Literature Through Silent Movies

It's the classic scene: Tom Sawyer is whitewashing a fence. Expose your learners to Mark Twain's humor while reinforcing reading comprehension. Eighth graders are encouraged to read and reread, achieving as much exposure to the text as...

Explore elements of fiction and plot with your middle schoolers through the Japanese short story The Wise Old Woman. Although this lesson is designed around the Holt Literature Book (which includes this story), the links and procedural...

And...action! Turn your middle schoolers into filmmakers with this writing and visual arts lesson. After reading Monster by Walter Dean Myers, they create a viewfinder using an empty toilet paper roll to make a storyboard for their...

Help your middle schoolers respond to literature by using this literary critique lesson. They will discover critique strategies as they employ their knowledge of literary elements to role-play the part of a literary critic reviewing a...

Have your kids practice public speaking by giving an oral presentation. They present reflective essays to the class which they have written through the guidance of a previous lesson. This is the third lesson in a series of related...

Have you ever predicted the ending of a movie before it was over? Take your middle and high schoolers through the prediction process in this lesson, where they examine textual clues and predict the ending of a story.  They pick a sequel...

Sometimes the book is better than the movie; other times, the movie comes out on top. A video discusses the topic of novels and their film adaptations, pointing out specific texts and how the tale translated to the big screen. The...

Students participate in an engaging, alternative assessment activity: making a silent film of an Edgar Allen Poe story. This project offers them an additional way to demonstrate their mastery of the topic. 

Young readers work on the process of characterization through an array of literary and real-life examples. They begin by learning the basic process of characterization (STANDO), and analyze movie clips, pictures, and their own...

Advanced level ESL students engage in an increasing verbal communication skills through children's literature. The focus of these activities is for children to develope presentation skills. Each activity would compliment any class room.