Curated OER
Novel Creation
Students create an alternate ending with digital animations to illustrate their text. In this novel creation lesson, students read a novel and analyze the plot in small groups. Students collaborate on an alternate ending...
Curated OER
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: K-W-H-L Strategy
Ah, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! Before your class reads this classic novel, encourage them to activate prior knowledge and build interest in the book with the KWHL strategy. Directions for walking your class through this strategy are...
Curated OER
Nightjohn: K-W-H-L Strategy
Prior to reading Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen, present your class with a KWHL. Although the actual chart isn't included here, you can easily find or create one on your own. Give your class a specific topic and start by brainstorming...
Curated OER
The Last Lecture: Text Impressions
To pique interest in The Last Lecture, readers are given a list of key terms and ask to craft a story inspired by the terms.
Curated OER
Fahrenheit 451: KWHL Strategy
Turn your readers into "examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators," with a KWHL strategy designed for Fahrenheit 451. Individuals fill out a KWHL graphic organizer about censorship and then share responses with a group. The...
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Think Aloud
A think aloud activity is a great way for readers to develop critical thinking skills. This resource models for readers how to use this strategy to think critically about a passage from Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven.
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Story Impression
Craft your own fairy tale based on Momotaro, a Japanese story referenced in Kyoko Mori's Shuzuko's Daughter. A list of nouns guide learners in writing their own story, and predicting what might happen in the novel.
Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Bio-Poem
Learn about the characters of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a character biopoem. Readers fill in a poem format to detail the character traits of Winnie, Jesse, Miles, and Mae, and share their finished poems...
Novelinks
The Tempest: QAR
Asking questions about a text is an effective way to improve reading comprehension. Apply the Question Answer Response strategy to your unit on William Shakespeare's The Tempest. As kids read each passage, they decide if the answer...
Curated OER
Parrot in the Oven: Problematic Situation
Prior to reading Victor Martinez's Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, class members are presented with a problematic situation and to rate their responses as well as predict the responses of a character from the novel.
Curated OER
Ordinary People: Anticipation Guide
Activate your pupils' thinking before reading chapter five of Ordinary People. Learners decide whether they agree or disagree with six statements and discuss their ideas in small groups. They then read chapter five and determine...
Novelinks
Wuthering Heights: Unsent Letters
To demonstrate their understand of the characters in Wuthering Heights and their motivations, readers assume the identity of one of the characters and write a letter to another character in the Bronte's novel.
Novelinks
Wildwood Dancing: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Considering including Juliet Marillier's young adult novel, Wildwood Dancing as part of your language arts curriculum? Check out an overview that examines some of the themes and issues presented by the novel.
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: KWHL
How much does your class know about the setting of Pride and Prejudice? Explore Jane Austen's romantic world with a KWHL chart that helps kids note what they already know about 18th century England, what they want to know, how they...
Curated OER
Tangerine: Writing Assignment: Paul’s Witness Account
As a final assignment in a unit study of Edward Bloor's Tangerine, individuals assume the voice of Paul Fisher and craft the witness report Paul mentions in the final pages of the novel. A great way to assess the...
Novelinks
Wildwood Dancing: Questions using Bloom’s Taxonomy of Thinking Process
Readers respond to a series of questions focused onJuliet Marillier's young adult novel Wildwood Dancing, and crafted to reflect the levels in Bloom's Taxonomy.
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Question Answer Relationship
Chapter 12 of The Hobbit provides the text for an exercise that asks readers to use the QAR strategy to develop and respond to questions about story.
Curated OER
The Glass Menagerie: Anticipation Guide
Readers are introduced to the key themes in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie by this carefully crafted anticipation guide. A great discussion starter.
Novelinks
The Westing Game: Anticipation Guide
Are all criminals bad people? Pupils answer this and other compelling questions in an anticipation guide for The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Designed for learners to complete before reading the text, the...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Brainstorming Activity
What do you think of when you hear the word adult? Or friend? Learners brainstorm with a group of peers to list the words they think of when they hear seven words from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.
Novelinks
Words by Heart: Level 3 Writing Assignment
Get in touch with the emotional side of writing by reading Words By Heart. The writing assignment helps learners make personal connections with the text and hone their writing skills by exploring a time that they had to forgive...
ReadWriteThink
Designing Museum Exhibits for The Grapes of Wrath: A Multigenre Project
Challenge readers of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath to create a museum exhibit that uses artifacts to focus on one issue raised by the award winning story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Joads.
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Unsent Letter
Have you ever wanted to tell a character what you really thought of him or her? Use a lesson based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter to encourage learners to write a letter in response to a character's actions.
Novelinks
The Martian Chronicles: Literature Circles
Discussing great works of literature with peers is an excellent way to both comprehend and celebrate reading! Learners work in literature circles during a unit on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, and share paragraphs that...