Think about literary elements, characters, and point-of-view. Then click on this link to have your class answer 14 questions intended to solidify, test, or review their understanding.

It's time to pull all those volleyball skills together in lesson 20! The focus of this lesson is running plays. The setter communicates with her team to set the ball to a certain player and in a specific way. That player will then spike...

Young readers write a descriptive paper on the fantasy characters in The Hobbit. They take notes as they read the novel in order to provide descriptions of the character traits of hobbits, dwarfs, trolls, wizards, and goblins. They...

Students explore the connection between analyzing a character and the character plot conflict. In this plot conflict lesson plan students role play two characters in the story, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Students also pretend to...

Learners determine areas that are the most likely to produce solar energy by using NASA data.  In this solar energy lesson students analyze plots and determine solar panel use. 

Put the better archer in a box. The performance task has pupils compare the performance of two archers using box-and-whisker plots. The resource includes sample responses that are useful in comparing individuals' work to others.

Students explore how the population decreased in native cultures.

Are you frustrated by searching for activities to engage readers in their study of Much Ado About Nothing? Sigh no more. Young thespians will find much to do in this Royal Shakespeare Company 23-page Toolkit. Included in the sections are...

Young scholars explore fiction that moves individuals to social action. In this literature instructional activity, students read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and analyze its literary worth as well as its investigative journalism. Young...

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,...

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...

"Once upon a time . . ." Language learners examine the key elements of well-known fairy tales and then craft their own.

In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...

Invite your pupils to express their understanding of a novel through a collaborative video project. Groups choose a novel from those you have studied in class, select four scenes, storyboard the scenes, film the scenes, edit the film,...

West Side Story, the modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, won ten Academy Awards for its rousing depiction of the tale of star-crossed lovers. But how closely does the plot align to its source material? Compare and...

How do scientists identify which elements originate from meteorites? Scholars learn about a sample of material found in a remote location, analyzing the sample to determine if it might be from Earth or not. They study elements, isotopes,...

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...

In this online interactive reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 5 short answer and essay questions based on The Tempest. Students may also access an online quiz on the selection using the link at the bottom of the page.

Assess your class on Lord of the Flies with this basic comprehension quiz. This online quiz is composed of ten multiple choice and true/false questions about the characters and plot of the novel. Learners receive immediate feedback when...

Quiz your class on "The White Seal," part 4 of The Jungle Book, with this resource. Learners respond to ten surface level questions about the story and receive immediate online feedback. You'll need to look closely at the content of the...

In this reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 5 short answer questions about the content of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

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...

What are the characteristics of a good piece of writing? What makes a story interesting? Give your pupils a chance to define the qualities of good novels and what they see as the qualities of bad novels. Class members record these...

Quiz your class for basic plot understanding, character recognition, and quote recall with this ten-question online quiz. After choosing their answers to the multiple choice questions about John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, learners can...