Curated OER
Simon Says: Mother May I?
Student increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After discussing the importance of fluency, learners complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with the instructor, they read complete a timed...
Curated OER
Practice Makes Perfect
Students increase their reading fluency through the use of various strategies. After reviewing chunking and rereading, students complete an initial read of a novel text. Working with a partner, they read complete a timed assessment of...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Problematic Situations
Introduce your class to the characters from My Antonia by Willa Cather in a unique way. Given a hypothetical situation about an atomic bomb shelter and a list of character descriptions, pupils must decide which characters get to stay in...
Curated OER
Pudd'nhead Wilson: Anticipation Guide
Get your pupils thinking about some of the big ideas present in Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson with this anticipation guide. Learners decided if they believe a series of statements are true or false. A discussion follows.
Novelinks
Walk Two Moons: Story Impressions
Story chains connect literary concepts, reinforce context clues, and even help learners predict what's coming next! Using words from the next chapter of Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, middle schoolers craft story chains to determine...
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Kinesthetic Grammar Approach
Though beautiful, William Shakespeare's prose can be inhibiting for learners who are new to his works. A lesson based on The Tempest guides high schoolers through the paraphrasing process, including noting the subjects and verbs to align...
Curated OER
Poetic Word Choice
Groups or pairs choose ordinary objects from a bag and rename them based on traits, so that a stapler becomes a "paper cobra." Then they connect this exercise to the way authors use language to emphasize certain traits through word...
Curated OER
Author In The Spotlight
Complete an in-depth study of the works or a specific author. Working in pairs, students read at least four works by the same author. After completing the reading, they create an essay comparing and contrasting the works and create an...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 10: Writing Really Good Dialogue
Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this lesson has a worksheet that can...
Curated OER
Censorship In Fahrenheit 451
Tenth graders explore the concept of censorship through a reading of Fahrenheit 451. They discuss the issue and its relation to contemporary society. Students work in groups to debate the pros and cons of censorship in our society.
Curated OER
Characteristics of Anne Frank
Eighth graders read selected passages from The Diary of Anne Frank. Working in pairs, 8th graders determine what qualities and characteristics they would assign to her from their selected diary entry.
Curated OER
Integrative Lesson on Genres of American Literature (Senior, Literature)
To begin this lesson, the instructor will present a PowerPoint detailing the genres of Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism. Learners will follow along with an instructional sheet that will aid in the identification of setting, tone,...
Curated OER
Novel endings
Students explore writing techniques. They investigate stories and their endings. Students discuss good ending tips. Students write a story about a main character overcoming a problem and write a good ending.
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
What Are The Odds?
Students read the book, Jim Ugly, and discuss whether the odds were in favor of or against the character Jake finding his dad. They demonstrate an experiment involving odds by keeping a tally of how many times a colored die is pulled out...
Curated OER
Explore Chapters 1 - 5
Students preview the novel, "Dragonwings," by Laurence Yep, make connections between the novel previewed and their prior knowledge, other texts, and the world. They utilize graphic representations including charts, graphs, pictures, and...
Curated OER
Laurence Yep's, Dragonwings
Students discuss vocabulary words and compare definitions. They read chapters 6-9 of the novel, Dragonwings, and discuss point of view, and complete a plot diagram. Then they review the four types of conflict and identify the conflicts...
Curated OER
Solve a Mystery
Fourth graders use text clues to solve mysteries. In this text clue/mystery solving instructional activity, 4th graders access a teacher assigned web site, Cyberkids.com, where they solve a mystery. They read chapters of, Encyclopedia...
Curated OER
Acting Up
Young scholars, in groups, study a Tony Award winner from the past through researching its history, watching the production, and reading the written origin of the production. They create programs for these productions and assess
Curated OER
Health: Influences on Decisions
Students discover factors influencing their decisions after explaining their reasons for choosing favorite beverages. Working in pairs, they complete worksheets about the influences on decision-making. They write stories about...
Curated OER
Pre-Reading Preparation
Learners explore a given historical fiction story. In groups, they research selected topics dealing with the story and determine what is fiction and what is fact. Students create a multimedia presentation about their findings and...
Roald Dahl
The Twits - The Twits Get the Shrinks
Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson plan that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson plan uses mind maps and group discussion to help...
English is a Piece of Cake
Emotional Intelligence
How would you describe a great leader? Explore the theme of leadership with a unit that focuses on emotional intelligence, and how great leaders have a strong sense of emotional intelligence.
Curated OER
Black and White to Colour
Pupils explore two processes: the filmmaking process and the process of converting a work of fiction to a film, The English Patient." They study World War II history in locations depicted in The English Patient: North Africa and Italy....