Explore the fascinating ways in which authors use specific literary devices to create interesting and realistic texts. Using non-fiction articles with the subject of rogue waves, an excerpt from The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger,...

After reading The Minister's Black Veil, by Nathaniel Hawthorne as a homework assignment your class will complete a literary analysis.  Learners will analyze important element of the story and take notes to help support their...

High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...

How should pupils read short stories? Set them up for this unit with an introductory lesson that goes over the main characteristics of a short story and starts learners off reading their first short story of the unit. In order to get a...

What is a white elephant, and what does it have to do with Ernest Hemingway? Study "Hills Like White Elephants" in-depth by following the procedures outlined in this lesson plan, the fifth in a series of fourteen. Learners start the day...

Character development, setting, and plot? Sounds like the makings of a good narrative story. Young authors read and analyze several narrative examples, and then they use what they know to pen an original composition. They work both in...

After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...

While reading O Henry's "The Gift of the Magi," your class will define and identify situational irony and allusion. Use a study guide (not included, but easy to produce) to record and discuss examples of allusion as you read. Map the...

Students explore plot structure, conflict, setting, and mood. In this literary elements lesson, students read Rosa Parks, My Story and complete the provided plot outline worksheets. Students discuss the text elements of non-fiction...

The manipulation of time is one of the most essential elements in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As your language arts class participates in a jigsaw discussion activity, they work together to analyze the play's plot structure and...

If you're planning on including Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in your science fiction unit, use a concept analysis guide to frame your instruction. It covers literary elements such as setting, narrative voice, and theme, as...

Historically, Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis has been difficult for many readers to grasp. From the difficult translation issues to the complex plot and themes, the novel's message and story can be lost when learners...

Students explore literary elements, plot structure, and story elements. They read "The Gift of the Magi," and identify its theme and elements of the story. Afterward, students discuss the story and take a test over the material studied.

Eager readers have waited a long time, very patiently, for a set of literary analysis lessons that connect text structure to the work's central idea. As ninth graders continue reading "The Tell-Tale Heart," they focus on the central...

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

To better comprehend the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, learners define 3 vocabulary words, define 1 literary term, and respond to 10 short-answer questions. This resource refers only to Chapter 13 of the book. 

Pupils define 3 vocabulary words, define 1 literary term, and respond to 10 short-answer questions pertaining to chapter 9 of A Separate Peace by John Knowles. These activities are designed to help them better understand the novel and...

Everyone has a story; help your writers develop their own with this prewriting packet. Designed for upstanders to share their story and encourage others to be upstanders, this set of questions helps writers craft and structure a story to...

Ninth graders review the parts of a plot sequence for a short story. They think of a famous Disney movie and plot the events of the movie in the correct plot sequence. They do the same for a comic strip, labeling the exposition, rising...

For this study guide worksheet, students define vocabulary and literary terms found in "The Gift of the Magi". Students also complete a plot diagram, find examples of literary term usage, and answer comprehension questions based on the...

In this comprehension check worksheet, pupils define 8 vocabulary words, define 5 literary terms, and respond to 15 short answer questions pertaining to chapter 2 of The Lord of the Flies in order to help them better understand the novel...

For this comprehension check worksheet, students define 11 vocabulary words, define 2 literary terms, and respond to 11 short answer questions pertaining to chapter 11 of The Lord of the Flies in order to help them better understand the...

In this comprehension check worksheet, students define 4 vocabulary words, define 2 literary terms, and respond to 21 short answer questions pertaining to chapters 5 and 6 of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in order to help them better...

In this comprehension check worksheet, students define 5 vocabulary words, define 2 literary terms, and respond to 15 short answer questions pertaining to chapter 4 of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in order to help them better understand...