Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Rl.3.9: Compare and Contrast Themes, Settings, and Plots
Links to 16 lessons that focus on skills within third grade reading standard RL.3.9.
Read Works
Read Works: Bridge to Terabithia 5th Grade Unit
A Grade 5 literature study unit for the novel "Bridge to Terabithia" by Katherine Paterson. The concepts covered include cause and effect, character, genre, plot, predicting, and theme.
Better Lesson
Better Lesson: Exploring the Power of Allusion
Something seems familiar here: Students learn how allusion invites more into a text. Using "The House On Mango Street" students will learn about allusion by paralleling events from both the Bible and from Greek mythology.
Read Works
Read Works: Read Aloud Lesson: Whoever You Are
In this read-aloud lesson, students will identify similarities among people around the world in order to determine the theme of the story. Included is a detailed lesson plan, graphic organizer for guided practice, and an independent...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Lorraine Hansberry: "A Raisin in the Sun": Analyzing Theme
In this interactive lesson, discover how literary techniques like setting, characterization, and conflict contribute to the overarching theme of a text. Through analysis of Lorraine Hansberry's iconic play A Raisin in the Sun, explore...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Elements of Poetry
Discover how literary techniques like figurative language, imagery, and symbolism contribute to the overall meaning of a poem. Explore how a poet establishes and builds on a theme and the difference between tone and mood. Through a close...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Literary Elements and Techniques Collection
These animated shorts introduce or review literary elements and techniques like theme, setting, figurative language, characterization, and conflict. They can be used when students are just learning how to identify the most commonly used...
British Library
British Library: 20th Century Teaching Resources: Auden & Identity
This series of activities give students opportunities to explore the relationship between production and reception in poetic form. They will consider how W.H. Auden's mastery of language contributes to the impact and longevity of his work.
British Library
British Library: 20th Century Teaching Resources: Angela Carter's Wise Children
In these activities, students will focus on a wealth of drafting material and writer's notebooks to reveal how Angela Carter created her final comic novel, "Wise Children". They will closely examine fascinating source documents and...
British Library
British Library: Teaching Resources: Othello: The Challenges of Staging the Play
These activities encourage young people to join the debate about how to stage and cast Othello. They will debate the pros and cons of different productions and plan how they would stage the play if they could do so themselves. Included...
Cengage Learning
Henry David Thoreau (1817 1862)
This lesson plan discusses teaching students the themes found in Henry David Thoreau. Describes historical perspectives and influences, form, style, and artistic conventions, and the original audience for his work. Includes study...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Fable and Trickster Tales Around the World
The lessons presented in this website "introduce children to folk tales" and how these folktales are changed and affected by generational and cultural values. Includes several links to further related information on folktales, fables,...
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: The Elements of Poetry [Pdf]
This is a 2-page PDF of a chart that lists eight elements of poetry, questions to ask concerning each element, and tips and explanations to aid the understanding of each element. RL.9-10.5 text structure effects
Fun Trivia
Fun Trivia: The Moral of the Story Is...
The site provides ten trivia questions about fables. Fables from Aesop and from The Holy Bible are included in this quiz.
PBS
Pbs: Multiple Methods of Reading Instruction
This article surveys three strategies to incorporate into classroom repertoire. They include guided reading, choral reading, and readers' theater.
Ted Nellen
Cyber English (By Ted Nellen): Fiction: Short Story & Novel Fact Sheet
This is a short story or novel fact sheet offered as a Word document or a PDF. It includes places for title; author; URL; list of important nouns, verbs, phrases, and clauses; setting (includes definition); characterization (including...
Ted Nellen
Cyber English (By Ted Nellen): Poetry Analysis Fact Sheet
This is a Poetry Analysis Fact Sheet that includes how to analyze the parts of a poem including the title, connotations, tone, shifts, theme, poetic devices, and writing a paraphrase.
Yale University
Yale University: Elements of the Short Story
This unit from the Yale University on elements of the short story is designed to develop student comprehension skills, particularly making inferences and generalizing. It also involves students in reading a number of short stories to...
Writing Fix
Writing Fix: A Picture Book Writing Lesson: Same Theme/different Story Stories
After enjoying the story of Fox by Margaret Wild, students will work in small groups to generate possible themes that the book is trying to teach its readers. Themes will be shared whole-group, and a class list of the best themes will be...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Letter to Grandmother [Pdf]
"Letter to Grandmother" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a family of early settlers who moved west. A boy writes a letter to his grandmother telling her about their new life on the plains. It is followed by...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Mama's Happy Christmas [Pdf]
"Mama's Happy Christmas" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about children creating a play for their sick mother on Christmas day. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Cousin's Lesson [Pdf]
"My Cousin's Lesson" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a teenager who stole something from a store and was arrested. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Summer [Pdf]
"My Summer" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a child who visited his grandmother in Phoenix for the summer. He was surprised at how hot it was there. It is followed by open-ended questions which require students to provide...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Potawatomi Prairie [Pdf]
"Potawatomi Prairie" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about the Potawatomi tribe and what their life may have been like during the different seasons of the year. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...