Students discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters.  In this character writing activity, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen....

Young scholars create a mobile that includes each of the six planets. They list the character traits of each of the characters from the six planets visited by the Prince. They present their project to the class and teacher.

Combining art, music, dance, and reading comprehension, this lesson is geared to reach all ability levels. After reading a variety of fables and discussing story elements and character traits, class members select a moral to use as the...

Guide your readers to explore character traits. As a class, discuss and record the traits of a commonly-known fairy tale character. Then do the same with the main character in the class novel. Finally, have learners use magazines...

Sixth graders read and utilize the facts from the story "Abd al-Rahmen Ibrahima" by Walter Dean Myers to analyze the main character's life which is ruined by conflict, jealousy, and greed. Journal entries are created in response to the...

Third graders practice identifying characters and story elements by creating a character cluster in class.  In this story analysis lesson, 3rd graders discuss the story Snow White and identify the characteristics of the evil witch....

Students recognize ways Shakespeare creates and uses mood augment their analysis of the text and help them in making performance choices. They, in groups, select words, phrases, lines, that reveal their character's mood.

Action! Delve into character development in the play Fences by August Wilson, setting the stage for learners to analyze character nuances. Thespians choose a scene from the script, responding with a written account of the...

Young analysts write a comparative essay, but about what? They compose a paper based on several critical discussion about reality and illusion, and how both are blurred in art. They analyze several theatre pieces that exemplify Brechtian...

What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...

The pop movie Moulin Rouge was based on the opera La Boheme. Learners watch the last 30 minutes of each musical to compare and contrast social opposites. They'll first discuss the social differences of the main characters and how those...

Kindergartenrs explore English by analyzing images in a picture book. This lesson on the parts of speech calls for young learners to view a picture book in class and describe characters, settings and objects with adjectives. Then, as a...

Students 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.

Students utilize their reading comprehension by analyzing a book with their class. For this children's literature lesson, students read the story The Mitten by Jan Brett and discuss the imagery and characters in the story. Students...

Students analyze two of Dorothea Lange's portraits and create their own portraits of classmates. In this portrait analysis lesson, students define portrait and discuss two images of Lange's. Students interview a classmate and use Lange's...

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

Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...

Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select...

Students analyze several of the characters from "To Kill a Mockingbird". They view segments of the film, create character webs based on the most revealing film scenes, write journal entries and participate in class discussion.

Seventh graders explore the various elements found in the advertisement of a dramatic experience. Playbills are created that reflect the plot without revealing the climax of the play. Costumes, set construction, and character description...

Students explore the ways in which the worlds of popular music and opera can work together to complement the other. They work in small groups to analyze plot, characters, setting and themes of a popular opera using a summary of that...

How would Jean-Etiénne Liotard paint the characters from "The Little Mermaid?" What would the main character from "The Little Match Girl" look like from Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes' point of view? After examining various paintings...

Students examine the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." In this character instructional activity, students discuss and analyze the characters in the story. Students make personal connections to the characters and create a...

Young scholars create and videotape a newscast about the events that take place in the play, Antigone. They perform scenes describing the main events, the main characters and their conflicts.