Curated OER
Sign of the Beaver: Book Club Discussion
Good question are the heart of great discussions. To prepare for a book club discussion, introduce young readers to the characteristics of good conversation-starting questions. Practice crafting questions for a text the class has...
Curated OER
Springfield Wiki Lesson - Literature Circles
Using a variety of novels about survival, such as Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, pupils create author's studies using wikis. First, learners are placed in groups to study a particular novel. Then, they create a page...
Walt Disney Company
Disaster Preparedness Activity Book
Join the American Red Cross as well as Mickey and friends as they help to prepare young scholars for natural disasters. After reading brief informational passages about earthquakes, floods, fires, storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes,...
McGraw Hill
Phonics Teachers Resource Book
Looking to improve your classes literacy program? Then look no further. This comprehensive collection of resources includes worksheets and activities covering everything from r-controlled vowels and consonant digraphs, to the...
Novelinks
Tuesdays with Morrie: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
New to using Tuesdays with Morrie? Check out this five-page resource that provides an overview Mitch Albom's book, its features, themes, and literary devices. The packet also includes suggestions for research projects.
Curated OER
Mythology by Edith Hamilton: Silent Discussion
Get everyone up and participating! High schoolers reading Mythology, by Edith Hamilton, complete a graphic organizer independently, and then record one of their thoughts on the white board for a silent discussion. Decide how you're going...
Reed Novel Studies
The Wizard of Oz: Novel Study
There's no place like home. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz wonders if she will ever make it back to Kansas after a tornado drops her in a magical land. Scholars learn about the friends she meets along the way, and they have fun of...
National Endowment for the Arts
Teacher's Guide: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A 10-lesson unit takes high schoolers through a novel study of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. To start, students learn about Fitzgerald's background and gain historical context that prepares them for a reading of the book. The...
Curated OER
Introduction to Archetypes
Here is a full lesson with all the needed materials and PowerPoints attached! Introduce your class to archetypes by showing them the included presentation. The presentation gives definitions and examples of archetypal characters,...
Novelinks
Oedipus the King: Organizational Patterns
Designed for teachers of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, this packet provides information about themes and literary devices used in the play. Appropriate for first-time and veteran teachers of Sophocles' tragedy.
Novelinks
Words By Heart: Anticipation Guide
The anticipation guide for Words by Heart is the first of a series of six, contains lesson plans for the activity as well as a handout to be completed individually, in pairs, or as a class. It sparks interest for the text...
K20 LEARN
I Need A (Super)Hero: Literary Elements And Narrative Writing
Need a hero? Super! Groups create their modern-day marvel and craft a narrative with all the elements required in such a tale.
Curated OER
Speak: Questioning Strategy - ReQuest Strategy
The best way to analyze a piece of literature is to ask questions about the characters, plot, and theme. Encourage your learners to stump the teacher with the most difficult questions they can create using Bloom's Taxonomy and various...
Curated OER
Reader's Theater
Conduct a Reader's Theater. Third, fourth, and fifth graders rewrite books with a baseball theme to a Reader's Theater format. They form groups of four or five, practice reading the script, and then perform it for an audience.
Curated OER
Hoot: Anticipation Guide
Should companies be able to build wherever they want? Are animals worth protecting? Explore the literary themes from Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with an anticipation guide. Kids read ten statements and decide if they agree or disagree, then...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Media Literacy with Focus of Strategies for Collaboration
Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.
Penguin Books
Wonder in the Classroom
Would you rather be right, or would you rather be kind? A novel unit based on R.J. Palacio's Wonder focuses on the need to be kind to others and to accept their differences. As learners read the book, they discuss the themes of...
Reed Novel Studies
Mr. Stink: Novel Study
Some literary characters are interesting, some are helpful, and some are ... well, stinky. Using the novel study in conjunction with reading Mr. Stink, scholars meet a smelly but kind person named Mr. Stink. Pupils illustrate the plot,...
Brigham Young University
Silent Discussion: After Reading Strategy for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
Complete this after-reading activity for the novel Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy in order to explore the books themes of societal prejudice, peer pressure, authority, and bullying. Write the seven provided questions on...
Reed Novel Studies
Woodsong: Novel Study
What is better than a book full of adventures and thrills? A book that's full of true adventures and thrills the author actually experienced! Gary Paulsen recounts his life stories that inspired many of his books. Readers remain hooked...
Curated OER
Peter and the Starcatchers: Anticipation Guide
Pique your pupils' interest before reading Peter and the Starcatchers with an anticipation guide. Given a list of 10 statements, learners choose true or false based on what they think the book is about. They then discuss in small...
Reed Novel Studies
One Crazy Summer: Novel Study
Rita Williams-Garcia's One Crazy Summer describes three girls who go looking for their mother who ran out on them. Scholars complete a novel study guide with vocabulary exercises, character descriptions, and comprehension poems.
Reed Novel Studies
Theodore Boone - Kid Lawyer: Novel Study
A child lawyer is exactly what people need ... not! With the novel study for John Grisham's Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, pupils use their imaginations to create their own examples of sarcasm. They also research a chosen famous lawyer and...
Reed Novel Studies
A Taste of Blackberries: Novel Study
Blackberry pie, blackberry cobbler ... what other recipes use blackberries? Scholars hunt for an interesting blackberry recipe to copy and share with friends after using the novel study for A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan...