Prestwick House
The House on Mango Street Activity Pack
Enrich a unit on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with a selection of related activities. The packet contains nine activities that go from pre-reading through wrapping up the novel. Young readers work on studying author's...
Film Education
Gone with the Wind Study Guide
The 1939 Oscar-winning Gone with the Wind, is the focus of an informational packet designed to be used with a viewing of the film. As part of their analysis, media students respond to a series of discussion points about the influence of...
Indiana Department of Education
Indiana K-12 Educators’ Resource Toolkit
Imagine a tool that magically engages readers in the classroom. A handbook for Indiana educators doesn't guarantee success, but it does offer a variety of strategies for teachers to try. The handbook opens with research-based theory...
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein
Contrary to popular belief, the monster's name in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is not Frankenstein. A teacher's guide for the novel helps readers make sense of key details in the text, define vocabulary words, and discuss prominent...
Planet e-Book
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
True passion can drive you mad. Stephen Dedalus, the main character in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man straddles many lines, including those between sanity and insanity, piety and sin, and individuality and...
Curated OER
European Folktales
Students analyze strong female characters infive different European folktales. In this European folktales instructional activity, students identify the setting and culture described in each folktale to gain understanding of the...
Curated OER
Teaching the Hindu-Buddhist Tradition in East Asian Culture Through Asian Literature and Film
Students explore various intellectual traditions which dominate human history through a variety of contemporary pieces of literature which exemplify the traditions. Biblical monotheism, Greek rationalism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism...
Curated OER
Caught Between Worlds: Frontier Life as Reflected in Captivity Narratives
Students analyze captivity narratives written between the 1600's and 1800's. In this narrative activity, students think critically about the interaction between Native peoples and the settlers to understand the cultural beliefs held by...
Curated OER
Day Eight Lesson- The Whale Rider
Young scholars examine cultural differences through the reading of The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera. In this language arts lesson, students work in groups to analyze chapters 11 and 12 of the novel; these chapters highlight cultural...
Curated OER
The Meaning of Disability
Pupils discover the different types of disabilities. They examine the stereotypes and stigmas associated with them and hear from a person who lived in an institution.
Curated OER
Comparing and Contrasting Fiction and Nonfiction Using Graphic Organizers
Students compare and contrast fiction and non-fiction selections. In this writing skills activity, students use different forms of graphic organizers to compare "The Three Little Pigs," to Wiesel's Night.
Curated OER
"Be the Kiwi" Whale Rider
Students compare and contrast the movie and the novel. In this Whale Rider lesson, students work in groups to find similarities and differences in the book and the movie. Students discuss the Maori culture and the importance of the...
Curated OER
Longfellow Amongst His Contemporaries: the Ship of State Dbq
Students evaluate the ship of state metaphor in relation to the historical events in America from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. They synthesize ideas presented in ten different primary source documents and compose an essay...
Curated OER
Powerful Poetry Presenting the Writer's Soul
Students research Langston Hughes poetry for his use of figurative language. In this poetry analysis lesson, students research the life and poetry of Langston Hughes and his use of vivid words. Students complete 23 different activities...
Curated OER
How Tragic!
Students study and interpret a classical tragedy and role play a character from the play. In this tragedy instructional activity, students discuss a specific work to discover the form, structure, and characteristics of the genre and...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
What Ben Read
Just what did Ben Franklin read? By juxtaposing Ben Franklin’s reading material as a young man with an analysis of his developed ideas, learners gain the opportunity to see how the influences of his youthful reading played out. Roman,...
Curated OER
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
Learners discuss character development, literary devices, events, and foreshadowing found in, "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts" by Maxine Hong Kingston. They compare and contrast the main character's actions while...
Curated OER
The Tempest
Young scholars discuss cultural beliefs about magic. They investigate European exploration and colonialism. They create a cartoon strip of an episode that is described or dramatized in the play.
Curated OER
Native American Legends
Students create a "legend" about an animal. In this Native American legends lesson, students define the purpose and importance of Native American legends. Students read "Why the Possum's Tail is Bare" and "Earthmaker's Lodge" and...
Curated OER
Bless Me, Ultima: Dialogue Journals
Tenth graders read Chapter 1 of the novel "Bless Me, Ultima" and respond to the text. They answer and ask questions and record their impressions of different aspects of the book in a dialogue journal format with a partner. Students...
Curated OER
"Be the Kiwi" - Bible
Students compare and contrast the English version to the Maori version of the Treaty of Waitangi. In this diversity lesson, students discuss similarities and differences in the two versions of the treaty. Students discuss the effects...
Curated OER
A Woman's Crusade: Dorothea Dix
Students examine the life and reform efforts of Dorothea Dix on behalf of people with disabilities. They also examine the role of women in the 1840s and 1850s. They discover different sources of examples of citizen's rights.
University of Southern California
Coming to America After the War
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War II. To...
Scholastic
Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales for Grades 7-9
Here is a must-have resource for studying fairy tales, myths, and folktales with your class! It includes instructional ideas, activities, and materials to support a month-long review of these three unique genres of writing.