Pearl Teacher Edition

Summing Up the Plot is a convenient teacher’s guide to the selection, providing a bulleted, page-for-page summary. This will serve as a good memory aid as you return to the selection each time you teach it.

Getting Started is a springboard to the selection. An activity, a question, or intriguing information enables the teacher to generate broader student interest.

Blueprint for Reading

Background Bytes provides useful and interesting information that may be drawn from biographical information, history, science, geography, or other appropriate disciplines.

Into the Selection parallels textbook material and both clarifies and elaborates upon the discussion of theme. It serves as a guide to helping students analyze thematic content. Theme may be very difficult for many students. This fuller explanation enables you to point to specific thematic elements in the selection.

Focus narrows attention to the featured literary component, and expands the discussion of writing, style, tone, and language. Here you will find insightful teaching hints and thoughtful questions. Focus helps your students understand the target skill being taught.

Literary Components is a strong lesson tool. Numbers in the margins of the selection text refer teachers to a listing and explanation of the literary component. The numbered, underlined text includes figures of speech, imagery, language, and style, as well as features such as point of view, plot, characterization, setting, atmosphere, foreshadowing, conflict, suspense, rising and falling action, climax, resolution, dialogue, diction, irony, humorous juxtaposition, literary reference, citing authority, and so forth. Often, the Literary Components serve as a way to explain a sophisticated point to the educator, so that in turn, it can be clearly explained to the student.

Guiding the Reading is a page-for-page listing of literal questions requiring factual recall of the text and analytical questions needing deeper reflection.

Studying the Selection

First Impressions suggests possible responses to the question posed in the textbook. Quick Review and Focus have detailed answers to the questions in the textbook. Material is included for productive class instruction. Creating and Writing is the final review element in the textbook. The activities in this section are challenging: one requires creative writing, one is grounded in the theme of the selection and its literary form, and the final activity is non-literate (a work of art, a charitable activity, a fieldwork project, for example).

Analyzing the Poem grapples with thematic implications. This explanation provides thoughtful material essential to teaching the poem. It complements, amplifies, and reiterates both textbook and Teacher’s Edition discussion.

See a sample of Analyzing the Poem at the bottom of this page.