Introduce a study of satire with a presentation of laugh-out-loud funny slides that define the various characteristics of satiric writing and provide examples of each.

Language arts learners don't need a lecture about poetry; they listen to poetry every day on the radio! Apply skills from literary analysis to famous songs and beautiful lyrics with a lesson about literary devices. As class...

If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward worksheet to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title, character, plot, point...

The metaphor of a pot of soup and a series of colorful templates remind young writers of the elements that make for a rich story. Pepper the plot with carrot/character, potato/point of view, corn/conflict, tomato/theme, and season with...

Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God presents three strong central themes: a woman's voice, race, and religion. After finishing the novel for homework the night before, kids address these themes in a discussion and writing...

Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...

Discuss two possible themes from Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club in the ninth of ten lessons in a novel unit. Having finished the book, readers engage in a discussion about the themes of fate, memory, and transformation, and answer questions...

Explore San Francisco's Chinatown in a lesson plan 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,...

"It seemed the more I knew about people the more I knew about the strange magic hidden in their hearts." Ultima's strange magic and the hidden hearts of Narciso, Tenorior, and the other foils in Bless Me, Ultima, are examined in the...

What does Scout learn about herself from the other characters in Harper Lee's tale? Groups are assigned two different secondary characters, compile a list of the character's traits, and, using evidence from the text, consider what Scout...

Readers learn about sharecropping in the South in a unit about Ernest J. Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying. Focusing on the period after Civil War Reconstruction but before the Civil Rights Movement, a set of handouts help to establish the...

"In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars." The figurative language found in the first four chapters of The Great Gatsby comes under scrutiny in an activity that...

The children's book Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann is a great story for teaching young learners about teamwork and the importance of following rules. In a detailed, read-aloud lesson, children learn to use both the words and...

While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...

“What is the theme of this story?” Now there’s a question all pupils dread. Rather than encountering a sea of faces that look like they were painted by Edward Munch, face a classroom filled with smiles and confidence. Show your readers...

What is theme, and how can you find themes in literary works? These and other questions are answered by a colorful and engaging presentation that not only defines the term but also provides easy to understand examples. The slides...

Mermaids will sing to your class members as they engage in an activity related to T.S. Eliot's famous dramatic interior monologue. After engaging in a socratic seminar about literary devices in the poem, individuals choose one...

Use this mystery novel worksheet to have learners answer several specific questions about details in the book, the atmosphere of the book, and the main characters in the book. This impressive, four-page worksheet will serve as an...

Give your class a different kind of reading assignment with the text included here. Anne Miller's essay "Learning to Hate Mathematics" details a hatred of math that grew from early childhood and still haunts the author today. After...

How are mood and tone similar? Different? Help your readers understand the difference between the two with this helpful guide. On the first page, they read the definition for both tone and mood and identify words that are describe each....

Study characterization, plot, setting, and symbols in William Golding's Lord of the Flies with a thorough reading guide. It provides reading comprehension questions for each chapter, as well literary devices, symbols, and character...

Learners prepare for and participate in a debate and mock trial regarding laws broken during the Boston Tea Party. Several primary documents and a homework chart are included.

So many themes are expertly woven through Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. On the first page, scholars will read five themes, selecting an incident and a quote to highlight that theme. On page two, they use chapters 29-31 to...

What happens next? Introduce your readers to the literary element of plot with a colorful, funny, and engaging presentation that includes two great story models. Viewers will especially enjoy the retelling of the story of the three pigs.