Prestwick House
Wonderstruck
Wonderstruck, Brian Selznick's young-adult tale of two preteens who set alone on a quest, provides the text for the clues in a crossword puzzle. A great way to check on readers who were struck by the novel.
Penguin Books
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for The Lions of Little Rock
Schools in the 1950s and 60s looked very different from the schools we know today. An educator's guide explores the civil rights movement and, specifically, the process of integrating schools. Questions cover key themes in the novel and...
K20 LEARN
Of Mice and Men in the Great Depression: Background and Setting
What were living conditions like in the United States during The Great Depression, and how do those conditions compare with today? That's the question young scholars consider as they prepare to read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men....
California Education Partners
Glass Menagerie
As a reading comprehension assessment, ninth graders are asked to use evidence drawn from The Glass Menagerie to support an analysis of how Tennessee Williams uses specific lines to develop Amanda's character as well as her...
Chandler Unified School District
Frankly Speaking: Exploring Benjamin Franklin's Aphorisms
Benjamin Franklin famously had an aphorism for every situation—most of which we still use in modern vernacular. Introduce class members to Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack with a presentation that details the characteristics of aphorisms.
K20 LEARN
Here's How I Heard It: Using Folklore To Improve Close Reading Skills
"X" is for exaggeration, and "F" is for fact. To encourage close reading and to improve literary analysis skills, class members annotate fables and tall tales, like Paul Bunyan, with symbols that identify key features of this genre.
Literacy Design Collaborative
The Scarlet Letter and Hester Prynne
Is Hester Prynne a virtuous woman? To conclude a unit study of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter class members craft an argument essay in which they use the standards listed in Proverbs 31 from the Bible to judge Hester's virtues.
Literacy Design Collaborative
In Pursuit of Happiness
What ideas and philosophies guided the Transcendentalist movement in America? Scholars explore the topic, reading texts by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Additionally, they write essays comparing the authors' structural...
K20 LEARN
Ichabod and Brom - Ghostfacers: Credibility and The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow
A headless horseman? Really? A reading of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" launches a study of how to use the A-CLAP strategy to determine a story's credibility. Writers employ these techniques to craft their ghost stories and make them...
K20 LEARN
Motivations In "The Gift Of The Magi": Motivation In Characters
O. Henry's short story, "The Give of the Magi," launches a study of what motivates people to act as they do. Class members identify what they believe are the motivations of the characters in O. Henry's tale and then craft a one-page...
K20 LEARN
It’s Never Too Late to Apologize: Character Development and Theme in “The Scarlet Ibis”
Sometimes saying I'm sorry just doesn't cut it. Scholars examine a series of apology poems, songs, and stories and consider each speaker's regrets. Using what they have learned, they analyze James Hurst's short story, "The Scarlet Ibis,"...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Burying Addie's Voice
Students explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.
Prestwick House
The Help
Kathryn Stockett's The Help opened up a rich, vivid world of strong female characters and stark societal injustices. As high schoolers read the novel, they complete a crossword puzzle that includes clues from all chapters of the book.
Prestwick House
A Raisin in the Sun
Or does it explode? Discuss the ultimate deferred dream in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun with a handy crossword puzzle that reviews key names and details from the play.
Prestwick House
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Planning an adventure with ol' Tom Sawyer? Revist Mark Twain's classic tale with a review crossword puzzle on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Prestwick House
Tuesdays with Morrie
Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie captured the hearts of readers around the world in the late 20th century. Revisit Morrie and his captivating stories with a crossword puzzle review activity.
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Penguin Edition of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
The dry Oklahoma landscape in America's Dust Bowl sent many farmers in search of the promised land. A teacher's guide to John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath discusses the characters' desire for a better home along with other themes...
ReadWriteThink
Designing Museum Exhibits for The Grapes of Wrath: A Multigenre Project
Challenge readers of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath to create a museum exhibit that uses artifacts to focus on one issue raised by the award winning story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Joads.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Walt Whitman: From Song of Myself
Looking for a resource that models how to read and analyze a poem? Check out this packet that uses sections of Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself" to demonstrate how to paraphrase, note literary elements, and identify the poet's inferences.
University of Iowa
Every Atom: Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself”
Discussion questions for Walt Whitman's "Son of Myself" ask class members to reflect on the beauty that can be found in labor, the sense of identity that transcends divisions, and on the many riddles in Whitman's poem. ...
Digital Public Library of America
The Poetry of Emily Dickinson
Are you contemplating a poetry study featuring Emily Dickinson? Finding good primary sources to accompany the study can be a challenge—never fear, help is here! Check out this primary source set that includes manuscripts of several of...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Narrative Voice in Moby Dick
Call him a reliable narrator! Ishmael is the focus of a lesson that asks readers to analyze the complex character of Herman Melville's narrator as he is introduced in the first chapter of Moby Dick.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Dramatic Perspective in Moby Dick
A lesson on Herman Melville's Moby Dick asks readers to compare the first person point of view of Ishmael in Chapter 1 to Captain Ahab's dramatic monologue in Chapter 37. Readers cite evidence from the chapters to support their...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Literary Genres in “Moby-Dick”
Moby Dick is more than a whale of a tale narrated by Ishmael. A lesson plan studying Herman Melville's classic novel asks readers to examine the different genres the author weaves into his story. Instructors model how to conduct a...
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