Young scholars explore fiction that moves individuals to social action. In this literature instructional activity, students read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and analyze its literary worth as well as its investigative journalism. Young...

Identify literary elements in fiction. In this reading comprehension lesson plan, learners read the book Pigsty and record literary elements onto a graphic organizer. They specifically discuss the main characters and events in the text.

A helpful guide to Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic for your literature unit. Use the sections on point-of-view, dramatic irony, and background knowledge, among others, to frame your lessons in an engaging and educational way.

Students create a literature pyramid. They review and discuss their assessment task and rubric and select the literature for their pyramid. They read the literary selection and complete a pyramid sheet for one of the four literary...

Students read and analyze the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. They take notes while reading the story, select an element to analyze, and write an essay about the characters, theme, or the setting.

Middle schoolers create literature pyramids. They read selections of various societies, eras, and ideas. They complete two pyramid sheets for the same literary element including either plot, character, setting, or theme. They color-code...

Students analyze the plot of the story, "The Little Engine That Could" to provide a model for writing creatively, developing critical essays, producing themes, and making predictions.

High schoolers create board games out of pieces of literature they have read. They work together to develop rules and elements of the game. They are to use as many elements of the story as possible. They play each game as a class.

Fourth graders prepare for the literary analysis. They locate, interpret, evaluate and analyze the relationship between a character and the theme. After a lecture/demo, 4th graders write topic and detail sentences, then correctly put...

In need of a really good lesson that incorporates literature, art, and cultural themes? After hearing a traditional Chinese folktale and discussing cultural themes and symbolism, learners create original illustrations for the story. This...

Give your class some background information on both Nathaniel Hawthorne and his short story "Young Goodman Brown." Basic themes and characters are introduced, especially as this is an allegory with many symbolic elements. Help your...

What a wonderful way to follow up on the reading of, Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry! The lesson has pupils split up into small groups of two to four students. Each group must work collaboratively to create a multimedia project that relates...

Students explore philanthropy in literature. In this cross curriculum literacy and character development lesson, students read A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and note charitable acts described in the story. Students relate story...

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.

Seventh graders examine various stories that have a Cinderella theme.  In this Language Arts lesson, 7th graders compare and contrast stories.  Students write various journal assignments in regards to the stories. 

Students examine the literary elements of fairy tales. After reading the fairy tale "Rapunzel" and discussing the elements of fairy tales that occur as they read, they use a story web to help plan and create an original fairy tale. ...

Read the story Make Way for Ducklings and introduce little ones to the five themes of geography. Reread the story, while displaying transparencies to reinforce the five themes. In groups, learners view pictures and identify the themes on...

Students read short stories that are related to adolescent issues and behaviors. In groups, they review the elements of a short story and vocabulary they might need while reading. To end the lesson, they read "Sir Tatton Sykes"...

High schoolers review themes they have seen so far in their study of poetry. They compare four poems and one set of song lyrics as they search for meaning in each. They compare and contrast all five and then give a presentation of...

Middle and high schoolers work in groups to research tales of King Arthur, using primary sources. They present the major themes and symbols from these stories, and discuss how they still relevant in today's world. Use this lesson to...

Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest...

For this literature worksheet, students respond to 2 short answer and essay questions about Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the selection at the bottom of the page.

For this literature worksheet, students respond to 25 short answer and essay questions about James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets...