Curated OER
Comprehension: Setting
Students discuss what setting represents. In this language arts lesson, students review the three elements of setting: where the story takes place, when does the story take place, and is it past, present, or future? Students create a...
Curated OER
The Call to Greatness: A Search for Moral Integrity in the Urban Classroom
Eleventh graders read a variety of novels surrounding the theme of "greatness." In groups, they discuss various aspects of each novel and create a group bulletin board to identify and display the most important information from the...
Curated OER
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 3
Few studies have captured the complex relationships between mothers and daughters, such as Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club. Tenth graders read "Rules of the Game," which describes Waverly's youth in chess tournaments, and compare how she...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 9
Having prepared for an analysis essay about one of the characters from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, tenth graders demonstrate their understanding in a mid-unit assessment. They focus on either Jing-Mei or Waverly in an informative...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 10
Parental relationships have a huge impact on our personalities, for better or for worse. Read about Mike's relationship with his father in H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights and how it informed the novel's central idea.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Should Hamlet avenge his father's death? Is the ghost telling the truth or is it trying to trick Hamlet? Is Hamlet's inconsistent behavior a ploy or is he really insane? Something really is rotten in Denmark, and with the help of the...
Curated OER
Greek Mythology: Cultures and Art
Students examine literary arts. For this Greek mythology lessons, students read Greek myths and select characters from the myths to study. Students create watercolor illustrations of the characters, write short stories about the...
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing Fact and Fiction
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members explore...
Curated OER
Laurence Yep's Dragonwings
Middle schoolers read independently the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep and make connections between a text and the world. They summarize, paraphrase, analyze and evaluate skimming and scanning techniques when reading a novel. Each...
Curated OER
Elements of Short Stories Vocabulary
In this literature activity, students match the correct word from the first column to the best definition found in the second column. There are twenty words and definitions to match.
Curated OER
Comparing Two Fantasies by J.R.R. Tolkien
Students explore fantasy through The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. In this literature lesson, students investigate character analysis through book comparisons. Students read The Hobbit and one other book by J.R.R. Tolkien and write a...
Curated OER
Puzzle Mystery
Students solve the mystery of which painting they are reproducing by sketching. They determine the mood and imagery in artwork.
Curated OER
Design a Book Cover
Learners use the programs Pics4Learning and ImageBlender 3 to apply their knowledge of characters, plot, setting, symbolism, and conflict to design and create a book cover. Designed as a culminating literature activity.
Curated OER
And the Moral of the Story is...
Students discover the parts of a story through the retelling of a fable as well as characters, plot, and setting. This lesson is completed using the program Pixie to create an online storybook.
Curated OER
Literature Study Contracts
Students complete activities with a leveled chapter book. In this literature lesson, students read a novel and complete several graphic organizers and activities as they read. They focus on characters, settings, vocabulary, and plot.
Curated OER
Creative Writing Idea Sheet
In this creative writing ideas activity, students create their own stories as they use the setting, character, and objects listed on the activity to fuel their ideas.
Curated OER
How Do Respect and Humiliation Shape Conflict?
Young scholars explore the feelings surrounded by humiliation, resentment and retaliation in the context of school violence. In this character building lesson, students examine possible reasons for school violence and focus on possible...
Curated OER
Translation Into Reality
Students read a variety of short stories that focus on teenage protagonists. In groups, they answer comprehension questions and discuss the characters and setting for each story. Individually, they choose one writing assignment to...
Curated OER
Drama Terms Notes
Comedy, tragedy, act, scene, prop. do you want to review important drama terms? Actors record the term next to its definition on a worksheet that could be used individually or as a group activity. A link to a corresponding PowerPoint...
Curated OER
Handout #3-Setting Found Poems
What is a Found Poem? Use excerpts of the setting presented in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men to inspire Found Poetry. An explanation is given, and the second page houses an example of a Found Poem inspired by Black Boy, but you'll...
The New York Times
Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Mr. Ambrose
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...
Curated OER
Mapping the Mediasphere
Students compare/contrast the media messages they see in two different communities in their city. They list the elements of art and the principles of design in the photographs they have taken in those two different communities. They...