Students explore pre-World War II Japanese art. In this patriotism lesson, students analyze Eternal Fuji and Red Sun by Yokoyama Taikan. Students discuss the techniques used to create the painting as well as the symbolism behind it....

Students analyze and identify elements of memoirs.  In this literature lesson students explore qualities to listen for while the teacher reads a memoir; they then break into groups and analyze a memoir independently.

Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...

Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.

In groups, 8th graders read different documents and answer questions on the Civil War period. Students read documents by Thoreau, Stowe and Frederick Douglas.

Students are exposed to literature and create an Academy award for their piece of literature. They play an author or a character and present themselves, a category, and each of the nominees in that category to gain awareness of...

Twelfth graders read the battle scene between Grendel and Beowulf and then work in groups to tell about the battle from Grendel's point of view. They look at the author's use of description in the scene.

Students develop print awareness. In this literature lesson plan, students memorize and recite nursery rhymes and listen to stories of Maurice Sendak and Ezra Jack Keats. Students draw pictures to illustrate read aloud books and dictate...

Students explore children's literature by reading biographies in class. In this history analysis lesson, students read books written by Jean Fritz about the Revolutionary War and discuss the events that led up to the critical moment....

In this The Three Musketeers worksheet, learners analyze the novel as they answer study questions about the theme, plot, and characters of The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas.

Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...

Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.

Here’s a graphic organizer that permits learners to chart the introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution of a story. The PDF file can be customized to work with any narrataive.

Using a character map, learners assign traits to characters from Nicholasa Mohr’s El Bronx Remembered: A Novella and Stories. In addition, groups record evidence from the stories to justify the labels and use these sheets to prepare for...

Using Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, guide your class in the process of identifying unknown terms using context clues and formulating text-based answers. The lesson plan includes a useful worksheet incorporating scaffolding questions on an...

Use this resource's pairings of classical literature and paintings to practice the skill of comparing different artistic mediums with your ELA class. Addressing standard 7 for literature in the Common Core, the resource encourages your...

Fred Gipson's Old Yeller tells of a stray yellow dog who becomes the best friend a boy could ever have. While reading the novel, learners complete sentences with new vocabulary words, answer comprehension questions, and create...

The field mouse, also known as the meadow vole, is most active at night, so hide the cheese! Scholars research these interesting rodents and record three fascinating facts using the novel study for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH. They...

Fulfilling a dream requires a lot of hard work. A study guide for the novel A Single Shard shares the dream of a young Korean orphan. As readers work through the guide, they answer comprehension questions about Tree-ear and the...

The Labrador retriever is America's most popular dog breed. With the novel study for The Summer of Riley by Eve Bunting, scholars learn more about the sweet, lovable animal. Additionally, they write quatrain poems, explore foreshadowing...

Some war heroes have four legs. War Horse tells of a courageous foal taken from his farm and sent into war. Joey, the foal, loves and touches the lives of many soldiers. However, his heart is still with his boy back on the farm. Scholars...

Accompany a reading of First Come the Zebra written and illustrated by Lynne Barasch with a teacher's guide equipped with before reading, vocabulary, and after reading activities. Additional social studies,...

What do wizards smell like? A novel study for Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy walks readers through chapter one to help them answer the question. Scholars also practice vocabulary from the chapter and invent original similes.

What kind of mouse is Despereaux Tilling ... a field mouse? A white-footed mouse? With the novel study for The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, scholars research the different species of mice and draw pictures of the one that they...