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...

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....

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...

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.

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....

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...

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...

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...

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....

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 explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The lesson encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie, critically.

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...

Fourth graders write about the forced Potawatomi migration. In this primary source lesson students are read journal entries from an emigrating party of Potawatomi Indians. Students reflect on the items the Indians might have taken with...

Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.

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...

Students create a literature pyramid. They review and discuss their assessment task and rubric and select the literature for their pyramid. They read the literary selection and complete a pyramid sheet for one of the four literary...

Students develop a sense of historical empathy as they discuss The Holocaust and roll play activities designed to highlight prejudice in today's society.  In this Holocaust history and The Diary of Anne Frank lesson, students...

Students create a dictionary of vocabulary after reading a story. Individually, they create a story web making sure to include all of the basic story elements. They also create a timeline and write a book report of all important events.

Students read and analyze the twelve short stories in the novel "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes." They create their own detective that has to solve a new kind of crime, and write and edit a short story with their original detective as...

Middle schoolers engage in a lesson that is concerned with the literature study of Dragonwings. They write about the story from the perspective of a reader that is well informed towards the last chapters. Students also find target...

High schoolers explore their own culture and identity through the study of literature and artwork of other cultures. Students read and discuss Last of the Breed and identify cultural values. They create a presentation that incorporates...

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...

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