The class explores the truths and lies regarding Zach's Lie through a well-written anticipation guide. First in a series of seven resources, the guide addresses themes within the text. The class collaboratively discusses their...

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...

Comparing two texts can build a greater understanding of the texts and themes of the works. Take some time to follow the steps here to guide your pupils through the process of composing compare-and-contrast essays.

Asking questions about the text is an important way for kids to become critical readers. Use a QAR activity based on The Devil's Arithmetic to help learners decipher between questions that are right there, between the author and the...

Lois Lowry's The Giver is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking works of literature in the middle school curriculum. Round out your novel unit with a collection of reading activities, comprehension questions, memoir and...

Can your class sum up a text in a few sentences? Help them build this skill by starting nice and slow. For this summarizing activity, the teacher marks the main ideas with sticky notes. Learners read and reread the text, pausing at the...

Do you know the setting of The Count of Monte Cristo? What about the main characters? Explore the elements of Alexandre Dumas' novel with a reading comprehension activity. Kids toss boxes with literary elements written on each side,...

Before you begin a unit on Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons, introduce class members to the literary themes of the book with an anticipation guide. As they read through ten sentences that address different aspects of the plot,...

An assessment sheds light on scholars' ability to read, gather evidence, and draft an original written composition. Learners read an informative text twice before taking notes and discussing their thoughts and textual evidence with a...

Readers apply Sigmund Freud's theories of the unconscious mind and the psychological approach to literary criticism to analyze and evaluate the relationship between two characters in A Separate Peace.

Elevate children's reading comprehension skills with this collection of guided reading resources. From paper dice with basic comprehension questions printed on them to a system for using sticky notes to identify key...

Considering using Robert Cormier's young adult novel, Tunes for Bears to Dance to for book circles or as a whole-class anchor text? Check out this overview of the key concepts and issues raised by the novel.

Silly journal and essay prompts may be fun to write, but they don't model the kind of writing needed for college papers and standardized tests. The 15th part in a series of 24 covers the concept of reading to write—during and after...

Scholars analyze Animal Farm to learn how to add textual evidence into essays to support their ideas. They search for a deeper meaning to the story and how it relates to the text Totalitarianism and Revolutions in Russia. To finish,...

Where's the evidence? Scholars take a look at the evidence section of a Literary Argument Essay Rubric. They discuss terms used in the rubric and then begin thinking about collecting evidence for their own essays. They also revisit their...

Sor Juana, considered one of the first feminist writers and a great Latin American poet, is the topic and inspiration for this excellent lesson. Use the introduction, guiding questions, and learning objectives to lead your class into a...

Young historians watch a video of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivering his "I Have a Dream" speech and answer questions that test their knowledge of the event. After discussing the fact sheet, they reread the speech, select a phrase or...

Tenth graders use the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to analyze relationships in society. In this literature analysis instructional activity, 10th graders participate in a shoe activity where they bring in one shoe belonging to someone they...

Pupils practice differentiating between categories of art and entertainment. They also practice telling the difference between character themes and universal themes. They find a text to relate to themselves and write about it.

Second graders explore the topic of nature. In this detective lesson, 2nd graders review non-fiction materials on nature and identify text, headings, diagrams, graphs, to establish the theme of the book.

Students complete various activities linked to several stories and movies, to reinforce the concept of theme in a story.

Students read and compare excerpts from The Odyssey and The Adventures of Telemachus to create their own story based on a secondary character. In this literary analysis   lesson, students read and compare the excerpts from the...

Young scholars put their reading comprehension skills to practice. In this interpreting text lesson, students read "Chief Red Jacket's Reply," and then respond to questions that require them to reason, infer, and analyze the selection.

Students read the book THE CALL OF THE WILD by Jack London and discuss the different elements in the book. They then write an essay on a theme providing examples backing up their main point of their essay.