Novelinks
Walk Two Moons: Unsent Letter
Take a journey with your class as they explore the different settings from Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech. Middle schoolers write postcards in first person as if they were the characters of the story.
Curated OER
The Joy Luck Club: Problematic Situation
How do your learners react in conflicts with authority figures? Help them begin Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club with an activity about different conflicts that kids can run into with their parents. Each scenario prompts learners to rank the...
Curated OER
Jay Gatsby's Souvenir Scrapbook
Learners create a Power Point scrapbook that compiles memorabilia representing the life of Jay Gatsby. They read the novel, "The Great Gatsby" and conduct internet research using the "American Twenties" website. In small groups, they...
Curated OER
Tuck Everlasting Unit
Natalie Babbitt's award winning fantasy, Tuck Everlasting, is the anchor text in a unit plan that focuses on identifying similes, metaphors, imagery, and personification in the text and analyzing how these elements effect the development...
Curated OER
The Power of Mental Images: Visualizing Literature
Looking for a powerful reading comprehension method? Try visualization! Learners use this strategy to increase comprehension of a chapter book selected by the teacher. As an assessment, individuals or small groups draw pictures of the...
Curated OER
Chunking Huck Finn
Read a designated chapter of the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and discuss the chapter summary in small groups. Groups present their summaries and answer questions specific to their chapter.
Curated OER
Help Me Learn About the Holocaust
Young readers select a book from a provided list to use as the basis for an intensive class study of Holocaust novels. After completing their novels, groups create a multimedia presentation highlighting the elements of literature...
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
The Power of Mental Images: Visualizing Literature
With a chapter book in hand, readers practice visualizing the events and characters of the story. The lesson gives suggestions of novels that are rich in detail to help facilitate the process. Drawings from what they read act as the...
Curated OER
Legends
Students are introduced to the topic of legends. Using the text of Irving's novels, they gather information on different cultures. They practice using new vocabulary and their listening skills. They retell the stories in chronlogical order.
Curated OER
Interpreting Meaning in Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”
Launch a study of Maya Angelou's "I know Why the Caged Bird Sings" with the Youtube video of Alicia Keys singing her "Caged Bird." Groups then read Angelou's poem and discuss the symbols employed. Although the text of the poem is not...
Curated OER
Rest in Peace, Maniac Magee
Scholars read Maniac Magee and create epitaphs for each of the major characters using precise words reflecting the individual characters personality and nature. They will learn what an epitaph is and practice writing their own. They can...
Curated OER
Multimedia Book Report
Young readers plan and draft a book report focusing on the five key components of a novel: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. After completing a story board, pupils then prepare a PowerPoint book report that is shown to the...
Curated OER
The Song of the Lark
Using the internet, class members research the biography of Willa Cather, view photographs of Red Cloud, Nebraska, and read the novel, The Song of the Lark. They discuss the film, its setting and characters, and explore the importance of...
Curated OER
911 As History
Students recognize persuasive techniques, think criticaly about the messages contained in various media, and discuss controversial issues in constructive ways. They analyze the deeper messages contained in children's literature, and...
Curated OER
Robin Hood
Fourth graders read and analyze the novel, Robin Hood. They create a vocabulary word map, complete a Venn diagram comparing Robin Hood and Little John, act out a chapter, create a wedding announcement, and write a new epitaph for Robin...
Curated OER
Rabindranath Tagore's The Home and the World
Students read Tagore's novel and discuss questions of personal development, its influence from culture and tradition, and the conflicting allegiances of family, marriage, friendship and politics. Students research swadeshi and...
Curated OER
Act It Out!
An effective way to demonstrate understanding is by synthesizing one's own work. Use a creative instructional activity designed for a unit on Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for small groups to show what they know about the...
Curated OER
Plot/Story Problem/Resolution
Students analyze the plot, problem, and resolution of a story. For this story analysis lesson, students read stories and fill out graphic organizers about the plot, story problems, and resolution.
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 7: Logical Fallacies
What are the effects of competition in an academic environment? The competition between the main characters in A Separate Peace motivates a series of activities that asks readers to take a stance on competition, and then to develop a...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 2: The Historical/Biographical Approach
"How does our environment shape our identity?" After researching biographical information about John Knowles and considering how these experiences are reflected in A Separate Peace, class members consider the strengths and weaknesses of...
Maryland Department of Education
The Concept of Identity Lesson 4: The Psychological Approach
Readers apply Sigmund Freud's theories of the unconscious mind and the psychological approach to literary criticism to analyze and evaluate the relationship between two characters in A Separate Peace.
Novelinks
The Devil’s Arithmetic: Semantic Feature Analysis
Organize the characters in Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic according to their shared character traits. After listing character traits as a class, kids note which characters exhibit particular characteristics with a discussion and...
Novelinks
Lord of the Flies: Themes and Notetaking
William Golding's Lord of the Flies is a treasure trove of symbolism and literary themes. Help your kids note the richest passages in the book with a lesson and graphic organizer. The lesson prepares kids to come up with a thesis...