Engage and entertain young learners with this collection of readers theatre activities. With over 25 different scripts, a wide range of topics are covered from simple counting and rhyming exercises to adaptions of popular children's...

Discover how writers express identity in their writing. Learners explore how issues of identity surface in the literature of minority writers. Scholars watch a video, read and discuss biographies, conduct research, engage in creative...

The television and interstate highways both came of age in 1950s America. Scholars use film, text, and discussion to explore how these and other cultural icons shaped the literature of the time. Pupils also create a family history...

Many American writers in the late nineteenth century wanted their writing to reflect real life. Individuals watch and discuss a video, read and explore author biographies, write a journal entry and a poem, and complete a multimedia...

Students read and discuss an article about Olga Loya, a modern storyteller. They watch a videotaped performance of a story and then create a storytelling experience for a story of their choice to share with the class.

What are some things you think are special enough to keep? Discussing special things launches young learners into reading Keepers. They investigate related vocabulary and practice before, during, and after reading comprehension...

A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

Introduce your class to fairy tales with this instructional activity. After reading the fractured fairy tale, "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig," third, fourth, and fifth graders write a personal narrative as a response to the...

Jump into traditional Chinese culture with budding readers as they examine vocabulary in context through Shirin Yim Bridge's book Ruby's Wish. This book is read on YouTube if you don't have it on hand. Scholars are briefly...

Barbara Joosse approaches an age-old question through an equally traditional culture in her story Mama, Do You Love Me?, which helps budding readers explore Native American vocabulary in context. Here you'll find...

Students examine a selection of traditional African artwork that portray women and explore postcolonial African literature created by women in order to gain insight into the lives of some black women in Sub-Sahara Africa.

Over the course of the lesson plan, your pupils read and analyze a translated eight-line poem from the Tang Dynasty written by Du Fu, a poet caught behind enemy lines during the An Lu-Shan rebellion (755-763). Literary/historical context...

Work on characterization with a narrative writing lesson, in which middle schoolers interpret a character's perspective. They discuss family traditions and examine how culture can influence a character's perspective. Next, they read...

Young historians consider the far-reaching effects of traditional teachings on the debates about the current attitudes toward women in society. The discussion begins with a list of New-Confucian sayings and expands to a global perspective.

Students define genre in the visual arts, particularly in Western painting and explain the differences between subject and genre. The genre of a variety of works of art is identified.

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...

Learners research one aspect of the life of Faulkner and the culture of the South.  In this As I Lay Dying instructional activity, learners explore a webpage on Faulkner and write a summary.  Learners analyze the images...

Students 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.

Students read The Empty Pot as an introduction to plants. In this planting lesson, students understand a sequence of events in the book and relate it to the sequence of a plants life. Students grow plants and record information in flower...

Learners examine different family traditions to further explain social patterns. They complete a graphic organizer using educational software.

Eleventh graders analyze how American literature shows a lot of different genres. In groups, 11th graders create a short report about the passage they have chosen.

Did you know that the world's first novel was written by a woman? Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, was published in 1021. Class members research Eastern and Western cultures in the 10th and 11th centuries, view modern adaptations of...

Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...