Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
The Use of Language in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings"
Readers of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings are asked to craft an essay in which they compare how Maya Angelou uses figurative language to depict herself and Mrs. Flowers.
Curated OER
Lending Discrimination and the Community Reinvestment Act
Write about economic and banking issues of concern to the public. Investigate lending discrimination and the impact of the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. Use a guide to do research and write an essay.
Ogden Museum of Art Education Department
Literacy and Landscapes
As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Need a model for character education? Benjamin Franklin presents himself as in a constant state of striving to become the man he hoped to be, making his autobiography is far more accessible to learners than those of people who consider...
Curated OER
Understanding Types of Writing
Students analyze the types of writing and answer questions about the writing genres. In this writing types lesson, students define and discuss the types of writing including expository, descriptive, persuasive, technical, and narrative...
Curated OER
Descriptive Paper - And Then There Were None
Learners explore And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. In this characterization instructional activity, students locate passages that contain character descriptions and settings. Learners write a descriptive essay on the...
Curated OER
Essay Exchange Unit: Response to Essays
Students receive and read electronic reviews of their essays.
Scholastic
Reading Characters
Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.
Education World
Human Nature- Good or Evil?
Students explore the philosophical nature of good vs. evil. In this literacy/philosophy lesson, students read and discuss media articles that illustrate human nature as inherently "good" or "evil." Students practice debating skills and...
Curated OER
Paragraph Building
Build the skills your budding authors need to develop to compose well-structured paragraphs. Give them the topic sheet (included here), and have them write a cohesive paragraph using the ideas listed. Consider having them include two...
Curated OER
The Rest Cure: Gender in Medicine and Literature
Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...
Curated OER
Sula/Song of Solomon/Tar Baby
Students answer assigned questions as a group, write individual essays, complete a research project, and complete a writing project.
Curated OER
Satire and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Does Mark Twain’s satire become sarcasm and does he cross the line of propriety in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? As an introduction of satire, class members view an excerpt from The Daily Show and discuss Stewart's use of this...
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Comparing Regimes: Critical Reading of Memoirs and Experiences from Totalitarian Regimes
Can you imagine living in a totalitarian country? Learners will read several primary source memoirs to gain a deeper understanding of what life is like under a controlled government. They'll discuss each piece in pairs, research...
Curated OER
The Cause & Effect Model
Students analyze the plot of the story, "The Little Engine That Could" to provide a model for writing creatively, developing critical essays, producing themes, and making predictions.
Curated OER
In Search of Shakespeare . Images of Othello: A Shakespearean WebQuest | PBS
Learners look closely at the text of "Othello." They use an online dictionary, and use various search engines. Students use an online Shakespeare concordance and make intelligent decisions about character. They write an intelligent...
Curated OER
Why Does It Matter? Teaching Tolerance in an Unforgiving Society
Young scholars listen to the song "Scarecrow" by Melissa Etheridge and draw what they think the song is about. They discover the song is about a man who was attacked. They again express their feelings about the song through drawing. ...
Curated OER
You Should Not Have Believed Me: Hamlet
Students discuss the sanity of Hamlet and Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Students analyze an image from the play to address the sanity of the two characters. Then students read the text to determine whether the characters' words and...
Curated OER
The Mark Twain Project at the Principia School
Students read and write an analysis of The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and write a paper on another Twain literary piece. In this Mark Twain lesson, students select a Mark Twain literary piece to write an analysis paper for the work....
Curated OER
Romeo and Juliet
Students study Romeo and Juliet. In this language arts lesson plan, students read the play and complete a series of activities. Students choose the activities to complete. Students write a summary, draw a poster or compare and contrast...
Curated OER
A Year
Students examine an author's philosophical look at life through anecdotes he describes as a teacher in Uzbekistan. In this Uzbekistan lesson, students analyze a literary passage in order to identify, then practice using, similes,...
Curated OER
Lessons of the Indian Epics: The Ramayana
Students read a version of Ramayana and explore the elements of the epic hero cycle. In this Ramayana analysis lesson, students retell the basic narrative of the Ramayana and identify the main characters. Students identify elements of...
Curated OER
Young Goodman Brown - Themes
Students read "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay about the theme. In this theme analysis lesson, students read and discuss themes. Students then write their essay about the theme in the text.