Picture books aren't just for children; they carry strong, valuable messages for adult as well. Explore the audience for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with a lesson that compares picture books to literature...

Use Mattie Stepanek’s Heartsongs book of poetry to inspire young poets to write about their own lives, experiences, and feelings. After reading the introduction to Mattie’s book, in which he talks about himself and his reasons for...

Analyze characterization in literature. Readers use "Three Shots," from The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway and complete classroom activities that require them to apply literary analysis techniques. They write their own short...

Class members meet the original scrooge, the Dickens character whose name has become synonymous with a cold-hearted, tight-fisted, miser. Using the provided worksheet, readers closely examine context clues to determine the meanings of...

Teach children that just because something is old, doesn't mean you have to throw it away with a reading of Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. Engaging children with an arts and crafts activity in which they patch the...

Students read "Young Goodman Brown" by  Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay about the theme. In this theme analysis lesson, students read and discuss themes. Students then write their essay about the theme in the text.

Students analyze the characters and events in fictional writing. In this literary elements instructional activity, students study the meaning of the words characterization and fiction. They listen to the story Pigsty by Mark Teague, or...

Students view the PBS presentation of Leo Tolstoy's, "Anna Karenina." Prior and after each episode, they discuss plot and characterization and in one lesson, use adjectives to describe each of the main characters. Then, students create...

Inspired by Britain's National Poetry Day, this resource will help your class analyze poetry. You will find a variety of poetry analysis methods to work through with your class. Finish by having each person compose an original poem.

How affected is Thinks Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe's personal biography? Using a four corners strategy, and evidence from their readings, class members debate the degree of biographical influence in Achebe's novel.

Whether you are planning on using Of Mice and Men for whole-class reading or as a selection for literature circles; whether you are new to John Steinbeck's novel, or it has long been a part of your curriculum, you...

Students explore philanthropy in literature. In this literature instructional activity, students read text from three different genres that all have a moral. Students compare and contrast these pieces of literature, focusing on the...

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...

Help your class recognize classic literature with universal themes. They will demonstrate their familiarity with Pride and Prejudice by updating a selected scene from it to the 21st century. Tip: Bring in a modern movie clip that shows...

Assist your pupils with literary analysis by discussing and exploring theme. This plan, the twelfth in a series of fourteen, builds in some time to explore theme as a class. Learners also blog about the main event in their stories and...

Students compare art and literature by examining a contemporary painting by Glenn Ligon and the essay by James Baldwin that inspired it. They write an essay about a personal experience that relates to the theme of being an "outsider."

Young scholars listen to popular music of the 50's and 60's to make literature connections to The Outsiders. In this popular culture lesson plan, students evaluate and analyze various songs and connect them with the themes in the...

Accompany a novel study of Hatchet by Gary Paulson with a unit consisting of 16 lessons focused on physical and emotional survival. Reading the story along with a variety of informational texts, scholars compare and contrast reading...

Find the main idea in an informational text with a versatile lesson plan. Three levels of differentiation help you implement the strategy in any age or class level, based on the ability and objectives of your learners.

Looking at literature through a critical lens helps readers connect the text to the larger world. An essay examining the theme "There is no ill in the world without a remedy" forms the main part of a sample comprehensive English...

Chances are, you've got some precocious Matilda fans in your class! Use a thorough set of lesson plans to address Roald Dahl's classic novel about a bright girl who just wants to be understood. Vocabulary exercises,...

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.