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Lensey Namioka’s Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear provides an opportunity for young readers to observe how writers bring their characters to life. Each class member selects a character to trace through the novel, recording...

Scholars receive numbers as they work in groups to read Inside Out & Back Again. The instructor calls out specific numbers for readers to share the group's thoughts. Then, they use a model passage to demonstrate the effective actions...

Host a fishbowl discussion to help your class recognize and articulate the relationship between words and the character traits they describe. They analyze Holocaust survivor testimonies and apply the character traits they observe. No...

Find the central idea in an excerpt from Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" with a literary analysis lesson. As your class analyzes a section of the story, they determine how the author forms the central idea...

Explore the potential for bias in the news and in scholars' own attitudes and opinions. Begin with a quiz on youth crime to see how learners perceive crime among their peers. After looking at the correct answers, put individuals in...

Characters are built with more than just what the author directly says about a character (ex: she is smart). Help your pupils focus on several elements of characterization with a graphic organizer that has space for two characters....

Young scholars use an online chart to match the character traits of a character in a book they are reading with specific actions the character takes. Students then work in pairs to "become" one of the major characters in a book and...

Scout Finch, the rough-and-tumble protagonist of Harper Lee's iconic To Kill a Mockingbird, learns quite a bit about how the world works as she observes her father's defense of Tom Robinson. Learn more about Scout and her distinctive...

Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select another...

The Secret Garden, is a wonderful book to read with your class. After reading, why not employ the lesson plan presented here as a follow up activity? In it, pupils create character charts that portray the tremendous changes that take...