National Endowment for the Humanities
Character in Place: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” for the Common Core
How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty uses...
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Fantasy Stories
Students create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson plan, students write a fantasy where they can use characters that they have read about in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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Dust Bowl Story
Students compose narratives describing the difficulties faced by those living in the Dust Bowl. They use resource sheets and photos in this small group activity. Their stories include plots, settings, and characters either taken...
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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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Photographic Memories
Explore how photographs can represent a whole story to a viewer. Middle schoolers work on narrative writing techniques in this lesson, focusing on photographs from the New York Times to write first-person descriptive narratives....
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...
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How Cultures Differ - Two Different Perspectives on the Same Even
Learners explore the effects of culture through the story Running by Peter Hessler. In this geography and cultural lesson, students act as newspaper reporters covering the story of the race. Learners write newspaper articles as reporters...
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Confronting Two Challenges--One Physical, One Intellectual
Students examine the challenges of a new language and culture. In this cultural lesson, student read Running by Peter Hessler and discuss obstacles faced, including the language barrier. Students write an essay about a time they...
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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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Mood and Tone
Young scholars 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...
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First Set of Essay Questions on The Hobbit
Students read The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien and choose two essays to write about the first six chapters. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the first six chapters of the novel and use a worksheet to take notes as they...
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Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Students use video and the Internet to make predictions, draw conclusions, determine conflict and point of view while reading a short story. In this short story analysis lesson, students watch a related video and complete a prediction...
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"On the Sidewalk Bleeding" by Evan Hunter
Learners read Evan Hunter's "On the Sidewalk Bleeding" and complete reading and vocabulary skill activities. In this reading comprehension instructional activity, students review the vocabulary for the text and read the story. Learners...
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So, Who Is It?
Students brainstorm adjectives that describe people, discuss different ways of comparing and/or finding contrast in describing a person, and write drafts of their descriptions.
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The Way You Dream: Gandhi and King's Visions of Nonviolence
Learners read Gandhi and Dr. King's messages about nonviolence and discuss their visions about loving one's enemies. In this nonviolence lesson, students read Gandhi's "Ahimsa, or the Way of Nonviolence" and Dr. Martin Luther King's...
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How Cultures Differ "Two Different Perspectives on the Same Event
Students read excerpts from Peter Hessler's River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze and discuss his difficulties in learning the language, cultural clashes and how cultural perceptions shape our understanding of the world.
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Identifying and Using Parallelism and Balance in Literature
Analyze the use of balanced sentences and parallelism in a narrative. Included in this resource is a narrative about serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan titled, "The Train Ride Home". Middle and high schoolers review...
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Expository Journal Prompts
Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.
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Literary Analysis: Summary vs. Analysis
What is the difference between summary writing and literary analysis? A 16-slide presentation offers some basic requirements for both types of writing and helps readers identify each based on keywords used in both types of writing....
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The Progressive Era in Illinois
High schoolers collect photographs on the Progressive Era in Illinois, then write three newspaper articles, using one photo per article. The article will highlight an event in Illinois during the Progressive Era. The newspaper must also...
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Persona in Autobiography
A talkative old man? A naïve believer in Human Perfectibility? A Sage? Who is this guy, anyway? The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin launches a study of the way Franklin uses structure, style, and purpose, as well as different...
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Foreshadowing: A Definition
Define foreshadowing for your upper graders with this well designed resource. While there are only two slides, the definition and example provided are excellent and if coupled with additional literary devices could make for a great lesson.
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What Sharing Really Means
Learners examine the meaning of generosity and how sharing can be a cultural trait. In this cultural trait lesson, students read a text about the culture of generosity in Africa. Learners complete a discussion activity and journal activity.
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Creating Characters
Students examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills instructional activity, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Students then use the...