In 1941 FDR spoke out on the events at Pearl Harbor. The class will get to analyze word choice,  word meaning, author's craft and structure by analyzing an actual draft of this speech. They will look critically at the words used,...

"How can a few good words save a pig's life?" Posed with this question, your ELD students explore E.B. White's Charlotte's Web in a meaningful, valuable way. By analyzing specific word choice from the book, especially the excerpts...

Students use songs to analyze their sense of identity and self-worth. In groups, they discuss and explore their own character development and discover how far they have come in recent years. They also identify the positive and negative...

Analyze characters and stories to identify stereotyping. Learners will examine the concept of character gender to evaluate bias in classroom story books. They are asked to read a story or play and change the gender of the character to...

How do you know what a character's personality is like if an author doesn't tell you? With a focus on character development in Esperanza Rising, pupils complete a jigsaw activity to analyze the actions of Mama, Abuelita, and Miguel. Once...

When your class members have completed the novel Esperanza Rising, they will be ready to write an expository essay on how Esperanza responds to events and what this says about her character. Set your pupils up for success by...

Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...

Readers analyze an excerpt from Kate DiCamillo's novel Because of Winn-Dixie. They read silently, and then hear it read aloud. Definitions for underlined vocabulary words are in the margin, and other potentially difficult words...

Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select...

High school freshmen craft their own definition of honesty. They provide an example from their lives and reflect on the outcomes of their honest behavior. They also identify a time when they may have been dishonest in a relationship and...

Students analyze a piece of writing by creating diary entries based on a character.  In this reading comprehension lesson, students read an assigned book with their classmates and create a sketch of what they believe the main...

Come up with a list of requirements for this expository essay on Esperanza's character in Esperanza Rising as a class and use the list to guide class writing. Here, learners will complete the first paragraph, discuss their notes for the...

Eighth graders give their own definition to the terms race, religion, culture, character and ethnicity and write them on the board. As a class, they discuss the differences and similiarties between the terms. In groups, they complete a...

How does recognizing the author's purpose help you draw conclusions about a topic? Using two articles (both are attached), learners brainstorm why each author wrote each article. Are their purposes similar or different? Learners use a...

Learners investigate language arts by analyzing a book with their classmates. For this children's literature lesson, students read the story Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant and discuss the setting and characters. Learners create a T-Chart in...

Students utilize their reading comprehension by analyzing a book with their class. In this children's literature lesson, students read the story The Mitten by Jan Brett and discuss the imagery and characters in the story. Students create...

Students explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make it an effective...

Explore gender stereotypes by analyzing how male and female characters are depicted in comic books. Using the provided Comic Book Analysis sheet, students record the attributes of male and female comic book characters. Then the whole...

Young scholars examine Nathaniel Hawthorne's style of humor and compare it to other humorists. They discuss the purpose of literary humor and determine how it develops characters and plots in stories. They analyze the use of different...

Everyone has a different opinion about the characters they read about in books. Have your class explore forming an opinion and finding evidence to support it as they read and discuss what they think about a particular character. They...

Review myths and the characters therein, connecting them to vocabulary words in the English language today. Begin by searching online for myths and character names. With at least ten names that are familiar English words, students use...

Upper graders view the animated short, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and analyze how the music score was chosen to express the scene. They create an animation as they listen to a classical recording to experience the connection between...

Electromagnetic radiation behaves like both a wave and a particle. Help classes explore this concept through a lab investigation. Young scientists create optical interference patterns on a glass slide using a carbon layer. They analyze...

Learners respond to works of art. In this art interpretation lesson, students examine images of art while using concepts they learned as they read literary pieces. They detail the setting, characters, and the mood and theme of the works...