The AP Literature and Composition exam is all about close reading. Test takers are presented with a passage and asked to analyze how an author uses literary devices to create a desired effect. Prepare your students for the exam with a...

Students watch Charlie Chaplin films and discuss film elements. They select a story written by Edgar Allen Poe to write and produce a movie of. They film scenes, edit, and create a final iMovie project.

Encourage your learners to examine the setting in Theodore Taylor's The Cay. Pupils work in small groups to put together a description of the setting before reading two more chapters of the book. They use their double-entry journals to...

Analyze characters and stories to identify stereotyping. Learners will examine the concept of character gender to evaluate bias in classroom story books. They are asked to read a story or play and change the gender of the character to...

Tenth graders use the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to analyze relationships in society. In this literature analysis instructional activity, 10th graders participate in a shoe activity where they bring in one shoe belonging to someone they...

Students explore Native American literature. In this cultural diversity instructional activity, students read selected Native American books and analyze the themes of the books and familiarize themselves with the vocabulary used in the...

Students interpret a proverb and read examples of oral histories.  For this The Witch of Goingsnake lesson, students read two samples of oral history and discuss quotations from each.  Students read "Calf Roper's Bandit Car"...

Young scholars discuss character types and their qualities. They select two characters and write about their dress, speech, habits, attitudes and beliefs. They write a monologue as the characters presenting a moral theme.

Students read and review the main elements of a story. In this language arts activity, students predict what the story read to them would have been like if the genders of the characters had been different. Students write a new...

Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...

Young scholars determine how the themes expressed in Macbeth are also applicable to contemporary society. They complete a series of written assignments demonstrating their comprehension of theme, content, and interpretation of the play....

Learners prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes nineteen lessons, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response activities are included for each lesson as well as extension and...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes twelve lessons from the American Literature, Regionalism and Realism: 1865-1910 series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes nineteen lessons from the American Literature, A New Nation: 1750-1850 series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes twenty-four lessons from the World Literature series, each covering a different reading selection from Africa. Pre-reading and response activities are...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes eleven lessons from the American Literature, The Earliest Days: Prehistory to 1750 each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and response...

Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes fourteen lessons from the American Literature, The Civil War and Its Aftermath: 1845-1880 series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading...

Students consider the implications of the Holocaust. In this World War II instructional activity, students read the graphic novel Maus at the end of a unit on World War II. Students discuss the impact of reading about the Holocaust as...

Every neighborhood has its own unique cast of characters, and the crew in the novel Hello Universe is no exception. The characters in Erin Entrada Kelly's novel take center stage in a study guide based on the text....

Through the journey of four stories of immigration, scholars complete graphic organizers and apply knowledge to create a visual representation of their findings on a large poster. Third and fourth readers write a letter to their...

"First Appearance," Mark Twain's tale about overcoming stage fright, serves as a model of a personal narrative and gets young writers thinking about milestones in their own lives. After examining student models and considering the...

Students consider slave culture during the time of Andrew Jackson. In this lesson on slavery, students watch a PowerPoint presentation, take notes, then analyze an extensive list of primary sources in order to understand what and how...

Students read a short fiction book and demostrate comprehension by identifying the main characters, setting, conflict, theme, and summarizing the main points. They organize the information in Inspiration and create a powerpoint to show...