Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is filled with secrets. Help readers find the clues, solve the riddles and puzzles, and unwrap the mysteries with a six-page guide that includes before, during, and after reading discussion questions and...

The guide to John Steinbeck's The Pearl suggests ways instructors can help readers see below the surface of the novella to the parable beneath. Through a variety of activities, readers come to appreciate the complexity of the tale.

It's not the best of guides nor the worst of guides, but time spent examining the guide to Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities is certainly not wasted. The 17-page guide includes book-by-book synopses of the novel, before,...

"How come there's no ending?" After a close reading of Frank R. Stockton's tale "The Lady, or the Tiger?" in which scholars examine each of the main characters' conflicts and motivations, writers craft their own ending using textual...

Two stories by Roald Dahl, "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Landlady" provide readers an opportunity to compare stories by the same author. After a close reading of the stories, teams select a character from one of the tales, craft...

Need a hero? Super! Groups create their modern-day marvel and craft a narrative with all the elements required in such a tale.

The second lesson plan in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider the characteristics of a good leader. After generating a list of these qualities, they annotate a passage from the novel highlighting the leadership qualities...

What three readily available things would you grab in case of an emergency? That's the question that launches a unit study of William Golding's The Lord of the Flies. After sharing their choices, class members read Golding's rationale...

After watching a video about masks from many cultures, class members research the history of masks and build a Driving Question Board. Individuals then create a mask for a character from The Lord of the Flies, justifying elements of...

To end the unit, groups use the Honeycomb Harvest strategy to show connections among a character, symbols, and themes in the novel and then create an Anchor Chart for the character that includes a symbol that best represents him. They...

The seventh lesson plan in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider whether or not an individual can overcome the worst thing they have ever done. Groups read different articles related to the question, share their expertise...

Is the nature of humans inherently good or evil? That is the question scholars consider in the fourth lesson of the Lord of the Flies unit. In a Four Corners activity, they examine statements about human nature and stand by the poster...

Readers of "The Most Dangerous Game" must argue which of Richard Connell's characters is the protagonist or antagonist. The lesson begins with scholars reading selected passages from the story and making predictions about who they...

Pictures really do talk in a lesson that teaches young writers how to craft dialogues. Class members closely examine Grant Wood's American Gothic, imagine what the couple might think or feel, and put these words to paper, crafting a...

O. Henry's short story, "The Give of the Magi," launches a study of what motivates people to act as they do. Class members identify what they believe are the motivations of the characters in O. Henry's tale and then craft a one-page...

Sometimes saying I'm sorry just doesn't cut it. Scholars examine a series of apology poems, songs, and stories and consider each speaker's regrets. Using what they have learned, they analyze James Hurst's short story, "The Scarlet Ibis,"...

Somebody. Wanted. But. Then. Introduce your classes to the structure that supports stories with a lesson that teaches readers how to identify the four basic components writers use to craft their tales. After identifying these elements in...

Students, through the use of 4 different improvisational exercises, discover how to tell effective stories. They chose 2 selections and perform them, using the interesting methods they learned.

Students explore the characterization of heroes and their representation of the values and beliefs of the society in which they are created. They first examine the creation of the 'Star Wars' heroes and plots, and then develop their own...

Learners, in groups, analyze the characterization of Shakespeare's Shylock from "Merchant of Venice". They examine text, view movies and interpretative drawings and conduct historical research.

Learners identify that history can characterize actions differently from how they were perceived when initially undertaken. Then they identify that terrorist groups exist within a political, cultural, and historical context, and students...

In this solubility learning exercise, students characterize compounds as either soluble, slightly soluble, or insoluble. Then students write the chemical formula for each compound. This learning exercise has 10 problems to solve.

This activity would provide a great assessment for teachers to test student knowledge. Students are asked to complete 3 charts which characterize types of chemical bonds such as alkanes, alkenes, or alkynes. They must also determine the...

Students explore the attributes of fables. In this literature lesson, students read several fables and identify the moral lesson, characterization, and figurative language in each. Students then retell their favorite fables in their own...