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. For this compare and contrast lesson students compare and contrast stories and how time and culture impacts the stories.
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Comparing Themes
Compare and contrast the themes of two works by J.R.R. Tolkien. High schoolers read The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, Then they write an essay that compares the themes found in each novel.
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Comparing Themes and Plots: "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil"
Students read two stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing plots and themes. In this Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories lesson, students read "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." After a class...
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Historical Agency in History Book Sets (HBS)
Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...
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Beowulf: Songs of Ancient Heroes
Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...
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5 Broken Cameras: How Storytellers Shape the Story
5 Broken Cameras, the award-winning documentary nominated for a 2013 Academy Award and winner of the Sundance 2012 Directors Award is the focus of a resource packet that includes a lesson plan, discussion guide, reading lists, background...
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Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Stories
Students read literature by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing the main characters in the two stories. In this character analysis lesson, students read the stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil. Students...
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Television Newscasts
When we watch news broadcasts on television, we receive a much more visual perspective than when we read the newspaper. How do sets, clothing, and music contribute to our understanding of the story? Compare American and Canadian news...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A “New English” in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”: A Common Core Exemplar
To examine the “New English” Chinua Achebe uses in Things Fall Apart, readers complete a series of worksheets that ask them to examine similes, proverbs, and African folktales contained in the novel. Individuals explain the meaning...
National Endowment for the Humanities
A Raisin in the Sun: Whose "American Dream"?
How does Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun factor into a discussion of the American dream? High schoolers define the American dream and recognize the historical setting of the play. Additionally, they identify forms of...
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Oliver Twist Goes to Hollywood
How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Practical Criticism
As an introduction to literary criticism, class members recreate I.A. Richards' close reading experiment. Individuals select a poem, paraphrase the story, focus on the imagery used, consider what the imagery adds to the tale, and...
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Comparison and Contrast - D.H. Lawrence
Students explore "The Rocking Horse Winner" and "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" by D. H. Lawrence. In this literature lesson, students read these short stories. Students write an essay comparing the two stories according to themes,...
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Examining What Sharing Really Means
After reading "The Senegalese Miracle" about the degree of sharing the author encounters upon arrival in Africa, class members read Mike Tidwell’s “Sharing in Africa” and compare the two stories. This cultural diversity lesson concludes...
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Cultural Creation Myths
Students write original plays based on supernatural explanations of existence. In this cultural creation myths lesson, students listen to five different stories about supernatural creation. Students record similarities and differences in...
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The Basics of Journalism: A Little Preview
Young scholars define journalism and identify the basic components of a news story. In this journalism basics lesson, students define the word journalism, read a new story, and break it into parts with two major characteristics for each...
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Comma Worksheet 7
In this grammar worksheet, learners use commas to set off nonrestrictive elements, parenthetical expressions, transitional connectives and contrasted elements in eighteen sentences.
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Mood and Tone
Students describe their current mood in several complete sentences. They compare their moods with moods set by authors through the tone of their writing. Students read a teacher prepared handout about mood/tone of writing. They write...
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The World in 22 Minutes: Constructing a TV News Lineup
Young scholars examine several newspapers to compare front pages, headlines, and photographs, experience role of news editor, define and discuss factors that go into news judgements, and arrange twenty-two minute news broadcast by...
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Alice In Wonderland
Students compare and contrast surrealist paintings to Alice in Wonderland. In this literature instructional activity, students examine surrealism paintings and apply those principles to Alice in Wonderland. They explore how the artists...
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Beyond the Printed Word
Students investigate the effects of television and radio on culture. In this journalism lesson, students consider how electronic media has shaped journalism as they create timelines that feature the changes and compare and contrast print...
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Painting Modern Life
Students compare and contrast modern life art in the works of Hilaire-Germain Edgar Degas and Paul Cezanne. In this art analysis instructional activity, students compare and contrast the two paintings. Students complete image based...
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Rubric Rating
Learners develop a rubric or scoring guide to assess newpaper articles. They rate the story and write the reasons for the rating. An Essay Scoring Guide is attached for reference.
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So, Who Is It?
Learners brainstorm adjectives that describe people, discuss different ways of comparing and/or finding contrast in describing a person, and write drafts of their descriptions.