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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Character Development Project
Read Dangerous Minds with your language learning disabled pupils to identify characteristics and connect to literature. This is a specific activity intended for use with the suggested book. The class uses a character map as a way to...
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When A Story Met A Sandwich
How is a story like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Use making a sandwich as a metaphor to remind your writers that a good, solid beginning, a rich and rewarding middle, and an ending that brings everything together spices up a...
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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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Reading Study Guide: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Meant for use with Maya Angelou's first autobiographical volume I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the materials here are designed for a homeschool setting, but they'd suit any classroom or text. Graphic organizers, chapter summary guides,...
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Narrative Nuts and Bolts
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,...
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Literature Soundtracks
Mix music into your literature class! After reading a novel (either in class or as outside reading), your mix masters create a soundtrack of 10 songs to accompany their reading. What does each song add to the story? A fun activity for all!
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Fantasy Stories
Students create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson, 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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Literary Analysis - Young Goodman Brown
Why is literary analysis so important? Readers explore writing a literary analysis by reviewing literary elements such as character, metaphor, plot, setting, simile, personification, and style. They read "Young Goodman Brown" by...
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Peer Editing
Sudents read and critique three of their fellow classmates' science fiction short stories on three consecutive days for mechanics, short story elements, style, and informational elements.
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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...
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Great Expectations: Group Writing
Examine the differences between totalitarianism and democracy in this writing lesson. Using the same format and theme from Great Expectations, young writers work in pairs to compose their own short stories. They follow guidelines for the...
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The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
Students explore "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. In this literature lesson, students read the story and take notes. Students choose a literary element such as character, setting, or theme. Students write an essay...
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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.
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Writing the Mystery with a Purpose
Students present the outline of the mystery story they are writing while working in reciprocal teaching groups. They respond to group members writing before they continue to finish revisions.
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Drama/Theatre
Pupils discover how setting, props, and character-action communicate information about the characters and the story. Access to videos and a video camera are important to make this lesson a success.
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Narrative Writing
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...
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Literary Analysis of Theme
Remember reading "The Lottery" and "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson? Learners can experience and analyze the tension, themes, and human experience found in these pieces through reading and class discussion. They use...
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Narrative Writing--The Hobbit
Hobbits, dwarfs, wizards, trolls, and goblins. Readers track these fantastic creatures through J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit noting passages of character description and habitats. Using specific passages from the novel, class members craft...
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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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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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Prometheus Eulogy
Students write a eulogy for the mythological character, Prometheus. In this Greek myth lesson, students read a story about Prometheus and view a PowerPoint. Students discuss the elements of a eulogy and then write one for Prometheus.
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Activity 3: Composing Personal Narratives
What was your most (exciting, maddening, nervous, thrilling, etc.) experience in school? A part of a unit on narrative writing, in this lesson class members review the elements of the form and then choose an event when they learned a...
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Creating Characters
Students examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Students then use the methods of...