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Activity
Novelinks

The Winter’s Tale: Shakespeare’s Words

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Varier wag? I'fecks? Posterns? As part of their vocabulary study, readers of The Winter's Tale try their hand at crafting Shakespearian-style sentences using words drawn from the play.
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Activity
Curated OER

The Red Badge of Courage: Vocabulary Bingo!

For Teachers 9th - 12th
To reinforce recognition of vocabulary words drawn from Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, readers engage in a vocabulary bingo game.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Bud, Not Buddy: Guided Imagery Exercise

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Develop readers’ awareness of the visual power of language with a guided imagery exercise. Set the stage and create the mood with dim lights, soft music and potpourri. Then read the provided section of Bud, Not Buddy. Next, invite...
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Lesson Plan
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Novelinks

Man's Search for Meaning: ReQuest Procedure Questioning Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, class members respond to, and craft, higher-level comprehension questions based on passages from the text. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tunes for Bears to Dance to: Questioning Strategy, Discussion Web

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Readers of Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to are asked to consider the morality of the central character's actions
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

Count of Monte Cristo: Unsent Letters

For Teachers 7th - 10th
To demonstrate their understanding of the relationships in Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, readers are asked to assume the voice of one of the characters and draft a letter addressing another individual in the story.
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Lesson Plan
2
2
Curated OER

Teaching The Great Gatsby with the New York Times

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
East Egg, West Egg, the Valley of Ashes, and the green light. Bring Gatsby, the Jazz Age, and the American Dream to your classroom with a resource designed for teachers. Included in the treasury are six great teaching ideas for F. Scott...
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

The Hobbit: Biopoem

For Teachers 6th - 12th
As part of their reading of The Hobbit, readers create a biopoem for one of Tolkien's characters.
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Lesson Plan
Arts Midwest

The Joy Luck Club: Culture and History

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Explore San Francisco's Chinatown in a lesson about the first few chapters of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Kids research Chinatown on the Internet and create a virtual tour of the neighborhood, including the foods, cultural events, and...
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Study Guide
C.S. Lewis Foundation

Study Guide to The Great Divorce

For Teachers 9th - Higher Ed
Break the content and theological barriers of C.S. Lewis’s The Great Divorce with the ideas and suggestions available for analysis and discussion using an easy-to-understand study guide. This stupendous resource introduces Lewis’s...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What's Special About Nonfiction?

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students examine the difference between nonfiction and fictional writing. They identify the characteristics of nonfiction literature and examine how a nonfiction textbook organizes information.
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Lesson Plan
University of Southern California

Coming to America After the War

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War II. To...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: Storyboarding Revolution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Kids consider revolution as a basis for creativity, art, and storytelling. After reading an excerpt from the book, Persepolis, learners choose one event from any world revolution to write about. They storyboard the event focusing on...
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Interactive
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PBS

Setting in To Kill a Mockingbird

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Can you understand more about how a person acts by learning about how that person lives? An interactive resource explores the setting of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird with several slides discussing the location, social conditions,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

How Advertisers Persuade

For Teachers 7th - 8th
This plan centers around the article "How Advertisers Persuade," although it is not included in the lesson itself. Get your class thinking about advertising, appeals, and techniques that companies use to get their products from the shelf...
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Handout
University of Virginia

Illustrating Uncle Tom's Cabin

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Historical illustrations reveal more than what they are meant to portray. After reading Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, high schoolers view a series of illustrations, movie posters, photographs, and book covers that exemplify...
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Handout
McGraw Hill

Study Guide for The Scarlet Letter

For Teachers 11th - 12th
How does or society punish people who break the law? What effect does guilt have on a person's life? In what way does or society demand we conform to certain conventions? Such questions, found in this study guide, are sure to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Anticipation Guide for Death of a Salesman

For Teachers 11th - 12th
"It is better to ignore something unpleasant than to face reality." Readers of Death of a Salesman complete an anticipation guide before tackling Arthur's Miller's tale of Willy Loman and his sons. After completing the play, class...
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Lesson Plan
Little, Brown and Company

The Catcher in the Rye: Vocabulary Bingo

For Teachers 11th - 12th
After finishing The Catcher in the Rye, review new vocabulary with an individualized bingo game. Class members develop a list of new vocabulary drawn from the novel or literary devices studied during the unit. Individuals then place...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Catcher in the Rye: Biopoem

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Here’s a catchy way to study characterization. Readers of The Catcher in the Rye select a character from Salinger’s classic tale to use as the subject of a biopoem. A teacher sample is provided.
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Lesson Plan
Novelinks

Maus: Bingo Vacabulary Strategy

For Teachers 10th - 12th
The definitions for unfamiliar words drawn from Art Spiegelman graphic novel memoir, Maus, provide the clues for a vocabulary bingo game. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Pudd'nhead Wilson: Guided Imagery

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Inspire thought around some of the themes of Pudd'nhead Wilson with a visualization activity. As you read a passage, learners close their eyes and picture the scene. A writing exercise and discussion follow.
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Writing
Curated OER

Unsent Letter: Canyons

For Students 6th - 8th
As your class reads Gary Paulsen's Canyons, challenge them to assume the perspective of a character to write a letter. The plan suggests learners pair off, one person assuming the voice of Coyote Runs, and the other assuming the voice of...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Romeo and Juliet: KWHL Strategy

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Introduce Romeo and Juliet with a KWHL strategy that asks learners to record what they know, what they want to learn, and how they will find this information on a large chart posted in the classroom. During the reading of Shakespeare’s...