Nathaniel Hawthorne as a humorist? Really? The three lessons in this series focus on the the storytelling style, conventions, and literary techniques employed by Hawthorne, George Washington Harris, and Mark Twain. 

“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...

Whether new to teaching The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or an experienced pro, you’ll find useful resources in this teacher’s guide. The 40-page packet includes background information, historical context, an annotated list of...

Students read in class the novel The Adventures of Tom Sayer by Mark Twain. They can choose to find song lyrics from any artist that they feel define one of the characters in the book, illustrate a scene from the book or create their own...

Middle schoolers receive instruction to punctuation marks in the appropriate places using provided examples. They then place the correct punctuation in the sentences on the worksheet noting that there are some punctuation marks in the...

Prejudice is the theme of this Pudd'nhead Wilson KWHL chart. Learners fill out their charts, discuss how to find the answers to their questions, and spend some time researching a topic they want to know more about.

Students research life in Hannibal, Missouri. In this Mark Twain lesson, students analyze primary sources to develop an understanding of life in Hannibal in the late 19th century. This lesson may be used as an introduction to Twain's...

Explore literature through the completion of reading comprehension worksheets in class. After reading the classic book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, middle schoolers review each chapter by completing study questions and story webs....

Scholars take a close look at evaluating sources and the information that comes from them. Learners review their research plans, use a handout organizer to learn how to take notes, and begin annotating correctly. They practice what they...

Students analyze lyrics and narration by reading poetry.  In this language arts activity, students read and examine the poem Belfast Confetti.  Students discuss the topics and questions asked by the author Ciaran Carson.

Here is a great way to explore language arts by completing a computer activity with classmates. Youngsters read a fairy tale in class and analyze where the beginning, middle and end are. They create their own story using clip art and...

Read a designated chapter of the novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and discuss the chapter summary in small groups. Groups present their summaries and answer questions specific to their chapter.

Young scholars examine visual art by examining Internet sources. For this art identification lesson, students discuss the history of art after researching information on the Internet. Young scholars view artwork by Keith...

What are the current trends in divorce? What contributes to this? Examine celebrity relationship trends and how they relate to the general public with this discussion lesson. Middle schoolers analyze the results of a Census Bureau study...

Investigate the nature of crime dramas on television. What exactly are they trying to portray? Questions and a comparison chart support learners as they watch shows from Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. An oral presentation...

Young scholars write a biography. In this biography lesson, students discuss what a biography is and how to write one. They research Mark Twain, answer questions, and write a biography about his life. 

Pupils explore the story "The War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain. Students are introduced to the life of the author, read the story, and respond to prompting questions about the text. The story is included in this lesson.

Elizabeth Peyton is an artist who creates images of people (often famous) that she doesn't personally know. These images become part of her imagined community. Learners analyze her work, her community of imagined friends, and then create...

Second graders read "The Hundred Penny Box" by Sharon Mathis Bell. They research each year of their life in preparation for writing an autobiography and develop notes to help them in later writing.

Students relate certain questions to certain types of answers. Students write suitable questions to given answers. Students show ending a question with a question mark. Students recap on the main functions and punctuation of questions....

Students complete a unit of lessons examining the cultural context of the novel, 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.' They write a critique of the novel, compare/contrast two published critiques, and explore various websites.

In this writing and art lesson, students use their favorite story to draw a picture and write a caption for their picture. They create their picture and caption on a piece of tagboard that is to be used as a bookmark. A nice, simple...

Young scholars practice their reading skills. For this reading fluency and comprehension lesson, students read instructor-selected passages and use metacognitive skills to predict, self-question, and correct.

Introduce your middle and high schoolers to the correct use of quotation marks. They identify examples of correct and incorrect quotations in magazines and edit a paragraph in groups. Use this lesson as a way to reinforce proofreading...