Class members create literary mandalas for two characters from Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about his father’s experiences with the Holocaust. After finding quotes that reveal three good traits and three bad traits of each...

Change places with your pupils, and let them teach their peers! Each learner signs up to teach a word from a list provided by the teacher (included here). Then, they complete a graphic organizer to help them develop a better...

Helpful for a unit on Walter Dean Myers' Monster, or any novel that you are teaching, a graphic organizer prompts learners to compare and contrast different character traits. The first box has one set of lines to jot down what two...

Support your learners as they work on writing paragraphs by providing graphic organizers, outlines, and frames. Sift through this packet to find the perfect organizers and templates to prepare pupils for writing. The resource...

Pogrom, schlepped, meshuga. Kapo, reich, Wehrmacht. As part of a unit study of Maus I and II, readers use a list-group-label (LGL) strategy for vocabulary drawn from Art Spiegelman's famous graphic novels. The focus of the activity is...

Imagine a project that informs and entertains. Replace book reports with a bulletin board that highlights all the important elements of a novel. Readers research the author, create a timeline of events in the story, write a...

How does or society punish people who break the law? What effect does guilt have on a person's life? In what way does or society demand we conform to certain conventions? Such questions, found in this study guide, are sure to...

As part of a final discussion of The House on Mango Street, groups examine a concept question about the text, record arguments for and opposed to the question, and then a draw their own conclusions.

Making predictions is an excellent reading strategy. Work on building this into your pupils' toolkit of strategies by trying out the process outlined here for reading the very beginning of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The...

Cover character development and indirect characterization in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck with a graphic organizer. Class members search through the text and fill out a box for each character. The activity provides some notes for...

Compare and contrast the characters of Gemma and Becca from Briar Rose. Using a Venn diagram (not included but easy to create), readers will explore the characters. Not much direction or explanation is included here. 

Is Phoebe a good friend to Sal or not? After reading chapters twenty-five and twenty-six of Walk Two Moons, class members use the provided graphic organizer to develop an argumentative piece. Writers must decide if the two...

In this reading worksheet, students read a given portion of a book, summarize the information, select vocabulary words, write questions and answers about the reading, and draw an illustration of their favorite part. Students complete...

In this language arts worksheet, middle schoolers examine the front cover of the novel and then write out some opinions pertaining to the meaning. Then students design their own cover.

Turn readers into investigative journalists. The 11th and final lesson that accompanies The Twits by Roald Dahl asks the question "What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Twit?" The lesson uses mind maps and group discussion to help answer...

Get started with The Cay. First, provide some background information and images that relate to the novel. Then pupils can create double-entry journals. Once that is complete, read the first two chapters, encouraging individuals to record...

Kids consider revolution as a basis for creativity, art, and storytelling. After reading an excerpt from the book, Persepolis, learners choose one event from any world revolution to write about. They storyboard the event focusing on...

Students engage in a lesson that is about birds while taking part in a variety of activities that are like the following. They play a game that is used for increasing memory while using bird pictures. Students also create a collage with...

Students use a graphic organizer create a character sketch of Trout Walker from the novel Holes. Using the provided worksheet, students fill in the important character traits of Trout. Worksheet and answer key are provided with the...

Students examine cartoons drawn by a volunteer serving in the country of Jordan. They draw a cartoon about a time felt different from others around them and share their cartoons with the class. The answer the questions: How can cartoons...

Two activities work with a fiction and nonfiction book about robots‚—Robot Dreams by Sara Varon and Robot by Roger Bridgman. Scholars read each story, then build a robot out of found objects, examine robot sensors, and search for...

Students use a rubric given to them to answer questions about the novel Tuck Everlasting. They may have to find ten words that are new to them, complete a Venn Diagram, respond to given prompts or complete a survey. The students...

Students complete a graphic organizer over symbolism in the "Lord of the Flies". They work together in groups to interpret passages they find of interest. They draw a respresentation of them as well.

Young scholars examine impressions of a community of migrant workers in Texas who go north to pick crops. The lesson highlights the poverty and discrimination that a family suffers in the 1970's.