determining the meaning of words and phrases in context. The Student Activity Page includes an explicit example in which a figurative statement about mockingbirds is restated in literal terms, showing practice with figurative meaning. The Parent Plan lists a related skill: "Analyze how particular lines of dialogue... reveal aspects of a character," which supports close reading of language.
Lesson 13
Text and Film
Students read the final chapters (29–31) of To Kill a Mockingbird and encounter Scout's line, "It would be like killing a mockingbird." In the Wrapping Up parent plan, students are asked to explain how that comment shows what Scout has learned, which requires interpreting the mockingbird symbol and its figurative meaning. The poster activity asks students to write a sentence of summary about the film, which may involve choosing wording to convey theme.
Final Project
Oral Book Presentation
Students study a vocabulary list with definitions (e.g., assuaged, predilection, sojourn) and complete a matching vocabulary activity that asks them to identify word meanings. Students read a passage and are asked to choose a powerful quotation, write a paraphrase of an underlined sentence, and summarize the passage, demonstrating practice in determining literal meanings and restating phrases. The unit test and study guide include literary-term definitions (quotation, paraphrase, summary, symbol) and prompts that require students to identify symbols and give examples of how themes are developed.
Unit 5: Great American Poets
Lesson 1
Poetry Basics
Students compare two descriptive passages (the Frost example) and are asked which words make the poetic image more effective, with explicit discussion of the simile that shapes meaning. Students rewrite plain prose sentences into poetic lines (Words of Poetry Part I) and choose words to create imagery and evoke feelings. Students annotate poems (Active Reader), underlining alliteration, circling unfamiliar words to look up and record definitions, and underlining phrases that create vivid images or tone. Students complete vocabulary tasks (Poetry Vocabulary) identifying assonance, rhyme scheme, and stressed syllables, practicing analysis of how specific sounds and word choices affect meaning and tone.
Lesson 2
Early American Poetry
Students look up synonyms for key words and test them in context (the Frost "acquainted" exercise) and are asked to judge which synonyms better fit tone and meaning. The Student Activity Page has students list synonyms for "noiseless" in Whitman's title and choose which restore or change the title's effect. The comparing-texts activity asks students to reread Longfellow's poem and Revere's first-person account, mark especially effective phrases or images, and note differences in use of figurative language, tone, and language that makes lines memorable.
Lesson 3
Figurative Language
Students are asked to identify and explain figurative devices (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, idiom, personification, imagery) in named poems and to compare lines such as "Hope is the thing with feathers" and "There is no frigate like a book," asking what two things are being compared and how the comparisons differ. Students locate examples of imagery and personification in specific stanzas (e.g., Longfellow's sound imagery and the personification in "Paul Revere's Ride"), and they are prompted to use a dictionary to infer meanings. Students also produce their own lines and poems using simile/metaphor, imagery, alliteration, and personification, practicing literal and figurative phrasing.
Lesson 5
Edgar Allan Poe
Students are asked to interpret the irony at the end of Poe's poem "Alone," citing imagery in the final lines to explain meaning (Question #1). Students are asked to describe the mood evoked by "The Conqueror Worm," recording their feelings and reactions to the last stanzas (Question #2). Students analyze sound and poetic technique by marking end rhyme and describing internal rhyme patterns in "The Raven" (Question #3), and Option 1 asks students to select lines from Poe's poems that demonstrate his focus on beauty.
Lesson 6
Meaning in Poetry
Students are given definitions of denotation, connotation, literal and symbolic meanings and are instructed to look up unfamiliar words, providing direct instruction for determining word and phrase meaning. Activity 1 directs students to identify literal and symbolic meanings, analyze figurative devices (simile, metaphor, personification), and recognize allusions using the example of "To Helen" (Helen of Troy). Question prompts and answer explanations (e.g., Question #2 and #3) ask students to connect specific word choices and images ("horror," "crashing," "disheartened") to mood and to reinterpret metaphors (the "Captain" as Lincoln). The Parent Plan skills list explicitly includes analyzing idioms, analogies, metaphors, similes and determining figurative and connotative meanings, linking activities to the standard.
