After reading The Minister's Black Veil, by Nathaniel Hawthorne as a homework assignment your class will complete a literary analysis.  Learners will analyze important element of the story and take notes to help support their...

First and last impressions are important. Using the helpful resource, scholars draft the introductory and concluding paragraphs of their literary analysis essays. Next, they use a writing evaluation rubric to self-assess their work. 

Read like a writer. Scholars read a model literary analysis in preparation for a similar writing assignment before annotating each paragraph for the gist. Next, pupils devise a list of qualities of a strong literary analysis essay. 

Why is literary analysis so important? Readers explore writing a literary analysis by reviewing literary elements such as character, metaphor, plot, setting, simile, personification, and style. They read "Young Goodman Brown" by...

Explore the short story "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First, read the short story and take notes on specific uses of the elements of writing such as characters, setting, plot, similes, personification, metaphors,...

Is there a connection? Scholars work to write a summary and theme to connect The Lightning Thief and myth of Cronus. They begin by looking at a model essay and then work on their own drafts. 

Middle schoolers read a novel and discuss character personality. First, they analyze a character in a novel and keep a chart or web of the character's identity, which includes specific examples from the book. They then write a script...

Get ready to review and revise! Scholars peer edit each other's literary analysis essay drafts. Next, using peer and teacher feedback, pupils compose their final drafts. 

See what peers really think. Scholars give a peer critique of the their essay drafts from the previous lesson. They then participate in a mini lesson about pronouns. Pupils write examples of each type of pronoun on sticky notes and put...

Jump back into expository writing and analysis at the start of a new school year! Start with a review of an authors' stylistic choices in diction, syntax, treatment of subject matter, and figurative language. Writers choose a text to...

Henry David Thoreau and Linda Ronstadt? Ann Tyler and Pete Townshend? Joyce Carol Oates and Pearl Jam? This richly detailed plan pairs classic literature with contemporary music and asks learners to analyze how the theme of conformity is...

Beyonce's "Halo" and Bruno Mars' "Grenade" provide eighth graders with an opportunity to consider how a writer's choice of words can create a very different tone even when the subject is the same. After a close reading of both lyrics,...

After finishing Act I, scene 1 from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, class members study the theme of control as it relates to the play and start an Evidence of Control note-catcher worksheet.

Whether the planks hide the beating of a hideous heart or they break away to the madness beneath, their presence makes itself known in the final instructional activity of a literary analysis unit. Having gathered textual evidence from...

Eighth graders demonstrate their understanding with the final assessment in a literary analysis unit based on Karen Russell's short story, "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves." Having prepared for the assessment in the last few...

This story is bound to motivate your class. Learners read a story called Elena by Diane Stanley. The story is about a young woman who marries for love but is soon widowed during the Mexican Revolution. She takes her children to...

Encourage scholars to share their love of reading with informative and engaging book reviews. Here, you'll find a series of guides that walk learners through the review writing process. Included in the collection is information about...

It's all about the introduction. Scholars work on the introductory paragraph for their essays, connecting the theme of a myth and The Lightning Thief. They use a graphic organizer to help focus their work and then move to working on the...

Discuss the lives of artists in the Lyme Art Colony in the 1900s with this resource. Young historians write and perform a short scene depicting individuals who lived in the Griswold boardinghouse, used by the colony artists. They use the...

Row, row, row, row four. Classmates take a look at row four in the writing rubric and begin the exercise by identifying any unfamiliar words. Literary scholars then use feedback from their initial drafts and the writing rubric to begin...

Here is an authentic assessment task for Shakespeare's Macbeth. Young literature scholars prepare, perform, and record a news broadcast about the major events in the play. For example, groups may choose to report on the death of Lady...

Young scholars write a literary analysis for J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. In this literary analysis instructional activity, students review the elements of a literary analysis. Young scholars read the book and take notes for the...

Students explore Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this literature lesson, students locate examples of elements of writing in the text.  Students write a literary analysis to include a thesis statement and evidence from the book.

Sharpen those pencils; it's time to write! Scholars begin writing the first body paragraph of their literary analysis essays. Additionally, pupils use graphic organizers to analyze a character's point of view from Laurence Yep's...