In response to reading Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, individuals are asked to complete a multi-genre writing assignment, crafting eight different pieces including a research paper.

Introduce your class to characterization. Familiar story characters are sorted into "good" and "bad" categories based on the characters' personalites and actions in the story. The class discusses and describes characters they have read...

Can your class convince the townspeople to support the rally in Carl Hiaasen's Hoot? Have your young writers exercise their persuasive writing skills in a lesson that prompts them to write a letter or a speech based on Chapter 18...

Students read biographies of their assigned Founding Father. They present an oral argument that their assignee deserves to be better known by making connections between regional politics and postions defined by character.

From Mr. Merdle to Mr. Madoff? A viewing of the PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” launches an examination of greedy characters in literature and a study of greed, unfairness, and economic hardship today. The richly...

Students discuss historical accounts and accomplishments of "Benjamin Franklin" which exemplify good character traits. They create a display of paper keys which describe these traits. They relate these traits to their future goals and...

Organize the characters in Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic according to their shared character traits. After listing character traits as a class, kids note which characters exhibit particular characteristics with a...

Is Yuki a selfish character? Analyze her motivation and behavior during a unit on Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori. Readers fill out two sides of a graphic organizer with reasons why or why not she is selfish, and then come up with...

The best way to be a good writer is to read good writing. Learners read and discuss an excerpt from a book that will help them comprehend the relationship between setting and character. They will use what they've gleaned from discussion...

Invite your pupils to create original Greek characters and myths for their characters to star in. Similar to a traditional Greek myth, the story must explain a natural phenomenon, depict a struggle between good and evil characters, and...

What a great activity. Kids create humorous ceramic character (heads) spikes to enliven a planter. Modern art is full of expressive and exaggerated forms and your class gets to create them out of clay. This would be a lovely activity to...

Use quotes from characters in a multitude of Shakespeare plays to identify the speaker. Some of the questions have hints about the play they come from. Ten multiple-choice questions challenge the Shakesperean reader.

Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...

Third graders participate in a variety of activities in order to promote the concept of being a good citizen. The foundation of this unit is found in the character trait of respect for self and others in society.

Do your actions reflect your values? Scholars examine their day-to-day activities versus their passions during the eighth installment in a series of 12 character-building lessons. After defining their values, participants create...

Students exemplify non-stereotypical behavior. For this character education lesson, students read Pink and Say and discuss the negative effects of judging people on superficial characteristics. Students fill in a chart how they felt...

Students explore the concept of honesty. In this character lesson, students work in groups to brainstorm and discuss what it means to be honest. Each group shares their ideas with the class and they keep a list of keywords and descriptions.

Students discuss the story Goodness! Gorillas in Our Community! and create character maps from it. They practice qualities of community membership and write about and illustrate these qualities.

A value is something a person or character thinks is right or good; it's also a characteristic of a fairy tale. Learners discuss how fairy tale characters often have or exemplify a specific value. They compare the values found in The...

Play a game to quiz your kids on what they know about citizenship. There are 10 questions that cover topics ranging from responsibility to volunteerism. The game is cute, interactive, and perfect for second through fourth graders.

Cool! Do you ned a way to increase vocabulary development and study a story's characters? What a great idea. Use this semantic analysis chart to study new vocabulary and the characters that appear in The Outsiders. You could also use...

Putting together an interesting story can be hard, but this set of worksheets will guide your writers into the depths of their own creativity as they characterize both their main character and villain. Using humor to keep learners...

Here is a good interdisciplinary project that combines creative and narrative writing with studies of the Holocaust. Your young historians will compose a diary of experiences from the perspective of an individual living during the time...