Pinecrest Preparatory Middle and High School
Short Story Planning Guide
A short story is only as strong as its characters, development, and conflicts. Encourage the young authors in your class to plan their stories based on the elements of narrative writing, all provided in brainstorming graphic organizers.
Novelinks
The Martian Chronicles: Response Writing
Follow the format of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with a journal-writing activity. Readers choose a character and examine the character's life and circumstances through brainstorming, research, and discussion before writing a...
Curated OER
The Martian Chronicles: Concept Analysis
If you're planning on including Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in your science fiction unit, use a concept analysis guide to frame your instruction. It covers literary elements such as setting, narrative voice, and theme, as well...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Request Strategy
Round out your unit on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis with a series of reading comprehension questions. As kids read, they challenge each other to answer specific connection questions from the text.
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Problematic Situation
Are you enjoying the use of all five senses? Imagine that you have to lose one of them; you can choose which one, but it's gone forever. Work through a lesson based on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis that asks class members to rank their...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis During Reading Activity: Problematic Situation
Imagine waking up to find a giant bug staring back at you in the mirror! Think about the plight of Franz Kafka's Gregor in The Metamorphosis with a group discussion activity. Class members reflect on what it would be like to suddenly...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: DR-TA
Guide class members through Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis with a series of questions designed for before, during, and after reading. Readers consider Gregor's situation and his options. In addition, they consider how they might rewrite...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Historically, Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis has been difficult for many readers to grasp. From the difficult translation issues to the complex plot and themes, the novel's message and story can be lost when learners can't get their...
Novelinks
The Tempest: A-Z Book Project
Create a picture dictionary for one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays. After readers finish The Tempest, they assign each letter of the alphabet to a concept or character, and add a description and evidence from the text to the...
Novelinks
The Tempest: List-Group-Label (After Reading)
Collaborate with your class after reading William Shakespeare's The Tempest with a group labeling activity. As you note key concepts or words from the play on the board, class members suggest associations and connections to each one, and...
Curated OER
The Tempest: The K-W-H-L Strategy
What does your class want to know about William Shakespeare's The Tempest? Host a discussion about the questions high schoolers have about the play with a KWHL activity in which they write down their inquiries, what they already know,...
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Questioning Strategies
Readers learn to ask questions about text with an activity based on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. As they read, class members craft questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy and then find the answers themselves.
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Concept Analysis
Use a helpful concept analysis guide when planning your unit on Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. The resource covers plot elements, literary themes, and possible issues to address in order to make the work accessible to all of...
Novelinks
The Chosen: Biopoem
What better way to get to know a character than through a biopoem? Learners choose a character from Chaim Potok's The Chosen and create a well-crafted poem about his or her desires, traits, and ambitions.
Novelinks
Sense and Sensibility: Final Assessment: Movie Maker
Assess your class's understanding of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility with a fun and creative final project. Using what they have learned about the novel's characters, they create presentations featuring music and images that best...
Novelinks
Count of Monte Cristo: Questioning Strategy – Tossed Terms
Do you know the setting of The Count of Monte Cristo? What about the main characters? Explore the elements of Alexandre Dumas' novel with a reading comprehension activity. Kids toss boxes with literary elements written on each side, and...
Brigham Young University
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: Body Biography
Pause in your reading of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead to take an in-depth look at the characters. Learners examine a chosen character by drawing a body and assigning quotes and traits to specific areas of the body, thinking...
Curated OER
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead: DR-TA Strategy
Making predictions is an excellent reading strategy. Work on building this into your pupils' toolkit of strategies by trying out the process outlined here for reading the very beginning of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Unsent Letter
Have you ever wanted to tell a character what you really thought of him or her? Use a lesson based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter to encourage learners to write a letter in response to a character's actions.
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Problematic Situation
How could you decide which of your late mother's possessions are important enough to take to college with you? Decide which items would be the most valuable to you with an activity based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter. After learners...
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: Film Language And Elements Of Style
In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: The Filmmaking Process
How are films made? As part of their study of film, middle schoolers investigate the pre-production, production, and post-production process and consider the role of the director, the screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer,...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Biopoem
The characters in Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori are complex and vivid. Compare their characteristics with a biopoem, which prompts learners to complete a format with adjectives, relationships, and additional details that describe each...
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: Unsent Letter
What would the characters of Pride and Prejudice say to each other in a letter? Draft unsent correspondence between characters from Jane Austen's novel. A great way to explore characterization and plot structure in a creative lesson.