Tall Tales and Dark Sides

Encourage narrative writing with a clever exercise. Class members watch episodes from movies and describe what happened to a character, including details about the setting, plot, and characters. Writers then craft a narrative about a...

Author's are often influenced by events in their own lives as they write. Use Edgar Allan Poe's poems "Ulalume" and "Annabel Lee" to take a look at how the death of Poe's wife affected his poetry. Ask students to discuss and compare the...

“Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?”  Are you holding out for a hero? A Ulysses, a lightsaber-wielding Luke Skywalker, or a street-wise Hercules like Huck Finn? Learners explore the heroic archetype, heroes in...

Disney versus Grimm? To launch a five-week unit on fairy and folk tales, class members compare modern versions of these classic stories with more original versions. The richly detailed unit, while largely teacher led, encourages middle...

A lot went on in Medieval Castles, and they were an obvious symbol of feudal power. Have learners use clay to make a Medieval-style castle to show what they know about Europe during the Dark Ages. This resource provides basic background...

An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...

Dark humor, anyone? Kerry Mitchell’s “Unhappy Hour,” compels readers to laugh at his very chilling tale. Explore with your class how the author combines tone and mood to create a sci-fi story with a very unhappy ending. Pre-reading...

International trade from 600 AD to 1450 AD resulted in the flourishing of post-classical civilizations, the expansion of Islam across many regions, and the transmission of rare materials and innovative ideas — not to mention the spread...

The Hunger Games. Maximum Ride. Why is so much of young adult literature so dark? What is the appeal of dystopian literature to young readers? The six activities in this resource ask kids to reflect on some of the reasons this genre has...

Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking lesson focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate  the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of a...