As your class finishes the novel Dragonwings, use these culminating projects. A vocabulary list is given for chapters eleven and twelve and either an epitaph or letter activity concludes the book. The final project consists of creating a...

After completing the 11th chapter of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, take part in a KWHL chart driven by the question,When is it appropriate and admirable to defy authority? Focusing on codes of conduct,...

Students create a Power Point scrapbook that compiles memorabilia representing the life of Jay Gatsby. They read the novel, "The Great Gatsby" and conduct internet research using the "American Twenties" website. In small groups, they...

Tenth graders read "Beloved" by Toni Morrison. In groups, they research the life and works of Morrison and read a speech by Sojouner Truth. Using the novel, they discuss the experiences of slaves and the effect of slavery on their...

Students create an advertising campaign in which a candidate from Animal Farm will run for an upcoming election. In this follow-up activity to George Orwell's Animal Farm lesson, students explore propaganda, rhetoric, and satire as they...

Students read and analyze the novel, The Prince and the Pauper. They examine character development, discuss opinions using text, and develop and present a slide show demonstrating the development of a character from the beginning to the...

Students write an essay evaluating split character traits on major characters in Dostoevsky's novel Crime and Punishment. In this instructional activity students are guided through discussion questions, group assignments, and vocabulary...

Students examine the Great Depression through the analysis of the novel, 'Bud, Not Buddy.' They analyze photos from the National Archives website, complete a character analysis, and conduct research and summarize a topic from the Great...

Learners read and comprehend a piece of fictional writing, analyze how setting, characterization, and plot affect the theme of a story and work in a group to create a new writing assignment. This 5-day plan culminates in students writing...

The Boston Massacre may be an iconic event in American history, but perhaps the British soldiers had another point of view. Using primary sources, including reports from Boston newspapers and secondary sources from the British...

Twelfth graders read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and choose the ten most important adventures of the novel for a timeline activity. In this Huckleberry Finn lesson, 12th graders read the novel and list the adventures. Student...

Pupils complete novel analysis activities for the The Outsiders. In this novel analysis lesson, students complete three weeks of lessons that help them analyze the text and character education lessons within the novel.

Fourth graders read A Cricket in Times Square and examine the essence of living in New York City. They examine subway maps and other resources concerning NYC and then complete several writing activities about the city. They also create...

Students complete close reading activities to analyze Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome. In this literary analysis lesson, students analyze key quotations from Ethan Frome and respond to contemporary reviews of the text. Students use textual...

Students choose an individual project or a group project to culminate the reading of Out of the Dust.  In this Out of the Dust lesson, students have a choice of creative projects to complete after they have finished the reading. 

Students complete novel analysis activities for The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this novel analysis lesson, students work in literature circle groups to complete close reading activities for the novel. Students keep...

Students examine how different groups of immigrants contributed to the growth of specific communities. After reading a novel, they keep a journal on the important elements found and create a map of the community portrayed. Using the...

Students construct a book banquet to help us to recall and enjoy food eaten in Korea during the 1940's. The class is to read When My Name Was Keoko and then create a book banquet that the students invite their parents to. Students cook...

Everyone is a writer! Youngsters compose an original piece of writing. In this writing instructional activity, they come up with their own idea for a piece of writing, revise it, and then publish it with illustrations. This instructional...

Students analyze information to determine how they can help a community that has been affected by water contamination.  In this environmental science instructional activity, students watch portions of the movie "A Civil Action" and...

Pupils identify heroic character traits that they admire and that inspire trust and result in service to others. They identify the heroic traits of a character of their choosing and defend their reasoning using evidence from the text and...

Students are each assigned an animal from Madagascar. They research their animal and design a picture book about their animal. Students design a cover page, back page, bibliography page and the title page. Their book will contain...

Students read 1984, noting the potential dangers of government. They keep private diaries to parctice freedom of expression. They create political cartoons for a secret publication and design posters and T-shirts with warnings on them.