Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...

Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...

Students explore racial prejudice in South Africa through the reading of "A South African Storm" by Allison Howard. In this cultural and geography lesson, students discuss ethnicity and prejudices and cite examples from the letter....

Students read two classic short stories by Kate Chopin and write a comparison of the stories. For this short story comparison lesson, students read 'Desiree's Baby' and 'The Story of an Hour' and analyze the foreshadowing and irony....

Seventh graders analyze grammatical structures and identify literary elements in a variety of texts. Through the genre of folktales, ancient or indigenous cultures are studied.

Students read the novel, Music from a Place Called Half Moon. They are assigned chapters to analyze for literary elements and to assign titles to the book chapters.

Seventh graders read the novel, The Light in the Forest. They work in groups to research and create artifacts for a Native American Living Museum. They complete a Powerpoint presentation of their virtual museum to classmates.

Antarctica is actually a desert. Using the novel study that explores Mr. Popper's Penguins, pupils find four of their own interesting facts about the amazing continent. They also practice putting words in alphabetical order and answer...

The field mouse, also known as the meadow vole, is most active at night, so hide the cheese! Scholars research these interesting rodents and record three fascinating facts using the novel study for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. They...

Villains populate literature. These dastardly characters serve as a contrast to the hero who they set out to destroy. Iago, the villain of Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, certainly rates as one of the most despicable. Motivated by...

Was Antony "transformed/Into a strumpet's fool," as Philo declares? (I, i) Was Cleopatra "green in judgment"? (I,5) A guide to Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare's tragedy, provides instructors with a framework for teaching the play about...

Students discuss character development, literary devices, events, and foreshadowing found in, "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts" by Maxine Hong Kingston. They compare and contrast the main character's actions while...

Ninth graders read "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." As they read the story, 9th graders list characters on a chart, define the characters as dynamic or static, make predictions of each character and justify their reasoning. Students...

As your class finishes the novel Dragonwings, use these culminating projects. A vocabulary list is given for chapters eleven and twelve and either an epitaph or letter activity concludes the book. The final project consists of creating a...

"Ye who believe...List to a Tale of Love in Acadie." Longfellow's epic poem, "Evangeline," launches a study of tragic heroines, epic poetry, the expulsion of the Acadians from Canada, and their subsequent migration to Louisiana. The...

Explore the elements of science fiction. Students investigate the literary elements present in science fiction and write their own science fiction stories.

A bite of bits. The first lesson in a unit of 15 introduces the class to the byte. Pupils learn about other standard units for measuring file sizes, develop an understanding of relative sizes and the kind of units used to measure...

Explore genetic engineering through an engaging "Jurassic Park" unit, which is an extensive use of a cross-curricular teaching event. Planned for AP Biology, English, and Calculus students, learners and teachers are involved for 4-6...

Focus on building suspense as well as evaluating web sites through creative writing. After introducing the idea of suspense and holding a discussion, class members complete a WebQuest, during which they find inspiration for their own...

Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....

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...

Students select a Colorado animal, develop a Directed Web page, and research their animal. Each member of the group combine their research and develop a Newsletter.

Students watch the movie Jane Eyre and complete a viewing log. They take a test on their findings.

Young scholars research the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students research facts about the American Revolution, write an expository essay, and peer edit for good content. The paper is suggested to be written...