Lesson 7
Poetry Analysis
The Parent Plan Skills explicitly lists the standard, saying students will determine meanings of words and phrases (including figurative and connotative meanings) and analyze the impact of specific word choices, analogies, and allusions. The Poem Analysis student page directs students to identify figurative language (simile, metaphor, irony, personification) in Part II, to state literal and symbolic meanings in Part V, and to analyze tone and mood in Part IV. The wrap-up discussion question asks students to consider how understanding the allusion in "The New Colossus" helps them better understand the poem, prompting analysis of an allusion's effect on meaning and tone.
Lesson 8
Robert Frost
Students are asked to identify imagery and symbolic meaning in poems (e.g., Question 2 asks them to identify images that suggest a drowsy state; Question 3 asks for the poem's symbolic meaning). Activity 1 directs students to notice figurative devices in Frost's lines (pointing out assonance, alliteration, and an original simile in "Birches") and to write a nature poem using at least one simile or metaphor. Activity 3 asks students to analyze the effect of hyphens and dashes in poems (including Emily Dickinson's Poem 632) and to explain how a dash changes pause and emphasis, and the Visual Response asks students to compare Stein's poem to Cubist artwork (making connections to another art form).
Lesson 9
Memorizing Poetry
Students are asked to look up unfamiliar words and pronunciations before memorizing a poem, which requires determining word meaning. Question 3 directs students to consider the made-up word "Gubbinal," apply a possible connotative meaning ("stupid and insensitive"), and decide how that changes their understanding of the poem. Question 2 asks students to look up the reference to "Euclid" and compare that poem to Whitman's, requiring students to recognize and analyze an allusion. Multiple questions ask students to note repetition, refrains, and rhyme choices (Question 1 and the villanelle comparison), prompting analysis of how specific word/phrase choices affect meaning and tone.
Lesson 10
Poems about Poetry
Students are asked to look up key words, underline phrases and images, and answer questions about the meanings of specific lines (e.g., last stanza of "Poetry" and the last two lines of "Ars Poetica"). The parent skills list and activities instruct students to analyze idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes and to explain why particular phrases or images are effective. The ellipses activity has students replace punctuation (dashes with ellipses) and explain how that change affects meaning and tone, and questions about Prufrock ask students to infer character traits from textual details.
Lesson 11
Editing Your Work
Students are asked to look up the meaning of "deferred" and then reread and interpret the final line of "Dream Deferred," which requires determining word meaning in context. Students analyze E.E. Cummings's unconventional capitalization and are asked what effect it has, prompting them to consider how specific word/typographical choices affect meaning and tone. Activities ask students to improve a poem's imagery and use of figurative language and to explain why they used particular punctuation marks, requiring consideration of figurative/connotative meaning and the impact of choices on tone.
Lesson 12
Reciting Poetry
Students read multiple poems (including "A Supermarket in California" and "A Fable") and answer interpretive questions such as why the supermarket setting is an odd way to honor Walt Whitman, citing a line from the poem. Students are prompted to consider how poetry stirs emotion and why word choice is key, and they are asked to compare poems that deal with family relationships and describe what the poet was trying to communicate. The skills list asks students to write poems using figurative language (personification, idioms, hyperbole) and to read and analyze poetry.
Final Project
Poetry Journal
The Parent Plan explicitly lists the standard and directs students to "analyze idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes to infer the literal and figurative meanings of phrases." Student assessment items require students to identify figurative language (e.g., a question asking which figurative device appears in a line from "The Raven" and Questions 10–13 asking students to identify figurative language and describe mood). Part IV Question 14 asks students to define the difference between denotation and connotation, and poem-analysis prompts ask students to explore imagery and the mood of a poem.