Each group is assigned a character to play in a mock debate. They read the provided materials, build an argument, and then debate their points of view as their perspective character. The debate focuses on ensuring equality for...

Chinese and Japanese calligraphy is beautiful and significant in both culture and tradition. Engage your class in this expressive fine art form through a lesson on using, holding, and creating brush strokes common to Japanese writing...

Tenth graders complete a variety of activities related to the first two chapters of the book The Outsiders. They define metaphor, simile, idiom, and hyperbole, and take a vocabulary pre-quiz. In small groups, they write a character...

Can you tell everything about a character based on their actions? Delve into the prominent characters of Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with helpful reading tips and discussion questions. A thorough lesson...

You can often track a character's development based on others' reactions to their words or actions. Using Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves," ninth graders work in a jigsaw activity to analyze how Mirabella's...

Does identity come from within, or do external forces shape it? Explore the complex identity concept with a two-unit module for 12th-grade language arts. The first unit uses A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and "A Daily Joy...

Good or evil? Some characters never identify themselves as either. Scholars create essays in which they examine morally ambiguous characters. Writers also analyze and write essays about the use of poem titles and take a close look at the...

Readers take part in three activities after reading Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. To understand the importance of diction, class members analyze Stevenson's characters' language to denote their social status. After...

Learners analyze people's choices from different points of view. They read different scenarios and explain how they would react personally in that situation. Then they analyze what they would do in another character's position and...

Have you ever felt left in the dark? Scholars write essays after analyzing two poems pertaining to night and darkness. Pupils also read a passage and write an essay discussing the author's depiction of characters. A third essay allows...

Is there a moment that changed your life? Readers analyze novels and plays to discover the moments in which characters change from children to men. Writers also create essays to analyze literary devices used in The Rainbow and figurative...

Celebrate National Reading Month in March—or any month of the year—with a selection of versatile graphic organizers. The worksheets prompt readers to compare characters easily, predict what will happen next in a story, track their...

Have you ever felt like you are pulled into two directions? Some authors depict this feeling in their characters. Scholars choose a play or novel in which a character is pulled or influenced by two different directions and write essays...

Scholars select a novel or play and then craft an essay that describes the setting's role in the story. Pupils also create essays that analyze a poet's use of language and the values of characters in a novel excerpt.

Scholars are challenged to create essays comparing two poems in which the authors discuss fears and concerns about dying and life passing by too quickly. Two other essay questions ask writers to analyze literary elements and characters...

Scholars select a novel or play and craft an essay to discuss what the symbol reveals about the characters or theme. Writers also analyze a passage and a poem to determine how the authors use literary elements to relay their messages.

Three free-response prompts provide scholars an opportunity to practice for the AP® English Literature Composition exam. Using released prompts from the 2010 free-response section, writers craft an essay about the experiences of a...

Have you ever met a wolf in disguise? The last essay question in the 2016 AP® English Literature and Composition Free-Response exam asks writers to think of deceitful characters and create essays describing why they carried out...

How much would you give up for others? The last prompt in 2014 AP® English Literature and Composition Free-Response Questions asks scholars to write essays about a character in a piece of work that has sacrificed and what the...

Ambition, murder, nontraditional gender roles ... some problems just can't be fixed in marriage counseling. Learners discuss the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. As a culminating activity, pupils analyze how the characters'...

Scholars read three texts and analyze the dialogue of the characters to find examples of humor and irony that contribute to their characterization. They then walk through the writing process to create a final essay.

What might viewers notice about the characters, setting, and cinematic choices in the movie version of a play? Pupils view an excerpt from Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. To finish the lesson,...

How do complex characters develop throughout a text? Pupils read Act 5.1 from Shakespeare's Macbeth, which depicts Lady Macbeth's descent into madness. Using discussion and writing exercises, scholars analyze how Shakespeare develops...

Using the resource, scholars read Act 3.3 of Shakespeare's Hamlet. They analyze two soliloquies and discuss how Shakespeare develops the characters.