Curated OER
Western Medieval European Poetry and Literature
One of the Common Core standards requires learners to make connections between literature or media of the past and the present. Provided here, are key elements found in medieval poetry and literature that are connected to several more...
Curated OER
Holocaust Studies: Five Poems by Dan Pagis
Teaching a unit on the Holocaust? Consider using the personal statements of Dan Pagis’s poetry to contrast with the more “distanced” historical accounts found in textbooks. Five poems, discussion questions, and background notes are...
EngageNY
Launching Modern Voices: Concrete Poetry
Challenges are different for today's kids. Learners begin to think about their own challenges by examining the adversities faced by children in medieval villages. They complete a graphic organizer as they watch the...
Curated OER
Exploring Arthurian Legend
Students investigate the evolution of the King Arthur stories and analyze them as a window into the culture that preserved them. They trace the legends through their earliest versions through medieval and Victorian times and into the...
Curated OER
King Arthur: Man or Legend
Students research the Legend of King Arthur. In this King Arthur lesson, students explore him as he is presented in stories, poems, and art. Students compare and contrast the real life of King Arthur versus the man in...
Curated OER
Symmetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Learners examine knightly virtues and will measure Gawain's strength in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In this poetry analysis lesson, students identify the bob-and-wheel poetic form and analyze symmetry in the poem. Learners...
Curated OER
William Wallace
In this world history learning exercise, students read a brief history about William Wallace, the Guardian of Scotland. Following this story, students construct a timeline to show the key events in the life and times of Scotland's hero....
Curated OER
Ballad Blast
Students write epic poems, songs, or ballads to describe adventures of their own. They discover that storytellers often told stories as epic poems, songs, or ballads. They share and discuss some of Homer's Odyssey and Iliad.
Curated OER
Chaucer's Wife of Bath
Young scholars analyze Chaucer's portrayal of the Wife of Bath in The Canterbury Tales. Students prepare class reports on the institution of marriage and the place of women in the Medieval society.
Curated OER
The Legend of King Arthur
Young scholars explore historical perspectives through literature. In this King Arthur lesson, students discover the attributes of dramatic monologue as they read selected literature. Young scholars then discuss the legend of King Arthur...
Curated OER
Tales of King Arthur
Middle schoolers discover how historical events led to the stories of King Arthur and his Court. Students read stories about chivalry and the Round Table, discuss the Holy Grail's symbolism, and role-play an Arthurian character.
Curated OER
Freak the Mighty - Rodman Philbrick
Students read and examine the novel Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. A variety of assignments involving this novel is offered for the students to complete with higher order thinking skills.
Curated OER
Conceived in Light
Students write a piece of free-verse poetry that incorporates or focuses on an idea about light. They brainstorm twenty phrases about light as a pre-writing activity.
Curated OER
The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon
Twelfth graders deduce the motivation behind and meaning of certain behaviors, conversations and poetry. Students analyze culture's value system. Students compare and contrast Anglo Saxon court culture, Medieval court culture, Medieval...
Curated OER
Sonnet Project
Twelfth graders use the internet to examine how the Gutenberg press affected society as a whole. Using examples of illuminated type, they develop type in three different formats. They share their types with the class and answer...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Curated OER
Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven Part 1
Quoth the raven - nevermore! Delve into Edgar Allan Poe's' The Raven," but not too deeply. Answer reading comprehension questions in this multiple-choice quiz without getting too much into the mind of the narrator or poet himself.
Curated OER
Magic Squares for Cyrano de Bergerac Act II
There is some tricky vocabulary in Act II of Cyrano de Bergerac! Front-load these words with this magic squares activity. Sixteen new words are listed, along with their definitions. Kids must match each word to its definition,...
Curated OER
Chaucer's Wife of Bath
A thorough and well-designed resource for older learners, this lesson focuses on Chaucer's character the Wife of Bath from his classic novel, The Canterbury Tales. As a way of understanding Chaucer's complex characterization and...
Curated OER
The Romantic Age in British Literature
Put the Romantic Age into context for British Literature classes with a PowerPoint that defines and characterizes this movement in literature, music and art. Notable painters, writers, and musicians are listed, as are key romantic themes...
Curated OER
Reading Comprehension/Valentine's Day
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students learn facts about Valentine's Day by reading a one page story. Students then answer 6 questions.
Curated OER
Proverbs
Students examine the origins of proverbs and examine several examples. Then they create their own collection of existing proverbs. Later they write their own original ones and share with the class.
British Library
British Library: Discovering Literature: The Makars: Medieval Scottish Poetry
From morality to migraines: this article analyses key concerns in the late medieval poetry of Robert Henryson and William Dunbar.
The Newberry Library
Newberry: Wives and Wenches, Sinners and Saints: Women in Medieval Europe
Learning module on women in Europe during the Middle Ages teaches about medieval Christian beliefs about women's nature and social roles and how they were expressed in illustrations, poetry, and religious writings.