+
Interactive
Curated OER

Storey/story

For Students 3rd - 5th
In this storey and story worksheet, students choose the correct word to complete the sentences. Students choose storey or story for 6 sentences total.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Choices and Commitments: The Soldiers at Gettysburg

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students describe the Gettysburg Campaign and the major actions of the armies during each day of the battle. They analyze the motives, actions, and experiences of several participants in the battle and evaluate the Gettysburg Address.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recognizing Similies: Fast as a Whip

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students review what they have already learned about similies and begin to engage with similies on a deeper and more abstract level as they create their own.
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introducing Tolkien and His Words

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students identify and describe the types of narratives that made Tolkien the writer he was. In groups, they examine different myths and folktale motifs. They discuss what Tolkien meant by "faerie" and "eucatastrophe." As a class, they...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Concept of the Hero

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students explore the symbolic implications for the concept of the hero with a focus on the Beowulf theme. In this hero concept lesson, students find specific examples of monsters from Beowulf to complete the chart. Students list the...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Recognizing Similes: Fast as a Whip

For Teachers 10th - Higher Ed
Students review basic knowledge of similes and engage with similes on a more abstract level. In this similes activity, students define similes and identify examples. Students read and analyze the similes used in poetry by Derricotte,...
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Know your Daemons

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students take a closer look at Pullman's The Golden Compass.  In this current events lesson, students visit the film's interactive website and participate in a discussion about the nature of religion in the book and the film.
+
Worksheet
Curated OER

Kubla Khan Questions

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
In this reading comprehension instructional activity, students respond to 5 short answer and essay questions based on the poem "Kubla Khan."
+
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Review of Ancient Greece

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars create Greek gifts out of paper as a review for an upcoming quiz. They are to use a manila envelope to create what they felt was an important gift the Greeks gave. Once the gift has been created, it is placed into a big...
+
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Neoclassism: Epic, Mock Epic and Satire

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Unfortunately, "literary" writing was not as simple and direct as political writing. When trying to write poetry, most educated authors stumbled into the pitfall of elegant neoclassicism. The epic, in particular, exercised a fatal...
+
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Teaching the Epic Through Ghost Stories

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan uses the oral tradition of ghost stories (anchored in the Gothic) as a means of explaining the oral tradition of the epics. Included in the lesson plan is an overview, practice, objectives, resources, preparation, and more.
+
Website
Exploring Ancient World Cultures

Exploring Ancient World Cultures: Epic of Gilgamesh

For Students 9th - 10th
This site gives an in-depth essay exploring the Epic of Gilgamesh and its history.
+
Website
Emory University

Emory University: Odyssey Online

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Odyssey Online is a resource for both students and teachers as they explore world mythology in reading, writing, history, and art classes. Providing sections on Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and African mythology, Odyssey uses...
+
Website
Other

Art Arena: Origins and Basis of Ferdowsi's "Shahnameh"

For Students 9th - 10th
This article is part of a review of the book, "Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings," by Olga M. Davidson. The article's author is Mahmud Kianush, a renowned modern Iranian author. In the article, he discusses the historical...
+
Website
Social Security Administration

Ssa: Upton Sinclair's Epic Plan for Social Reform

For Students 9th - 10th
The Social Security Administration site presents the platform that Sinclair Lewis promoted in 1934.
+
Website
Other

Iran Chamber Society: Hakim Abol Qasem Ferdowsi Tousi

For Students 9th - 10th
A biography of the great 10th century Persian poet, Ferdowsi. The focus of this biography is on his writing of the epic poem, "Shahnameh" or "The Epic of Kings."
+
Website
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Upton Sinclair: End Poverty in California: The Epic Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
Upton Sinclair outlines how he would end poverty in his failed campaign for the governorship of California in a 1934 article for Literary Digest.
+
Website
Luminarium

Luminarium: The Works of Milton

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains links to Milton's poems, sonnets, and prose, as well as complete text to his epic poems "Paradise Lost" and "Paradise Regained."
+
Unit Plan
McGraw Hill

Glencoe Literature Library: "Beowulf" Study Guide [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Introduce yourself to Anglo-Saxon literature by reading "Beowulf" and exploring its plot, themes, and characters with the help of this study guide. Check out a helpful "family tree" of the epic poem's characters, study new vocabulary...
+
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Lesson Plan: Monsters

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Following a reading of the epic poem Beowulf and the contemporary text inspired by it, Grendel, young scholars create their own monster. Lesson plans provide assessment criteria, extension ideas, and a list of resources.
+
Lesson Plan
The English Teacher

The English Teacher: Beowulf Lesson Plans

For Teachers 9th - 10th
These teaching notes for Beowulf provide a model for your own lesson plan and as a basic resource to study Beowulf. These notes can help you remember the pertinent points of Anglo-Saxon epic poem and help to deepen your understanding.
+
Lesson Plan
University of Chicago

Ancient Mesopotamia: Gilgamesh [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Read aloud aversion of the Gilgamesh epic to the class. Stop before the ending and have learners write their own climax to the epic. Compare student versions withthe actual ending.
+
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: J. R. R. Tolkien

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Have you ever read any of J. R. R. Tolkien's work? Check out this site to learn more about Tolkien and his writings. This resource features lesson plans for "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings."
+
Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Symmetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

For Teachers 9th - 10th
For this lesson plan, students will consider Symmetry in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Worksheets and other supporting materials can be found under the Resources tab. This lesson plan explores symmetry in the structure and themes...