There is nothing more frustrating than discussing theme in literature, and now the Common Core requires that your learners determine two or more, and discuss the development of it throughout the text. This is crazy, but manageable with...

Learners create new sentences using adverb clauses identified from a book.  In this narrative writing instructional activity, students write new sentences from some of the dependent clauses used in a book read to them by the...

In this story structure activity, students read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and identify the characters, setting and main themes of the book. They answer a list of study questions about the book.

To better understand the cultural achievements of the Harlem Renaissance and become familiar with its major figures, class members examine a painting by Aaron Douglas and a poem by Langston Hughes and compare how the artists develop...

Students explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The instructional activity encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie,...

Tom Robinson was only one man in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, but he represents many people throughout history who have not found justice in the American justice system. Language arts young scholars discuss the theme of social...

A reading of Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss and a nonfiction book of your choice begins a reading adventure pack comprised of three hands-on activities. Following the reading, scholars craft a food mobile made of colorful fruit and...

Students complete a unit of lessons on the events of the Holocaust during WWII. They write daily journal entries, create a collage, view and discuss videos, read and analyze novels and poetry, and complete a novel project.

Learners define allegory and discuss its use in visual arts. They identify and explain allegorical themes in a number of images.

Students explore the concept of theme. In this fairy tales lesson, students read several tales and complete hands-on activities, art projects, and dramatic play that lead to an awareness of the themes of the tales.

Seventh graders need to be able to distinguish between major and minor characters and need to have read the novel Bearstone and be familiar with the sequence of events as well as the qualities displayed by each character over the course...

Conduct a Reader's Theater. Third, fourth, and fifth graders rewrite books with a baseball theme to a Reader's Theater format. They form groups of four or five, practice reading the script, and then perform it for an audience.

Fifth graders brainstorm topics related to theme in order to see how they relate to each other. Each student will contribute concepts and details, and identify relationships between these to create a word web.

Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record...

Youngsters write and construct their own autobiographies based on The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. They engage in pre-writing steps, narrative writing, and peer editing. This is the second part of a two-part project lesson.

How can something be true even if it didn't happen? Invite your classes to investigate the truths found in the world of magical realism as they analyze short stories, poems, informational texts, video, and art from this genre.

Students read texts, view film and video and conduct research in an analysis and comparison of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and the Kabuki piece "Chushingura". They focus their analysis on the theme of revenge.

Students listen to Pink Floyd's "Time" in order to apply the theme of carpe diem to other works of literature and to their own life.

Focusing on Doppo's "Unforgettable People" and late nineteenth century Japanese literature, this resource also leads to discussions of form being dictated by content. Explore the development of new literary styles first-hand by...

The Bradys, the Flintstones, and the Simpsons are some of pop culture's most memorable families. So how do the Applewhites stack up? Using a novel study for Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, scholars answer text-based...

"People never notice anything." As part of their study of The Catcher in the Rye, class members adopt Holden Caulfield's approach and spend time as quiet observers of their surrounding, recording their observations/reflections in a...

Most every teacher dreams of a ready-to-teach and print book study. Well, here it is! The Jungle Book novel resource includes 12 complete lessons studying poetry, author's craft, themes, characters, and more. Scholars role play,...

Jazz and the City, Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement, Jazz and Gender, Jazz and Literature, Jazz and the Arts, Jazz and Film. Here's a packet of unit plans organized around themes that reflect American culture. Each unit examines how...

Here's a fascinating take on a three-year honors, AP language, and AP literature course. Designed for teachers, the presentation suggests how to connect Tolkien's classic to the AP English canon. Very thought-provoking and definitely...