Curated OER
Good vs. Evil
Make a study of good and evil by examining a short legend. After reading, learners compose their own stories and participate in a class discussion about the text, the characters, and the message of the reading.
Curated OER
Good and Evil Characters
What makes a character good or evil? Young readers discuss the characteristics and actions of good and evil characters in given fairy tales. They then read Snow White and discuss the characters in the story.
Orlando Shakes
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Study Guide
Can science ever go too far? Learners explore this topic with the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde study guide. They read about the connection between scientific experimentation in fiction and real life and then compare a scene from the novella...
Frost Middle School
Write Your Own Greek Myth
Invite your pupils to create original Greek characters and myths for their characters to star in. Similar to a traditional Greek myth, the story must explain a natural phenomenon, depict a struggle between good and evil characters, and...
Louisiana Department of Education
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
Compare and contrast popular works of fantasy literature with an in-depth reading comprehension unit. Language arts learners study the theme of good versus evil, fantastical characters and symbols, and the value of a visual...
Novelinks
Agree or Disagree: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Good or evil? That is the question embedded in an anticipation guide designed for those who are about to read Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Curated OER
Fairy Tale Book Report Form
Motivate you class with this resource. Learners read a fairy tale and then fill out this book report. They identify the name of the fairy tale, the author, the illustrator, and the setting on each of the blank lines. Then, they fill in a...
Curated OER
Peter and the Starcatchers: Concept Analysis
Are you preparing to teach Peter and the Starcatchers? If so, you'll want to take a look at this analysis of the text, which describes plot and literary elements in-depth and explores potential implications related to diversity and...
Curated OER
The Battle of Good and Evil on the Big Screen
Young scholars evaluate how the movie industry depicts heroes, villains, and events, and how these characters and plots relate to the society and time period in which the films are created.
Curated OER
Cinderella
Explore positive and negative character traits and universal themes in the story of Cinderella with primary learners. Story elements are reviewed and discussion questions are listed. Learners practice retelling the story and begin a...
McGraw Hill
Compare Themes and Topics Across Cultures
Compare and contrast folktales, myths, and fables in an interactive eBook. The interactive is broken up into three topics: myths, fables, and folktales. Each section includes a reading passage and a guided lesson on the theme, topic, and...
College Board
2002 AP® English Literature and Composition Free-Response Questions
Good or evil? Some characters never identify themselves as either. Scholars create essays in which they examine morally ambiguous characters. Writers also analyze and write essays about the use of poem titles and take a close look at the...
Vanier College
Analyzing Short Stories/Novels
Good questions can help focus readers' attention on the elements writers use to add depth to their stories. The questions on this worksheet do just that and encourage readers to think critically about a story and author's purpose.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and the Motives of Evil
Students use an online search engine (or a printed concordance) to locate passages that highlight Macbeth's response to fear and his descent into evil. They analyze the motives of Macbeth's increasingly desperate and evil actions.
Reed Novel Studies
James and the Giant Peach: Novel Study
Everyone wants to feel like they belong. James, in James and the Giant Peach, finds a feeling of belonging in a very odd place—inside a peach! Scholars read the story of James and the Peach and work through vocabulary, language, and...
Curated OER
Good Prevails
Students write descriptive paragraphs of characters after reading a Japanese folktale in which characters represent by good and evil.
Cleveland Museum of Art
Japanese Folktales (Asian Odyssey)
The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.
Curated OER
Knights of the Round Table adapted by Gwen Ross
Everyone loves the tales involving King Arthur and his knights. After reading Knights of the Round Table by Gwen Gross, learners draw inferences and conclusions, analyze story elements, and discuss figurative language, including...
Curated OER
Tunes for Bears to Dance to: Questioning Strategy, Discussion Web
Readers of Robert Cormier's Tunes for Bears to Dance to are asked to consider the morality of the central character's actions
Reed Novel Studies
The Search for Delicious: Novel Study
Have you ever gone looking for one thing but ended up discovering something else? That is exactly what happened to Gaylen, a character in The Search for Delicious. Gaylen begins looking for a food to label as delicious, but...
Reed Novel Studies
The Slave Dancer: Novel Study
What are the effects of a good literary cliffhanger? Using the novel study for Paula Fox's The Slave Dancer, pupils consider why the author chose to end the first chapter with suspense. They also answer text-based questions, practice new...
Curated OER
Shakespeare's Macbeth: Fear and Motives of Evil
Students complete play and vocabulary analysis for William Shakespeare's Macbeth. In this Macbeth analysis lesson, students use an online research engine to locate passages that highlight Macbeth's response to fear and his descent into...
Reed Novel Studies
Redwall: Novel Study
Many dream of a place of refuge to escape from the harsh world. That is exactly what Redwall is for the creatures of the forest. Redwall is a fantasy novel that tells of the trouble that comes to a quiet and peaceful forest....
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...