An overview of deforestation is the focus of this resource, which present the reader with a list of facts. Ten comprehension questions follow; learners can write their answers on a separate piece of paper. Have your environmental...

This versatile graphic organizer could be used alongside any novel, poem, play, or story through which your class in studying character. Class members can get characters straight or describe particular characters in more detail with this...

Kids can practice using vocabulary from The Scarlet Letter as they play a vocabulary memory game based on words and definitions taken from the novel. They click to match words to definitions. 

Have your class create acrostic poems for characters in The Hobbit. First, define acronyms and work together to complete sample acronyms for their own first names. Students then research specific characters in the novel and create...

How authors address issues of their societies is addressed in this very detailed lesson. After researching Toni Morrison and her work, groups create a dramatization based on a scene from one of Morrison’s novels and act it out. Class...

Explore the implications of the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II. Learners read Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood, participate in classroom discussions about the novel and keep journals in which they respond to...

Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises revisits his time in Spain. After completing the novel with your class, consider adding some of these study questions or essay topics to your learners' final assessment. There are three study...

Included here are three short study questions and five essay topics for the novel For Whom The Bell Tolls. Consider using these in an upcoming final assessment, but also remember that many high schoolers use SparkNotes to prepare for...

Use an online interactive literature instructional activity to test comprehension and critical understanding of the book, Homecoming. Learners respond to eight short answer and essay questions about Cynthia Voigt's novel. Answers to...

How do novels differ from plays? Explore with your class the text features of fiction and drama by reading The Hidden One: Native American Legend and then performing a reader’s theater script based on the story. Class members create a...

Groups or pairs choose ordinary objects from a bag and rename them based on traits, so that a stapler becomes a "paper cobra." Then they connect this exercise to the way authors use language to emphasize certain traits through word...

After finishing the dense novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, have your class prepare for your unit test with this set of study questions. Consider narrowing the list down to encourage a deeper analysis of specific questions.  

What items would you need to survive if you were stranded in a remote place? Using chapter 10 of Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, middle-schoolers work through a Six Trait writing activity to create a story about their own survival in a similar...

A brief, dialogue-rich passage from Jerry Spinelli's novel Maniac Magee is accompanied by a well-written literacy assessment tool. Thematic content lends itself to age-appropriate discussions about race relations and social justice....

Middle or high school volcanologists watch the 1997 film, Dante's Peak. They make observations as they watch and then write a movie review, focusing on what was accurately represented. They also point out what facts were stretched by...

While reading Wild Swans by Jung Chang, guide your scholars with these questions. Twenty-nine questions challenge their comprehension, which they use to create a double-entry journal for marking down important quotes and their relevance...

A collage of stark images from World War II compose the background of this presentation about Adolph Hitler. The infamous leader's childhood, rise to power, and eventual defeat are detailed in these slides, filling in many gaps that...

Kenzuke's Kingdom is a wonderful adventure about a boy sailing around the world, it's also the focus of this lesson. Students read the novel as a class then use the Comic Life website to create a two-page comic based on the story. This...

Why is it a sin to kill a mockingbird? Test your readers with these multiple-choice questions from To Kill a Mockingbird. The quiz features some challenging, lesser-known questions about the novel.

Demonstrate your knowledge of obscure facts from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Be careful: the questions are based on the novel, and the film by Disney attributed events or statements to different characters. Enjoy the challenge...

Take a look at the topic of violence as seen in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Discuss together the values that Atticus holds and brainstorm ways to combat violence in a similar manner to what he portrays in the novel. Get your...