Students acquire a pen pal in a foreign country and write letters at least twice a month throughout the year to exchange with them. At the end of the year, they write an essay that compares one important difference and one important...

Ninth graders, before being introduced to the novel "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry, experience of variety of activities dealing with raisins and dreams. They begin by writing a short essay predicting what they think will...

Difficulties with brain injuries still continue today. After reading Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, class members read a series of modern personal essays about brain injuries and choose an essay to compare...

To conclude the study of the play, William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, class members craft an in-class essay comparing Doescher's adaptation to George Lucas's film, Star Wars: A New Hope.

Although the work Americans do has changed over time, the plight of the American worker has largely remained the same. Facilitate a class discussion aboutAmerican workers using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "The Village Blacksmith" and...

Is it better to ask for permission or for forgiveness? Compare and contrast these choices with a reading comprehension activity, which focuses on a script about a girl asking each of her parents if she can attend a concert with her friend.

Both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have proud moments, but who is more prideful? Explore Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a discussion web that compares both characters in a brainstorming graphic organizer. Each side provides...

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

In this comparative essay worksheet, students read and complete the narrative for the assignment that requires them to prepare predrafts of their comparative-scholarly articles.

Compare and contrast the themes of two works by J.R.R. Tolkien. High schoolers read The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, Then they write an essay that compares the themes found in each novel.

Review many different types of essays with this presentation. Each slide gives a short description of an essay such as narrative or persuasive. Makes for a good overview of various formats.

What do images tell us about history? Dress, setting, and actions all convey cultural norms, and in essence, give reference to historical time and place. Learners compare and contrast Kunisada's Actor with Flute in Snow to Hokuei's...

Students choose a Times photograph and write a brief essay explaining what they think is happening in the photograph and how it makes them feel. They select and analyze photographs depicting events in the Balkans and create a news photo...

Students compare theme and plot in two short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this theme and plot analysis lesson, students read Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil  as well as take notes about the theme...

A thorough unit on literary analysis and character development culminates in a final writing assessment. Prompted to compare the parent-child relationships in Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club and H.G. Bissinger's Friday Night Lights, high...

Upper elementary and middle school writers learn how to craft an expository paragraph by following the six steps detailed in a 48-page instructional guide. Learners learn how to write six different types of informational paragraphs:...

The California missions were built with the hope of converting the local Native Americans to Catholicism, but exactly how different were their beliefs to begin with? Through analysis of a series of primary source documents,...

Scholars apply prior knowledge of statistics to write a conclusion. They summarize using correct academic language and tell the story of the data.

After reading an excerpt from Amelia Earhart's autobiography, The Fun of It, learners explore various nonfiction resources about her life and write a short newspaper article on a specific event. They then develop a longer piece of...

Everyone enjoys a good mystery. Learners create essays explaining how a mystery gives meaning to a novel or play of their choice. They also examine the use of literary elements of diary entries in The Spectator. A third essay question...

Great minds think alike. Scholars read two texts and compare how the authors develop the same central idea. Readers analyze "Women" by Alice Walker and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King Jr. They discuss word use and new...

The California Gold Rush was not just an opportunity for the male gold miners sifting for shiny nuggets. Small groups read accounts of the ways women took advantage of the influx of workers to run hotels, bake pies, and wading out into...

As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War...