Washington Irving Teacher Resources

High schoolers examine the various roles Washington Irving had in his lifetime. Examining the situation in Europe and the United States, they are encouraged to relate Irving's experiences to different events. They examine themselves in...

Students discuss how Washington Irving is considered an important 19th century-American storyteller. They create their own version of a passage from 'The Legend' after listening to the story.

Explore Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in this literature analysis lesson. Middle schoolers read and summarize the plot of the story. They then adapt passages for a contemporary audience and analyze the...

Students are introduced to the romantic cultural movement in America. Reading examples of pictures of Washington Irving's home, they identify the characteristics of the movement. They view other paintings of artists from the same time...

Twelfth graders explore figurative language as it appears in Washington Irving's original text, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, answer questions based on story, and write sequels to it by using the different types of figurative language...

After reading Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," class members compare the characteristics of Ichabod Crane and Brom Van Brunt. Next, they read an article about ghosts that supposedly haunt the campus of Oklahoma...

Students are introduced to the topic of legends. Using the text of Irving's novels, they gather information on different cultures. They practice using new vocabulary and their listening skills. They retell the stories in chronlogical order.

Washington Irving's description of Ichabod Crane provides young readers with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to identify the main idea of a passage.

Fourth graders demonstrate and evaluate the six traits of writing. They read and identify good writing and bad writing, utilize a rubric to self-evaluate their own writing, participate in a Reader's Theater, and publish a class book.

Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...

A headless horseman? Really? A reading of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" launches a study of how to use the A-CLAP strategy to determine a story's credibility. Writers employ these techniques to craft their ghost stories and make them...

Third graders read Washington Irving's, Rip Van Winkle. They compare and contrast Rip Van Winkle's life before and after he slept for twenty years. They complete a Venn Diagram while making these comparisons.

Learners explore the topic of conflict. In this literature lesson, students read  and discuss the central issues in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "The Flesh and the Spirit," and "Somnambulism." Learners write an essay.

Whether you're considering a poetry unit or just want to incorporate more poetry in your curriculum, this unit plan is a must-have. Packed with poems, teaching points, powerful prompts, and poetry performance suggestions, the resource is...

Give your class a deeper understanding of the context and meaning behind early American song lyrics. By reading the lyrics to "Yankee Doodle" and  "Revolutionary Tea," high schoolers will practice analysis by examining the structure and...

Use Nathanial Hawthorne's immortal text on the influence of religion on the early American settlements, as well as its continued impact on American culture, with a unit that focuses on The Scarlet Letter. In addition to Hawthorne's...

Why are some immigrant groups in the United States embraced while others become disenfranchised? To answer this question, teams investigate why groups emigrated to the US, why some of these these peoples were disenfranchised, and their...

Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...

Students examine the cultural importance of America's rivers. Using the Mississippi and Hudson Rivers, they examine a story that takes place on each river. They are introduced to the concepts of preservation and stewardship.

Seventh graders write a five paragraph persuasive essay on a contemporary civic-life issue.

Students discuss and define folklore, locate town of Sleepy Hollow, NY, on map, calculate distance from Sleepy Hollow to their school, if applicable, review vocabulary list from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, read story aloud, and write...

Sixth graders read and discuss background information and brainstorm reasons for wildfires. They use a Venn Diagram to list the similarities and differences between wildfires and prescribed fires and then track the weather forecast for...

Pupils investigate human relationships by creating oil paintings in class. In this gay pride lesson, students discuss why the Pride parade is so important, who appears at the parade and how art is used to spread awareness of gay rights....

Eighth graders research box plots on the Internet. They gather real life statistics and analyze the collected statistics by making multiple box plots on the TI-83 calculator.