War is one of the most profound human experiences in history, and is often best depicted in works of art and literature. Introduce class members to the poetry of World War I with this resource that uses John McCrae's "In Flanders Fields"...

Learn about the ancient Near East through a close examination of ancient artifacts. Lead your class into analysis by first observing an artifact as a class. Pupils can then work in pairs to analyze the other artifacts and compile a list...

What is the author trying to achieve? What strategies does he/she use to meet this goal? How affective are these strategies? These three questions, the heart of rhetorical analysis, are examined in a presentation that also details...

In pairs or on their own, fourth graders read the poem, "The Rabbit." They then answer eight critical-analysis questions, requiring them to make inferences, and interpret the poem's meaning and use of language. The reading passage,...

Photography is a wonderful artistic medium used to express feelings, historical events, and nature. This worksheet provides three critical-analysis questions that require learners to take an in-depth look a photograph both physically and...

Only one character receives a name in William H. Armstrong's novel, Sounder—the dog! With the novel study, scholars explore the author's purpose in the unusual decision. They also write similes, answer comprehension and analysis...

Watch your language! Scholars work on an end-of-unit assessment in which they demonstrate the language skills they learned. Questions ask readers to work with different types of verbs and moods all about the text in Unbroken.

What makes writing literary? What comprises analysis? A 15-slide PowerPoint presentation, created by the Purdue University Writing Lab, tackles these questions. The explanations of what makes writing literary and what comprises analysis...

Investigate different types of documents with your middle schoolers. They look at newspapers, letters, maps, reports, etc. and answer a list of questions provided. Introduce them to different primary sources!

Introduce your class to the personal essay with this worksheet. Learners identify the subject of an essay and then record examples from the essay that represent the author's thoughts and feelings regarding the subject. While this...

Can your learners stump you with questions? Find out with this question-centered activity! After reading a portion of My Antonia by Willa Cather, pupils question the teacher. Once the first round is complete, the class reads more and...

The topic of gun control is vast, controversial, and difficult to introduce to students. This gem of a resource covers both sides of the issue and provides topic background, various multimedia and print resources, analysis questions, and...

Young scholars complete an online study of art websites. In this art and technology lesson plan, students explore the links and try the activities to learn about art online.

Learners examine visual art by examining Internet sources. In this art identification lesson, students discuss the history of art after researching information on the Internet. Learners view artwork by Keith...

Here's a activity that not only introduces kids to graphing, but also is designed as a reading comprehension activity. After reading the article about graphing, kids respond to a series of questions based on the article.

Excerpts from classic novels make great material for standardized tests. A sample English language arts examination, part of a larger set of assessments, mixes excerpts from classic novels and more modern texts. The test includes three...

Assessing a variety of skills using numerous item types is a great way to collect data for formative and summative use. Using a challenging exam, scholars prove their comprehension and reading skills through multiple choice, task, and...

In ten questions, this advertising analysis worksheet addresses audience, persuasive techniques like logos, pathos, and ethos, as well as the purpose of the commercial. This is useful as homework while watching television, and it applies...

Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is a thing with feathers” is the focus of a series of activities that model for learners how close reading can lead to understanding. The whole class plays with the metaphor, groups talk about the author’s...

Wouldn't it be great to be able to get inside an artist's mind, or be able to question the artists about who they are, why they create, and why they think their work is important?  An illustrative resource asks artists to provide...

Tired of searching for complex passages suitable for high school level assessments? A challenging examination includes numerous complex text excerpts as well as question items to match them. Learners analyze literary elements, author's...

The last instructional activity in this unit about human rights consists of a final assessment. To demonstrate the skills your class has acquired throughout this unit, they will work with a new article entitled "From Kosovo to the United...

Reading A Separate Peace? Readers analyze important quotes that appear in John Knowle's classic novel using the provided graphic organizer. Learners record a passage and provide an accompanying analysis for each entry. Consider...

Considering using Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a whole class reading or for book circles? Check out this overview that provides a plot summary, a list of enduring questions raise by and themes addressed by the...