National Endowment for the Humanities
Tales of the Supernatural
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...
Curated OER
Cliff Notes for The Canterbury Tales: Essay Questions
For this Canterbury Tales essay questions worksheet, 9th graders answer 5 comprehension questions about several different tales.
Curated OER
Elements of the Oral Tradition
Various genres of oral tradition are outlined and defined in these slides. Give your class examples of folk tales, fairy tales, parables, fables, legends, and myths before reading an example of one of these stories. This overview acts as...
Curated OER
Tales of the Supernatural
Students explore the origins and development of a literary genre. They investigate how shared imaginative concerns link the members of a literary period and compare works of literature from different eras.
Cloud Front
Socratic Seminar for: A Christmas Carol
Socratic seminars are a great way to encourage the development of critical thinking, speaking, and listening skills. And Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is a perfect text for such a seminar. Use the questions in the packet to...
Curated OER
Tell Me a Whopper!
Sixth graders investigate tall tales as a literary genre. They listen to a number of tall tales to discover how exaggeration is used as a story element. They write and publish a tall tale using word processing software. They illustrate...
Curated OER
Myths, Folktales & Fairy Tales
Students relate the myth genre to history and culture. In this myths lesson plan, students compare culture in the past and present. Students answer critical thinking questions and discuss the unique characteristics of...
Curated OER
Helpful Animals and Compassionate Humans in Folklore
Students define elements of stories from around the world that include helpful animals. They explore animal character motivations and use graphic organizers to compare and contrast animal stories from different cultures.
Cleveland Museum of Art
Japanese Folktales (Asian Odyssey)
The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.
Annenberg Foundation
Spirit of Nationalism
What were the virtues and values that helped form America? Pupils watch and discuss a video, read biographies of early Americans, chart the differences between early American religious movements, write journals and letters, draw, and...
Curated OER
Writing Myths I
Explain a natural phenomenon in an original myth. After researching the phenomenon they have chosen, young readers use factual information to include in their myth. They find synonyms and new phrases to create vivid images as they...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Vengeful Verbs in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”
It's time for pupils to read, examine, and contemplate literature to explore the difference between vivid and generic verbs. Pupils distinguish between the two types of verbs as they read the ghost scene from Shakespeare's Hamlet. They...
Curated OER
Literature: Isabel Allende
Students watch and respond to a Bill Moyers Now video on the Chilean author, Isabel Allende. They brainstorm a list of recent events that might inspire writers and choose one to write about in poetic, diary, or short story form.
Curated OER
Poet Naomi Shihab Nye
Learners read and analyze poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye. They define stereotypes, view and discuss a video interview with Nye, present an oral reading of a poem, and write a persuasive letter to an author.
Curated OER
Tennessee Williams: Exploring the American Dream
Students read and analyze selections of Tennessee Williams' work. They write journal responses, conduct Internet research, perform various scenes from one of Williams' dramas, and create a presentation.
Curated OER
Aztec Myths 1
Students write a diary entry or a letter from the viewpoint of a character in a myth. In this Aztec myths lesson, students define myths and read "The Heart of Copil" and "The Eagle of Tenochtitlan" and find the land of the...
Curated OER
911 As History
Middle schoolers 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,...
Curated OER
Reporting Live From...
Students examine the many disasters in West Virginia. In this US history lesson, students write about and give an oral presentation of one of the disasters as if they were reporters.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement:tales of the Supernatural
Lesson explores the genre of Gothic literature. Includes discussion of Frankenstein, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe among others.
![Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Elements of Literature: Folk Tales [Pdf] Graphic](http://content.lessonplanet.com/resources/thumbnails/410055/large/bwluav9tywdpy2symdiwmduymc03odazlteyzxprdgwuanbn.jpg?1589985144 "Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Elements of Literature: Folk Tales [Pdf] Graphic")
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Elements of Literature: Folk Tales [Pdf]
A very brief organizer in which students can list examples from their current reading selection which represent elements from the folk tale, such as the supernatural, good over evil, and moral lessons.
A&E Television
History.com: How Ghost Stories Became a Christmas Tradition in Victorian England
Spooky stories featuring the supernatural were all the rage during the darkest time of the year. Towards the end of each year, as fireplaces are lit and hot cocoa is made, Americans have made it a tradition to revisit their favorite...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Three More John Silence Stories by Algernon Blackwood
Read the full text of the first three John Silence stories in "Three More John Silence Stories" written by the British writer of supernatural tales Algernon Blackwood.
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: A Child of the Rain by Elia W. Peattie
Read the eerie short story "A Child of the Rain" by Ella W. Peattie a supernatural tale about a strange, destitute child who appears spectrally on a late-night streetcar.