Students read Polar, The Titanic Bear by Daisy Corning Stone Spedden. They complete a variety of cross-curricular activities surrounding this true story of a toy bear that survived the sinking of the Titanic. Included are reading, art,...

After completing the first five chapters of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle By Avi, use direct quotes to make inferences about how Charlotte feels about certain characters. Later, when the novel has concluded, revisit...

As part of their study of the Progressive Era, class groups examine a 20th century version of "The Three Little Pigs" through a New Era lens and identify how ideals such as the value of hard work, creativity, and problem solving,...

“The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is famous, in part, because it established a uniquely American form of humor. For this famous story, Mark Twain combines the tall-tale, the dialect story, and satire. Here is a resource...

Accompany the African folktale, Anansi the Spider, with a collection of five lessons, each equipped with supplemental activities. Lessons offer multidisciplinary reinforcement in English language arts, social studies, science,...

Students explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.

Inspire young writers to compose their own version of the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood." They begin by reading "Little Red Riding Hood" and the Chinese version <i>Lon Po Po</i>, then they compare and contrast the two...

Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...

As part of their reading of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee, class members consider what it would take to survive living on their own. Using the provided worksheet, individuals list their needs and decide where they would...

Explore rural and urban environments over the course of four days. Each day offers a new look into how both environment compare and contrast. Activities include the observation and analyzation of images, a read aloud and grand discussion...

Literary theories are lenses through which a text may be analyzed. The question in this lesson plan is how a particular literary lens can influence the reader's view of the text.

Everyone takes a different journey through grief. A series of lesson plans for the novel Counting by 7s introduces readers to the main character who loses her parents in a car crash. Discussion questions and writing prompts combine...

Students read a text about Korea's literary tradition. In this literary tradition lesson, students read the multiple page text to learn about Korea's literary tradition.

What do you know about American Indians? Upper graders compose an informational essay based on the research they conduct. They choose a Native American group to study and, using the provided list of web links, gather information and...

Read the story Amelia the Pigeon and discuss perspective. Since Amelia is a pigeon with a bird's eye view, use aerial photography to enhance your learners' understanding. Have fun connecting art and literature while talking about...

Choosing an issue from a play or novel, researchers find two primary sources from different time periods to compare how people's views have changed. Many questions are listed to guide young writers. In the end, learners produce a...

Students utilize strategies to comprehend literature. They write stories with diverse vocablulary that incorporate the difference between internal and external conflict. They make sure that the stories use methods of managing and...

Students study newspaper articles and rewrite events from literature into news stories about kindness. For this news article lesson, students read sentences from newspaper articles and identify the purpose of the article. Students...

Learners explore historical perspectives through literature. In this King Arthur instructional activity, students discover the attributes of dramatic monologue as they read selected literature. Learners then discuss the legend of King...

Twelfth graders explore, discuss and experience a wide variety of texts from around the world written by women. They analyze the different genres covered and view a lot of unique point of views from different female perspectives. Topics...

Sixth graders discuss The Butterfly. In this literacy lesson, 6th graders write two postcards about the issues of the Holocaust from the two different perspectives of the two girls from the text.

High schoolers, after researching/analyzing the movement "Harlem Renaissance" and Africa as well as reading literature from that time period, create lists of the major characteristics of the movement and its important writers. They...

Students study environmental issues from different perspectives. They look at the issues from the view of both preservationists and conservationists as they identify themselves with one group or the other. They determine how teamwork...

Students explore African-American students literature as an integral building block in empowering all students to a better awareness when reading and writing. They use as a productive Social Studies tool for overall understanding of the...