Curated OER
Learning to Analyze Characters
Students discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters. In this character writing lesson, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen....
Curated OER
Maniac Magee: Life Without Problems
Young readers discuss how they would deal with problems faced by the main character in Maniac Magee. They write down their own problems and exchange them with others to analyze and provide possible solutions. They establish a "Dear Abby"...
Curated OER
"Et tu, Brute?" - The Characters, Conflict and Historical context of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Students analyze the Shakespearian play, "Julius Caesar" in this seven lesson unit. Through readings, hands-on projects, and the study of plot development, comparisons are made to the movie and the historical records available.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Literary Humor
Young scholars examine Nathaniel Hawthorne's style of humor and compare it to other humorists. They discuss the purpose of literary humor and determine how it develops characters and plots in stories. They analyze the use of different...
Curated OER
How Does Power Affect Conflict?
Young scholars use several short stories to analyze different types of power. While discussing the role of power in these short stories, students will practice communication skills essential to conflict transformation, specifically...
Curated OER
Dragonwings: Evaluate Chapters 10-12
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...
Curated OER
Journal of Time: A Historical Perspective
Analyze the setting behind the Great Depression in California with Pam Munoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Middle schoolers assess the protagonist during her coming-of-age moments, while migrant workers manage the hardships of the...
Curated OER
Western-Genre Films
Young scholars watch westerns and analyze them. They identify the plot, characters and the sounds in the film. They research icons of the American west and prepare a presentation. They share their presentation with the class.
Curated OER
Folktales: Uncle Cricket, the Soothsayer Lesson Ideas
Students read the Nicaraguan folktale, "Uncle Cricket, the Soothsayer," prior to participating in various activities. Among the ideas presented here are completing story maps, analyzing characters, summarizing the plot, writing...
Curated OER
Holy Mole
Students discover Mexican culture by reading and cooking. In this Central American History lesson, students read the book Holy Mole, and analyze the story by answering questions about plot, characters and even sound effects they...
Curated OER
Book Report Activity
Students analyze language arts by reading a book in class. In this book report activity, students must read one of five selected books including 1984 and Lord of the Flies. Students prepare a two page report and create a poster...
Curated OER
Jason and the Golden Fleece
Young scholars read and analyze the classic Greek tale of "Jason and the Golden Fleece." They compare/contrast the story with modern works of literature and films, answer discussion questions, and retell the story in a modern-day setting.
Curated OER
Lord of the Rings: Borrowed Mythology
Students complete a research project. In this mythology lesson, students identify the similarities between world mythology and The Lord of The Rings trilogy. Students complete character plot diagrams for each episode of the trilogy,...
Curated OER
The Perfect City
Young scholars analyze group influences on people, events and culture. They design their own perfect society and report it to the class.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: B.D. Brings the War Home
In this current events worksheet, learners analyze Doonesberry political cartoons and characters. Students respond to 6 talking point questions.
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Day Two Part One of Unit on Bless Me, Ultima
Tenth graders prepare to read Bless Me, Ultima as they study the Southwestern region of the United States. They examine the characters, setting, and culture by using context clues, and participate in a jigsaw activity.
Curated OER
Protest Art in Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Students study the social class conflicts that existed during the Russian Revolution by reading the short stories of Anton Chekov and Leo Tolstoy. They analyze the stories to find criticisms of pre-Revolutionary Russia before designing...
Curated OER
What About Films?
Learners watch and analyze a film of an Appalachian folktale. They define trickster and anti-hero, view and discuss the film, complete a handout, compose an original film review, and debate each character's behavior.
Curated OER
Native American Literature: A Paradigm Shift
Learners explore Native American literature. In this cultural diversity lesson plan, students read selected Native American books and analyze the themes of the books and familiarize themselves with the vocabulary used in the books.
Curated OER
The Ballad of the Sad Café
Students view the film "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe" and analyze it for stereotypes of mountain and hillbilly communities. They identify and discuss Appalachian values represented in the film and write a report on their observations.
Curated OER
To Be or Not to Be: A Marriage of Civil War Descendants
Students examine primary documents related to the burning of Chambersburg during the Civil Way. In this Civil War era history instructional activity, students study numerous primary documents relating to the burning of the town of...
Curated OER
Comedia dell' Arte Paper Masks
Pupils create masks from the Italian Renaisance theatre and use them in one-act plays they write. they analyze the role and development of theatre in world cultures.
Curated OER
The Magical World of Russian Fairy Tales
Students read several fairy tales of Russian origin. They brainstorm common elements of a fairy tale and identify those elements in several examples. They retell a favorite fairy tale through a skit, oral storytelling, a sketch, or a...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...