K20 LEARN
I Theme, You Theme, We All Theme For Ice Cream: Themes In Literature
Teach readers how to distinguish between a topic and a story's theme in a short lesson that uses the children's book, Should I Share My Ice Cream, as an exemplar. After listening to the story, pairs generate a list of topics covered in...
Writing Educators Symposium
Asking the Right Questions
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and active...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
All Together Now: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 1)
All Together Now is the theme of this series of extra support lessons. The collection aids the instruction of blending sounds and reading high-frequency words through writing and reading sentences. Support also engages pupils in...
Syracuse City School District
Literary Elements
Address the literary elements in a piece of writing using these materials. The packet includes plenty of resources, and focuses mainly on theme, character, and point of view, with some materials for setting, symbolism, and author's...
Fluence Learning
Writing About Literary Text: Pygmalion and Galatea
Is it crazy to fall in love with your own work, or is that the purest love of all? Compare two renditions of the classic Greek myth Pygmalion and Galatea with a literary analysis exercise. After students compare the similarities and...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Problem Solvers: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 4)
How can you teach a text to a group of readers who struggling with the language? The second in a set of three ESL lessons related to Theme 4: Problem Solvers engages English language learners by introducing vocabulary and grammar...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Surprise!: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 2)
Surprise! is the theme of a unit covering such topics as consonants, blending, short vowels sounds, high frequency words, and number words. The unit's lessons also include teachable moments covering story structure, illustrations,...
EngageNY
Leaving the Play: All’s Well That Ends Well
How does Shakespeare develop the theme of control in A Midsummer Night's Dream? Using the resource, scholars analyze the theme of parental control in the play and the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they talk to partners to...
Maine Content Literacy Project
Introduction to Short Story Writers Say
There are so many authors of short stories, and your class can have the chance to study quite a few. This seventh lesson in a series of fourteen continues the decision-making process for the final assessment: a short story author study....
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Problem Solvers: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 4)
When it comes to reading and understanding a text, sometimes readers need extra help. The third and final resource in a series of guides to accompany Theme 4: Problem Solvers provides additional activities to help struggling learners....
University of Wisconsin
Don Quixote in Wisconsin
Are you looking for background information on Cervantes and his Don Quixote? How about a study guide and discussion questions or project ideas? Even journal prompts, tests, and quizzes? A 98-page teaching guide simplifies the quest with...
Curated OER
Define My Own Destiny: Using Arrested Development and Lauryn Hill to Teach Hansberry's Raisin in the Sun
Literary themes don't just belong to literature. High schoolers listen to the lyrics of modern songs by Arrested Development, Lauryn Hill, and others to enhance their study and to connect to characters, conflicts, and themes of Lorraine...
Curated OER
Comparing Similar Themes in Art And Literature
Students view examples of Rembrandt's artistic works that include beggars and the unfortunate. They also read The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischmann. They use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the themes shared by each.
Prestwick House
Analyzing Multiple Interpretations of Literature
There is a reason why an Oscar is given each year for the Best Adaptation Screenplay. Adaptations are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare a work of literature with a least one adaptation of the work into a...
EngageNY
Looking Closely at Stanza 1—Identifying Rules to Live By Communicated in “If”
Here is a lesson plan in which pupils connect themes and rules to live by from the story Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis to those found in the poem If by Rudyard Kipling. First, scholars discuss their reading and review Bud's...
Curated OER
Literary Response and Analysis
Examine a variety of literary responses to Abraham Lincoln's death and the impact of perception. Your class can work in writing groups to analyze either poetry, eulogy, or a newspaper article. They retell the events of Abraham Lincoln's...
PBS
Character vs. Society in The Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is difficult to read and difficult to teach. The novel is so highly regarded that it is one of most often listed as an option for the AP Literature and Composition exam. The materials in this packet from PBS...
EngageNY
Analyzing How Literature Draws on Themes from the Bible and World Religions: The Golden rule (Chapter 3)
Scholars use their Golden Rule Note-catcher to examine passages from To Kill a Mockingbird. They then take a gallery walk to compare and contrast the quotes before sharing Think-Write-Pair-Share ideas on how the quotes demonstrate the...
University of Wisconsin
Teaching Things Fall Apart in Wisconsin: A Resource Guide for Educators
“There is no story that is not true, . . .” And uncovering the truths in Things Fall Apart is the focus of a 68-page resource packet designed to provide instructors with a wealth of materials that enhance understanding of Chinua Achebe’s...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Friends Together: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 4)
Enjoy this thematic friendship unit compiled with ESL lessons to develop strong language development while listening, speaking, looking, and moving. Class members participate in activities covering topics like making friends, asking for...
Curated OER
A Good Man is Hard to Find
Students, in groups, read and analyze the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor. They present their findings tot he rest of the class and then connect the various themes discussed to outside material, events...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Utopia/Dystopia: The American Dream
America was founded by dreamers, and the American dream still resonates in our country today. Track the American dream from its Puritan beginnings to its optimistic descendants with a instructional activity that focuses on speeches by...
Prestwick House
The Grapes of Wrath
At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath activity pack...
Curated OER
Prometheus Bound: Rebel with a Cause
If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...