Discovering Voice: Voice Lessons for Middle and High School

Lessons on diction, detail, figurative language, imagery, syntax, and tone help middle and early high school students understand the concept of voice in what they read and develop a strong, personal voice in their own writing. Each voice lesson takes only 10-20 minutes to complete and includes a quotation selected from a wide range of literature, two discussion questions, and an exercise that encourages students to practice what they have learned about the elements of voice. Discovering Voice also offers a collection of quotations students can use to create their own voice lessons. Discussion suggestions for each voice lesson and additional activities for teaching voice further promote critical analysis. Each of the seven packs on the elements of voice--diction, detail, figurative language 1 (metaphors, similes, and personification), figurative language 2 (hyperboles, symbols, and irony), imagery, syntax, and tone--include an introduction, lessons with discussion questions and an exercise, "write-your-own" voice lessons, a list of additional activities for teaching voice, and discussion suggestions.

Nancy Dean, professor emerita at the P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, University of Florida, is an experienced teacher, literacy coach, and curriculum specialist. Committed to school improvement and meaningful professional development, Nancy has worked extensively with teachers and school leaders in both urban and rural schools throughout the United States. She is the Associate Director for Professional Learning at the National Literacy Project and a national consultant in secondary literacy and literacy leadership. Nancy is a co-author of several books on adolescent literacy and the author of Voice Lessons: Classroom Activities to Teach Diction, Detail, Imagery, Syntax, and Tone and Discovering Voice: Lessons to Teach Reading and Writing of Complex Text.