Learners research that a narrative film tells a story using camera movement, sound, lighting, editing and other film making techniques. The audience must be taken into consideration when making a film. They explore what makes their hero...

Read and analyze poems by African-American authors. Using the text, they identify the various patterns, subjects, language and dialects used. Then team up to compare and contrast the various authors and define new vocabulary. The lesson...

As a before reading strategy, class members select a tale from mythology, examine several picture book versions of the myth, and fill out part of a Venn diagram with observations about the hero in particular and the myth in...

In this Journey to Jo'burg worksheet, students read the book Journey to Jo'burg and complete short answer questions about it. Students complete 10 questions total.

In this Coming Home from the life of Langston Hughes learning exercise, students read the book Coming Home from the life of Langston Hughes and answer short answer questions about it. Students complete 10 questions total.

In this reading comprehension worksheet, students answer seven short answer questions based on the book The Magic Peach.

Who are "the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth”? Readers of Gulliver’s Travels will learn the answer, as the journey with Lemuel Gulliver to Lilliput,...

Students write a character sketch and present it in first person.  For this historical heroes and character sketches lesson, students "meet" Harriet Tubman (played by their teacher) and discuss her contributions. ...

Apple tasting launches an investigation of the story and travels of John Chapman, also known as Johnny Appleseed. After listening to his story, class members craft a summary of the tale, chart his journeys on a map, and sample different...

Students examine knightly virtues and will measure Gawain's strength in the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In this poetry analysis lesson, students identify the bob-and-wheel poetic form and analyze symmetry in the poem. Students...

Compare and contrast folktales, myths, and fables in an interactive eBook. The interactive is broken up into three topics: myths, fables, and folktales. Each section includes a reading passage and a guided lesson on the theme, topic, and...

Young scholars list W.H Auden's six characteristics of a quest story. They say what is meant by a "metaphorical quest." Pupils discuss some differences between symbolism and allegory. Students indicate how Bilbo Baggins's adventures...

In this word puzzle, students identify fifty words related to The Odyssey in a word puzzle. Examples include Penelope, sea, and journey.

Students examine what makes a tragic hero and whether Captain Ahab fits the criteria.  For this literature lesson, engage in group discussions and examine Captain Ahab from the novel Moby Dick. They will then engage in a debate...

Eleventh graders investigate the concept of being a humanitarian or hero. They conduct research about the concept looking for historical figures in which the traits of a hero or humanitarian is displayed. Once people are found then...

Students discuss various versions of the myth of The Queen of Sheba and the basic characteristics of myths. They research how different cultures interpret the story and include it in their religious beliefs. They create projects about...

In these Cold War worksheets, students read about the space race between the United States and Russia. Students also read about the first man on the moon and answer 8 questions about the texts.

What do Roger Chillingworth, Dr. Heidegger, and Ethan Brand have in common? They are all American literature poster boys for Romanticism, advertising the dangers of valuing reason over feeling and intuition. Introduce your class to...

Students use a Web resource to obtain information on a specific subject; study the nature of naval warfare and commerce raiding during the Civil War; and assume the identity of a participant and viewing the events of the era from that...

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...

Students listen to excerpts from an autobiography about the first blind man to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. They discuss Erik Weihenmayer's life, and write a bio-poem using a bio-poem formula.

Students become familiar with an American legend that is unfamiliar to many. Presented with the legend of Forest Joe, a runaway slave who, much like Robin Hood, stole from the rich to give to the poor, students draw comparisons and...

Students view "Men in Space: From Goddard to Armstrong," taking a examine the the extraordinary lives of the men who conquered space.