Teach With Movies
Title: "The Red Badge of Courage" - Topics: U.S./1860 - 1861; Literature/U.S.
Designed to be used with a showing of the 1951 version of The Red Badge of Courage staring Audie Murphy, this learning guide includes discussion questions, suggestions for activities, and topics that can be discussed with parents.
Teach With Movies
Title: "The Time Machine" - Topics: Science-Technology
Director George Pal’s film The Time Machine, based on H. G. Wells’ 1895 science fiction novella and starring Rod Taylor, Alan Young, and Yvette Mimieux, is the focus of a lesson that considers the consequences of time travel. Viewers...
Curated OER
Studying The Catcher in the Rye
What's the difference between being a phony and being a conformist? At what point does conforming to alleviate loneliness lead to insincerity? These are the questions at the heart of this unit plan that uses The Catcher in the Rye...
Curated OER
Nathaniel Hawthorne's—The Scarlet Letter
Designed for teachers, this guide to The Scarlet Letter is divided into background information about Hawthorne and Puritan New England, suggestions for teaching various ability levels, and ideas for extensions that include...
Macmillan Education
A Wrinkle in Time Discussion and Activity Guide
As you work through Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, try out some or all of the 20 questions and activities included here. Useful for discussion questions, group assignments, or individual projects, this resource covers plot as...
Writing Educators Symposium
Asking the Right Questions
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and...
Curated OER
Reading Puzzle
Twelfth graders examine the elements of literature. They each read a chapter of a novel, sequentially list the main ideas, present a summary of the chapter to the class, sequence the events, and review the novel by summarizing the timeline.
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Ponyboy, What's a Theme?
Third graders seek supporting proof of major conflicts and themes in the novel, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. They utilize a worksheet imbedded in this plan which has them identify the conflict in each chapter of the book.
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Literature of the Islands and the Sea
Students read an age-appropriate novel in which an island setting plays an important role from a provided list. This will help them understand life on an island. They will analyze the plot, theme, characterization, setting, and style...
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Holocaust Literature Circle Discussion
Seventh graders participate in a literature circle regarding various novels of Holocaust literature. They read their selected novel and write a journal entry in response to the reading, and in small groups participate in a group...
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William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying
Pupils analyze William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. In this literature analysis lesson, students compare a modern novel and play. Pupils analyze Faulkner's interior monologues. Students write a paper about the ways As I Lay Dying is or is...
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Acting Like a Bunch of Animals: Fables and Human
The video "The Tales of Aesop" traces for viewers the history of fables and identifies their characteristics. The class then goes to the web site "The Fisherman and the Little Fish" where they examine the classic and a modern version of...
Curated OER
Subject and Verb Agreement: Using Literature
Students inspect the essential rules for subject and verb agreement. They read two excerpts from the novel, The Golden Ass, and identify and correct the errors.
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Split Character Studies in Crime and Punishment
Learners identify characters who exhibit conflicting character traits. In this Crime and Punishment lesson, students identify and discuss characters who have opposing character traits. Learners relate their character study to...
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2105
Students read excerpts from Jon Scieszka's novel, 2095, prior to presenting their vision of the future in a creative project accompanied by written explanation. They design a museum exhibit which shows a scene from a science fiction book...
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The Great Gatsby
Eleventh graders investigate the concept of the American Dream. They use the novel "The Great Gatsby" as an example from literature. Students brainstorm in order to define the American Dream.
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Through the Looking-Glass Chess: Create Your Own Games!
Sixth graders research chess in relation to the metaphors in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. They read the novel and note references to chess and research the history of chess and how to play the game. In groups, they create...
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Parts of Speech: Active Verbs
Pupils use White Fang to help them study active verbs. In this grammar lesson, students define active verbs and find examples in the the novel White Fang. Pupils then use ProQuest to research a place they'd like to visit. Students write...
Curated OER
Human Conditioned Responses
Students listen as the teacher demonstrate how easily and quickly a person can be conditioned to respond to external stimuli. Students are encouraged to look at numerous ways in which conditioned behavior affects their day to day...
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What Makes Good Literary Writing?
Students conduct a literature study of John Steinbeck's classic "Of Mice And Men". They write in reflection of the author's influence upon 20th century literature. Students take apart the story to focus class discussion upon major themes...
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Literary Newspaper: Candide
Prejudice? Religious intolerance? Political sedition? Class distinction? Plight of women? Voltaire satire, anyone? A literary newspaper offers an opportunity for readers of Candide to make text-to-self and text-to-world connections as...
Curated OER
Grab Hands and Run: Understanding Human Rights
Sixth graders read the novel Grab Hands and Run by Frances Temple. They explore the effects of war on human rights. Students explore the idea that human rights are protected by the United Nations. They identify the human rights that were...
Curated OER
Fact and Fiction in Little Women
Students read excerpts from the novel "Little Women." Students work in groups to research, analyze, and answer the questions included in the lesson. After research, students write a paper and include a bibliography. The students also...
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Book Review
Students write a five paragraph theme that explains how the novel which they read in this unit effectively utilized various literary elements to portray the impact of a disease on a population. They then decide which three literary...