Realism Lesson Plans

Sudents compare specific excerpts from The Red Badge of Courage to first-hand accounts of Civil War battles, in text and images and list elements of Crane's style in The Red Badge of Courage that contribute to its realism.

Learners discuss still life painting and the Realism style of art. They plan a personal narrative still life drawing, complete the project and present it to the class.

Second graders listen to the story, Bruno the Baker, where some parts seem real and some seem fake. They must identify the parts of the story as realism or fantasy. An interesting way to teach young readers these two concepts.

Students examine and differentiate between realism, formalism, and classicism film styles. They watch film clips, and in small groups, complete a compare/contrast worksheet, identify the styles of the films, and complete four learning stations.

Students explore the attributes of Realism in literature. For this literature lesson, students use Glogster to design electronic posters that feature the depiction of characters in Realism literature.

Students watch the Charlie Chaplin film "The Kid". They apply the concepts of realism and formalism to the film text. They discover how to "read" a film for different components.

Students complete presentations for the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students read a biography of Frederick Douglass, Walt Whitman, and Julia Ward Howe. Students discuss realism and complete related worksheets.

Students examine the subtle shift from romanticism to realism in American literature in the post-Civil War period. After an introduction to the period, they work in groups to research various authors, such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Mark Twain. Included in their presentations are timelines and book covers for their author biographies.

Students investigate how Chopin's, The Awakening, reflects attributes of regionalism and local color. After reading the first seven chapters of the novel, students find passages from the text that reflect realism, local color or regionalism and provide evidence to prove their point.

Students prepare to read Kate Chopin's novel, The Awakening, by learning historical background and author information. Students investigate Kate Chopin's place in literary history and define literary realism. Students discuss how culture and setting plays an important role in literature.