Curated OER
Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales
Introduce the concept of myths to your class. Using the link to "Myths Around the World," read a story aloud and have learners list characteristics of a myth. Readers then choose their own myths from the site and work in groups to answer...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Societal Schisms and Divisions
The final lesson in the Crime and Punishment unit looks at the societal injustices depicted in Dostoyevsky's novel. Scholars examine the schisms between men and women, between wealth and poverty, between religion and skepticism, and...
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...
Planet e-Book
Dubliners
The Dubliners contains 15 short stories all bound in one book. The stories begin with narration by young children, and as they progress, so do the ages of the narrators. The author, James Joyce, focuses most stories on characters that...
Prestwick House
The Metamorphosis
No matter how your day is going, it probably hasn't started out as badly as Gregor Samsa's day. Explore the essentially—and definitively—Kafkaesque story of a man-turned-vermin with a short and straightforward crossword puzzle on The...
Prestwick House
The Book Thief
Review main characters, story events, and important quotes from Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief. A crossword puzzle with 29 clues gives high schoolers the opportunity to check their understanding and revist Zusak's haunting work.
Indiana University
Literature of Asia and the Middle East: "A Sound of Hammering" by Dazai Osamu
Dazai Osamu’s short story, “A Sound of Hammering” is the focus of a three-day investigation of modern Japanese literature and life in post-World War II Japan. The events in Osamu’s story mirror those in his own life, and give a...
Indiana University
World Literature: "One Evening in the Rainy Season" Shi Zhecun
Did you know that modern Chinese literature “grew from the psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud”? Designed for a world literature class, seniors are introduced to “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” Shi Zhecun’s stream of...
Indiana University
World Literature: “Wu Sung Fights the Tiger,” Anonymous - Commentary by Chin Sheng-t’an From Water Margin
Dive into classical Chinese literature with this packet. Provided first is a comprehensive summary and a half-page long historical context of Water Margin. As your class reads the section entitled "Wu Sung Fights the Tiger," pose the...
Curated OER
World Literature: “The Wounded” By Lu Xinhua
“The Wounded,” the title story from a collection of stories about the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1977-78), is the central text in a World Literature unit examining choices. An anticipation guide, discussion topics, vocabulary list,...
Curated OER
Coming of Age During Japanese Occupation: Richard E. Kim's Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood
Explore the implications of the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II. Learners read Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood, participate in classroom discussions about the novel and keep journals in which they respond to...
Curated OER
Literature and Art Through Our Eyes: African-American Artists
Examine the contributions of African-Americans in the worlds of art and literature. Over the course of a few days, young scholars will read and analyze a poem, a short story, and a piece of art. They complete a range of...
Curated OER
Robert Burns quiz
Confirm readers' knowledge of Robert Burns and his poetry with this online quiz. Though all questions are multiple-choice, they are a little more in-depth. Receive answers automatically with a click of the mouse!
Curated OER
The Grimm Truth—Comparing & Contrasting Children’s Stories and Fairy Tales in Cross-Cultural Texts at Different Points in Time
Students explore world literature through completing several varied exercises. In this compare and contrast instructional activity students compare and contrast stories and how time and culture impacts the stories.
9/11 Memorial & Museum
Exploring Afghani Culture through Literature
Hosseini Khaled's The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns are the anchor texts in a semester-long course that explores Afghani culture and traditions.
Curated OER
Women and Korean Literature
Young scholars read a text about women in Korean and their role in Korean literature. In this Korean literature lesson, students read a text by Helen Koh to learn about women writers in Korea.
Curated OER
The Tale of Genji
Did you know that the world's first novel was written by a woman? Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, was published in 1021. Class members research Eastern and Western cultures in the 10th and 11th centuries, view modern adaptations of...
Curated OER
World Creation Myths
After reading creation myths from around the world, use this quiz to test your learners. Five different myths are covered in a multiple-choice format. Increase your scholars' global awareness by studying world literature and cultural myths.
Curated OER
Text as Object and Art: Aesthetic Impact on Audience Reception of Books in the Early Renaissance and Today
Tenth graders examine the role that aesthetics play in the publication of books. In groups, they apply the concept of physical affectation on each reader's experience to literature. They also compare and contrast the varied types of...
Curated OER
A Month of Mapping Literature
Explore the world through literature! With push pins to mark where each story came from, learners examine cultural differences, geographical location, and how those elements affect story content. This lesson could use deeper development,...
Curated OER
Storytelling Traditions
Pupils demonstrate an evaluation of how the culture of a time period influences storytelling narratives by comparing Adeline's story to the plot summary of Cinderella and Anne Sexton's poem Cinderella. They write a poem which reworks a...
Curated OER
Elements of Myth
Students read and act out myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they prepare presentations of myths that explain natural phenomena.
Curated OER
Writing Myths
Learners read and write myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths that explain natural phenomena.
Curated OER
A World of Myths
High schoolers read and write myths. In this world mythology lesson, students read and analyze myths from various cultures and then recognize their attributes as they write their own myths to explain natural phenomena.