Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Looking Through Lenses

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students explore the various societal and cultural "lenses" which color their perspectives and life experiences by reading the short story "What Means Switch" by Gish Jen. They discuss how the cultural ideas and beliefs affect the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tracing the Impact of Historical Figures

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students discuss impact of various historical figures from different periods in time, read about and take notes on one assigned historical figure, and create photo journals of their experiences.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fairytale Favorites

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students access George MacDonald's Fairytales website, read exerpts of pre-selected tales, select their favorite and communicate that information via the internet to another class.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Out of the Dust -- Part II

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders discover that literature can be a great way to gather information about the past. Using various types of text, they research its historical data and determine if it is correct. They write two papers to respond to the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Panther in the Basement

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students produce an ongoing journal in which they relate their personal response to literature. They examine the theme of the rights of the individual versus the whole. They explore conflict in Panther in the Basement.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Informational Writing

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders study Paul Revere. In this writing lesson, 5th graders discuss the elements of writing that help a reader be engage. They read about Paul Revere's life, taking notes about what made his life seem heroic, and write about...
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Studying Character in Drama

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Online lesson that allows students to study and follow a Shakespearean character throughout a play, analyzing their actions, traits and dialogue as clues to characterization.
Website
PBS

Pbs Character Above All: Richard M. Nixon

For Students 9th - 10th
An excerpt from Tom Wicker's essay on Richard M. Nixon. The writing delves deep into Nixon's psyche, possibly giving reasons for his actions before and during the Watergate crisis. Analyzes Nixon's political philosophy and his actions.
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Analyze Differences in Characters' Moral Dilemmas

For Students 9th - 10th
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson and practice focuses on characters' moral dilemmas. A moral dilemma occurs when a character has to choose between right and wrong actions, often in the face of...
Graphic
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: I Can Analyze a Story or History [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This graphic organizer can be used to help students analyze a story or a historical event. Students will look closely at the story's characters or people involved in the historical event. Then they will summarize the story or event, and...
Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Analyze the Central Characters in Literary Text/fiction

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
In this lesson, you will discover some ways that writers reveal the complexity of their characters. By closely analyzing one author's characters, you'll come to see how their words, actions, and interactions with one another can shape a...
Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Arts Edge: What a Character!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
In this lesson, students analyze how a character's personality traits, actions, and motives influence the plot of a story. Students also learn how storytellers use their face, body, and voice, as well as the five senses, to enhance the...
Graphic
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Character Map

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Help students analyze a particular character with this character map that helps them examine character appearance, actions, and how others respond to them. Ideas for its use are provided.
Unit Plan
E Reading Worksheets

E Reading Worksheets: Story Structure Activities

For Teachers 3rd - 9th Standards
This learning module provides remediation and extra practice with analyzing story structures. Reinforcement for story structures is provided through the two PowerPoint lessons, three quizzes, and four different worksheets.
PPT
Sophia Learning

Sophia: Indirect vs. Direct Characterization

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This lesson introduces indirect (learn about the characters through speech, thoughts, actions, physical description, other character's feelings) and direct characterization (author tells the reader about the character) in fiction...