Novelinks
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Concept Analysis
Considering using Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy as a whole class reading or for book circles? Check out this overview that provides a plot summary, a list of enduring questions raise by and themes addressed by the...
Curated OER
Molly Pitcher -- "Out of Many, One"
Students research, brainstorm and analyze the events that lead up to the Revolutionary War. They critique a piece of artwork depicting a scene from the Revolutionary War. Each major battle is plotted on a map to show a visual...
Curated OER
Literature Soundtracks
Mix music into your literature class! After reading a novel (either in class or as outside reading), your mix masters create a soundtrack of 10 songs to accompany their reading. What does each song add to the story? A fun activity for...
Curated OER
Literary Elements Worksheets and Graphic Organizers
Using graphic organizers can be an effective way to teach literary elements.
Curated OER
Crane, London, and Literary Naturalism
Students analyze "To Build a Fire" by Jack London and "The Open boat" by Stephen Crane. They write an essay in which they compare and contrast the narrators and plots in each story.
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Are the lessons of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar still applicable today? Explore themes, characterization, and plot structure with a thorough teacher's guide to the play. The resource covers the entire text and offers rigorous activities...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 11: Setting
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...
Novelinks
Wuthering Heights: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
New to using Bronte's Wuthering Heights in the classroom; check out this overview of themes, characters, settings, and project suggestions.
Curated OER
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse: Kevin Henkes
Kevin Henkes has composed a series of books in which Lilly the mouse is a main character. Third graders use illustrations and key details as they compare and contrast the books, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse and another...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Character in Place: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” for the Common Core
How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty...
Orlando Shakes
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Study Guide
Can science ever go too far? Learners explore this topic with the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde study guide. They read about the connection between scientific experimentation in fiction and real life and then compare a scene from the novella...
Curated OER
The Scarlet Pimpernel: Concept Analysis
Considering The Scarlet Pimpernel as part of your curriculum? Check out this overview that provides a brief summary of the plot of Baroness Orczy's novel and a discussion of some of the issues presented by her tale of the french...
Curated OER
Understanding Protagonists and Antagonists
How can you tell if a character is a villain? What about a hero? Work on literary analysis with an engaging language arts instructional activity. After completing an activity about the four types of conflict, learners fill out a...
Curated OER
A Quiz on William Golding's LOTF: Fun Trivia Quiz
Check pupils' understanding of William Golding's modern classic novel Lord of the Flies with this 10 question quiz that covers elements of the story's plot, character recognition, and some literary analysis. As with all Fun Trivia...
Curated OER
Character Development-Nanavi, A Girl from Benin, West Africa
Students examine the ways a character changes throughout the course of a story. In this literary analysis activity, students discuss a story that spans three years in a young girl's life. Students analyze the changes the girl...
Curated OER
Literature Study Guide - The Hobbit
With several online resources for J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, as well as many reading and literary analysis activities, this novel study guide is a great way to keep your young readers organized during a book report. The guide...
Curated OER
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Guide your class on an adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with this Hampton-Brown outline. It provides educators with a guide to increase reading comprehension, critical thinking, literary analysis, and reading strategies. This...
Curated OER
Macbeth: Quotations
In this Macbeth activity, students read passages from Macbeth and answer the prompts for each one. Prompts include identifying the speaker, describing the context of the quote, and explaining the significance of one of five literary...
Curated OER
Lord of the Flies Intensely Important Quotes
In this Lord of the Flies quotes worksheet, students explain how the 11 given quotes contributes to the development of each of the targeted literary elements.
Curated OER
Using Rock to Teach Literary Devices: Jimi Hendrix “The Wind Cries Mary”
Students explore literary elements through music. In this figurative language lesson, students examine imagery and personification in "The Wind Cries Mary" by Jimi Hendrix.
Curated OER
Flicking Football Fun
Young mathematicians fold and flick their way to a deeper understanding of statistics with a fun, hands-on math unit. Over the course of four lessons, students use paper footballs to generate data as they learn how to create line...
Curated OER
Boys Will Be Boys...Right?
Through this exercise, high schoolers identify character traits present in Romeo and Juliet. They listen to an excerpt from "The Office of Christian Parents: Showing How Children Are to be Governed" and participate in a Socratic...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 3
The manipulation of time is one of the most essential elements in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As your language arts class participates in a jigsaw discussion activity, they work together to analyze the play's plot structure and...
EngageNY
Grade 10 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 2
Sometimes, sensory details can bring you back to a familiar place. Study the setting descriptions from a critical chapter in Amy Tan's A Joy Luck Club, and discuss how they enhance the book's plot and contribute to a central theme.