Eighth graders complete a KWL chart on the Plains Indians. After watching a video, they state the difference between legends and facts about the importance of the buffalo to Native Americans. They also practice their note-taking skills...

Fourth graders read and analyze poetry and examine the process of writing poetry. They read and analyze the poem "From a Railway Carriage" by Robert Louis Stevenson, and answer comprehension questions. They identify the similes,...

Students identify various techniques used in memoirs. They reflect on similarities and differences betwee two authors. Students define the term memior. They write about various techiques they noticed the authors used. Students write...

Students explore melodram as a form of theatre. They write about lucid and factual news accounts and about sensationalism. Students gain experience in relating one time period with another and with doing historical research.

Students create and perform Corridos which are oral tradition ballads. In this Passing Down Family History Through Oral Tradition lesson, students interview family members using a predetermined list of questions. In addition, students...

Learners read a cumulative text. In this Shoes from Grandpa lesson plan, students examine language usage, different media sources, and literary devices.

Fifth graders participate in various activities related to the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson students understand the events and feelings of people during the Civil War by studying primary sources, journal writing, readings, viewing...

Fifth graders discover new and interesting technologies of the Civil War. In this Civil War portfolio of lessons, 5th graders analyze primary resources, develop new vocabulary, investigate websites, and create a time line of new...

Students discuss their ideas of the qualities a hero possesses. In this attributes of a hero lesson plan, students construct a hero puzzle and identify qualities of a hero in storybook characters.

Students relate phrases and sayings to their life experiences. In this phrases and sayings lesson, students participate in activities and listen to stories to understand the meanings of each saying. One day is devoted to each saying.

This PowerPoint enables students to review the various literary components from the book, The Circuit. The slides address the vocabulary from the text, along with questions for students to answer. There are other related resources that...

Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable.  Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...

Students read a variety of poetry books together in small groups. They examine Haiku poetry and share their favorites. They write their own Haiku either individually in a pair. They read and discuss limericks and work on writing their own.

This is a phenomenal resource. It allows the user to create a reading list of quality children's literature based of choices such as reading level, type of book, genre, ethnicity, gender, etc. In addition, one can determine if a book won...

This article introduces the characters, conventions, and historical context of Restoration comedy, and explores what the genre has to say about gender, courtship, and class.

Use this comprehensive site to learn more about English Renaissance Literature. This site is a gold mine of information. It has several essays that illuminate this genre. Find out more about this period in literature through this...

This concise survey of Anglo-Saxon poetry is part of a larger site in English for Chinese university students.

This site, prepared for college English literature students, deals with the following aspects of Chaucer's General Prologue from "The Canterbury Tales": Genre, Form, Characters, Summary, Issues, and General Sources. Also contains...

[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson is about themes, the central messages in literature. Whatever their genre might be, writers have some wisdom, some universal truth or insight to share; this...

The work of many major poets can be reached through links at this site. Includes biographical information on poets and many works.

The University of Victoria's English department gives a comprehensive definition of fables. Example included.