Curated OER
Remembrance of Yours--Analyzing Characters Using Mementos
Students choose two characters in Hamlet and symbolize the characters with an object, or find an object that the characters might carry. In this Hamlet lesson, students find an object to represent each character they choose. The object...
Curated OER
Mythology
In this mythology and poetry worksheet, 10th graders write poems about characters from mythology. Students use the diamond form to write their character poems.
Curated OER
An Actor's View of Shakespeare
Students research characters from different plays. In this Shakespeare and performing arts lesson, students discuss the portrayal of characters from the perspective of real actors. Students work in groups to examine the technique for...
Curated OER
Writing Applications
Tenth graders read the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens and complete characterization activities. In this characterization instructional activity, 10th graders work in tiers to examine the text for evidence about the way...
Curated OER
The Bullying of Malvolio
Students explore Malvolio's behavior and treatment in Twelfth Night. In this literature lesson plan, students examine the characteristics of a bully. They then work in groups and analyze scenes to determine whether Malvolio...
US Institute of Peace
Identifying Conflicts
When viewpoints collide, conflict arises. Can your pupils identify the components of conflict? The fourth in a series of 15 lessons about peacebuilding helps participants identify the underlying causes of conflict. Teams role play to...
Curated OER
Teaching Julius Caesar: A Differentiated Approach
While the themes of Julius Caesar may appeal to most readers, the act of reading the play can be a challenge. A unit plan related to the popular play by Shakespeare provides lesson plans and activities designed for differentiated...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Character in Place: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” for the Common Core
How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty...
NPR
Chinese American Women Lesson Plan
The National Women's History Museum provides a plan designed to accompany their online CyberExhibit, Chinese American Women; a History of Resilience and Resistance. After examining a series of primary and secondary source documents,...
Polk Bros Foundation
American Presidents
Emanuel Leutze's painting Washington Crossing the Delaware. Alexander Gardner's photograph of Abraham Lincoln. What do these works of art tell us about the character of these American Presidents? After examining the techniques the...
Prestwick House
Analyzing Multiple Interpretations of Literature
There is a reason why an Oscar is given each year for the Best Adaptation Screenplay. Adaptations are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare a work of literature with a least one adaptation of the work into a...
Virginia Department of Education
Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a lesson highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Center for the Advancement of Ethics and Character
Charlotte's Web: A Story About Friendship
Strengthen the bonds of friendship within your class with a reading of E.B. White's award-winning novel, Charlotte's Web. Focusing on the unique characters in the story and the relationships they develop, young readers draw...
EngageNY
Introducing Readers Theater: Pygmalion
It's time to put on a show! Scholars participate in a Pygmalion Readers Theater. They discuss the text-dependent questions from the previous activity and revisit the Eliza Character Tracker. To end the activity, individuals reflect on...
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...
Curated OER
The Search for Character!
Fifth graders define character words, look for real-life examples of the traits "in action," and write an acrostic poem based on one of these qualities.
Curated OER
Characterization of Mice and Men
Using a SMART board presentation (provided), your class discusses the characterization of Lenny, George, Curley, Curley's wife, and the farmhands in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The presentation includes a list of traits for...
Curated OER
Listen Up: Antigone Rising
Upper graders listen to and watch a documentary about an all female group Antigone Rising. They discuss how females are portrayed in the rock world, the type of music they play, their song lyrics, and what they note in the documentary....
Curated OER
Symbols of Canada
Here is a series of five lessons that invite learners to explore the many symbols of Canada. Young artists, write a character sketch, write a journal entry, create a landscape drawing, create and share stories, create a mural, and...
Chicago Botanic Garden
Faces of Climate Change
How does climate change affect you? First in a three-part series, the activity focuses on how individuals living around the world are affected by climate change. Individuals take on the role of a given character and share their...
Ford's Theatre
How Perspective Shapes Understanding of History
The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...
EngageNY
Practicing Structures for Reading: Gathering Evidence about Salva’s and Nya’s Points of View (Reread Chapter 3)
How does an author develop and contrast character points of view in a work of literature? Using a graphic organizer, readers continue gathering evidence about character point of view from Linda Sue Park's A Long Walk to Water. Next,...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Great Expectations can prove to be a challenge for instructors who choose to use Dickens's novel as required reading. Here's a curriculum guide that includes lessons that address some of these challenges. The first lesson in critical...
EngageNY
Citing Evidence: The Ending of Pygmalion
Show time! After completing questions over Pygmalion section nine, scholars perform a reader's theater activity of pages 87-88. They then revisit their Eliza Character Trackers and add details as needed.