Set this slideshow up at as an independent work station, or to provide your theater arts class with a look at the many manifestations of modern literary drama. Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, and Arthur Miller are the focus of the...

Read the story The Great Smelly, Slobbery, Small-Tooth Dog: A Folktale from Great Britain by Margaret Read MacDonald and choose from multiple activities to learn about the tale's theme—kindness. With so many options, your kind kids will...

Home in on the quote on this page to explore setting, the author's and character's voices, and plot in Willa Cather's My Antonia. Pupils draw a picture of what is described in the quote, discuss the content, and make connections to their...

The devil—and the truth—is in the details. As ninth graders approach the ending of Sophocles' Oedipus the King, they analyze the words of the Messenger and apply these details to the central ideas of fate and prophecy.

Poetry is all about sound and rhythm. The sound of the words, the rhythm of the lines, and the emotional atmosphere created by these elements and the literary devices poets use, compress whole stories into a few stanzas. The specialized...

Reading a dialect can be difficult; show readers that it can also reveal fascinating details! They read two extracts from Jane Gardam's The Hollow Land, which is written in a British dialect. Readers answer comprehension questions,...

A fiction and nonfiction text, The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry and I See a Kookaburra! Discovering Animal Habitats Around the World by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page begins a learning experience in...

A Reading Adventure Pack features a fiction and nonfiction text—The Oxcart Man by Donald Hall and illustrated by Barbara Cooney and Farming by Gail Gibbons. Following the readings, scholars make a collage showcasing foods farmed from...

A Reading Adventure pack explores the busy life of bees. After reading a fiction and nonfiction text, scholars complete three hands-on activities. Participants invent a robot that can do the work of bees, cheers to hardworking bees with...

Learners view a slide show featuring famous athletes and educational institutions that have played a part in the history of basketball. They participate in a game in which a basketball is tossed from person to person as facts and...

Third graders examine different types of non-fiction texts. In this non fiction lesson, 3rd graders use different types of texts to gather information. Students work in groups to analyze the texts for author's purpose, common...

Eleventh graders brainstorm controversial themes of Spanish-speaking countries. They read articles written in Spanish. They discuss the articles, practicing their Spanish speaking skills. Students conduct research and design a...

Students explore author's voice. In this literary elements and reading comprehension lesson, students listen to two poems about snakes (included) and identify adjectives and other descriptive words and phrases that help them determine...

Explore nonfiction writing with your class. They will identify elements in nonfiction by reviewing elements of fiction. Then they use biographies, memoirs, menus, Time for Kids, and text books to identify elements of nonfiction. They...

Encourage your pupils to support their claims with textual evidence, whether is is from literary texts or informational texts. You might use the assignment example, which suggests an assignment on what it's like to be an immigrant in...

Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. In this figurative language activity, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.

Words can hurt! But self-esteem can blunt the impact. That's the takeaway when discussing the themes in Sharon G. Flake's powerful novel The Skin I'm In. A discussion guide leads groups through a study of this narrative of a girl...

What are the strengths and weaknesses of American individualism and independence? Explore these principles through a close reading of Jack London's To Build a Fire, and engage in high-level discussion with your class by analyzing the...

Analyze the motivation, purpose, and value of letters to the editor by examining letters written in response to the violence at Columbine High School. For homework, middle and high schoolers write their own letters to the editor about an...

The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory unit is a golden ticket for teachers looking for nicely written plans. Elementary and middle schoolers draw their impressions of characters, design and market their own candy creations, and use...

In this school themed spelling unit, learners study 12 more difficult words relating to school . Students complete a variety of activities with these words: dictionary work, definitions, scrambled words, and a word hunt.

Using Mark Twain's The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, invite your learners to consider the concept of virtue in a democratic society devoted to gain and self-interest. This stellar resource guides your class members through a close...

Those new to teaching an AP level language and composition prep course and seasoned veterans will find much to treasure in a unit that is designed to help young language scholars develop the skills they need to analyze the language...