Students recognize the difference between the city and the country. In this City Mouse, Country Mouse lesson, students listen to a story and describe and map differences between the city and the country. Students understand that people...

Students, after viewing the video "Tell About the South," discuss and analyze Jean Toomer's mixed heritage and how it affected his artistic voice. They evaluate how the character Toomer was an excellent example of America's melting pot....

Students compare two versions of "The Little Red Hen."  In this literature lesson, students are read two different versions of the story and they complete a Venn Diagram comparing them.

What do Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Odyssey have in common? Why, they are all epics, of course, and are presented here as examples of the literary term. If you are beginning a study of epics, consider previewing the terms included...

Bring literature to your Spanish classroom! Small groups will read one of the selected texts from Cuentos De Eva Luna. After analyzing the text, learners will create mini-quizzes for their classmates and create a presentation discussing...

An engaging literary game called "Dingo," is here for your young mathematicians. Dingo is a game which is played with dice. The first team of students to remove all of the numbers on the game board are declared the winners. To remove a...

Tornadoes, blizzards, and hurricanes, oh my! In this lesson, meteorology majors compare stories of historical storms written by two or more different sources. As a result, they understand how the media portrays such catastrophes and...

Great information, images, and wonderful higher-order thinking questions await your class. They'll discuss, consider, and examine multiple factors related to the Dust Bowl. A cross-media comparison is made between the historical events...

David Sedaris is quite the story-teller. Read "Remembering My Childhood on the Continent of Africa" and follow it up with this two-page instructional activity. Readers will revisit the text to answer higher level thinking questions....

Here's a must-have resource for anyone reading To Kill A Mockingbird or using Harper Lee's award-winning novel in a classroom. The packet contains Miss Hollace Ransdall's first-hand, factual account of the trials of the Scottsboro Boys,...

Almost every ancient culture observed the stars and saw pictures in the patterns. Studying stars allowed them to guide travelers, determine when to plant crops, when to harvest food, and the stories surrounding the images include some of...

Historical fiction novels give readers a chance to step into someone else's shoes. An educator's guide from Penguin Common Core Lesson Plans provides resources to accompany three historical fiction novels written by Ruta Sepetys: Between...

Readers use the provided illustrated Venn diagram to compare and contrast the traits of two characters. A great way to encourage critical thinking skills.

Gear up for Halloween by studying the horror genre with your class and analyzing films and texts to uncover the genre's traditional conventions.

To examine the “New English” Chinua Achebe uses in Things Fall Apart, readers complete a series of worksheets that ask them to examine similes, proverbs, and African folktales contained in the novel. Individuals explain the meaning...

Step into the hopeful and tragic world of Anne Frank with this lesson on reading in context. After complete a variety of activities related to the first two scenes of The Diary of Anne Frank, eighth graders participate in a read...

Big news isn't necessarily newsworthy everywhere! How do journalists decide what to cover with so much happening around them? A instructional activity on media literacy examines the factors that affect the media's choice of stories to...

Primary readers predict and check for understanding by using comprehension strategies. Prepare readers the first day by frontloading vocabulary and using pictures to visualize the words. On the second day, read the story The Old Woman...

Combine art and literature to teach greater themes and symbolic meaning. Using the plan outlined in this resource, expose your class to the story "Zebra" by Chaim Potok, conduct discussions about social issues and nicknames, and ask...

Learners read Spelldown, by Becky Mushko and consider how it portrays the Appalachian community. They define and discuss vocabulary presented in the story and write a comparison/contrast paper analyzing two of the story's characters. The...

Few children's books convey the message of conservation as well as Dr. Seuss' The Lorax. Read the story aloud, emphasizing the interconnectedness of plants and animals in an ecosystem and discussing different ways people can help...

Students listen to story, The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, discuss air quality and how people affect the earth and its atmospheric cycles, and give oral reports on what they have learned.

Learners examine the relationship of man and nature as portrayed in Stephen Crane's, The Open Boat." The third person, omniscient point of view, the depth of character analysis found in the story, and the emotions evoked by the author...