Analyze Character's Context Teacher Resources

Readers of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida place themselves in the story and craft a persuasive letter to a character in Victor Martinez's National Book Award-winning novel.

Introduce young actors to the key elements of performance with this handout that defines key staging terms and activities.

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

"How can a magazine reflect a particular time and culture?" Using this prompt, your class explores the Victorian Era as it relates to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. They can also play the "Victorian Women's Rights" game for the year 1840...

Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this instructional activity about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the...

A talkative old man? A naïve believer in Human Perfectibility? A Sage? Who is this guy, anyway? The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin launches a study of the way Franklin uses structure, style, and purpose, as well as different...

Centered on the short story "The Tenth Man" by Polish Holocaust survivor Ida Fink, here is a solid one-day resource to support study of World War II or Nazi history, short stories, or to complement any ELA unit on The Diary of Anne Frank...

Vladek's attitudes are difficult for many young learners to understand. Prepare your class for the events represented in Art Speigelman's graphic novel with a pre-reading activity that has them read articles about and interviews with...

Historically, members of the upper class provide plenty of fodder for comedic writers. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is no exception, and a study guide for the classic play discusses some of the Victorian social...

Have your learners choose an author to study. One resource link gives a list of approved authors. Scholars read at least three works produced by that author and produce three separate book reports as well as a two-page author report....

Readers select a character from Call of the Wild, record their responses to a series of prompts in a spiral notebook, and use details from the novel to support their thinking. The spirals are then used as source material to support...

In this literature activity, students respond to 5 short answer and essay questions about Ellison's Invisible Man. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

Students examine the various portrayals of African-Americans in literature, focusing on the opera, Porgy and Bess. They conduct Internet research on African-American culture between the two World Wars. Students write fictional or...

Fifth graders explore the civilian role during World War II. In this social studies lesson plan, 5th graders write an "I Am an American" poem from the perspective of various Americans during the war.

Students examine variety of written pieces of quality fiction, discuss what different story elements are present and how those elements make stories as effective as they are, and create a class story.

Students discuss their answers to a given set of questions regarding Earth Day and Arbor Day. They research using the internet then write a bigraphical sketch of their character.

Students read novels, completing a weekly assignment as they read. They meet weekly with another student to discuss the readings and assignments.

Seventh graders participate in a literature circle regarding various novels of Holocaust literature. They read their selected novel and write a journal entry in response to the reading, and in small groups participate in a group...

Students view "Inkheart: Speak Your Mind" by Cornelia Funke. They read several letters to the editor of a local newspaper and underline the 'opinion' portions of the letters. They discover how a literary selection can expand personal...

Students create a poem that expresses the physical and emotional turmoil of living through the Dust Bowl.  In this Out of the Dust instructional activity, students research facts about the time period and discuss the...

Students consider what it was like for black regiments during the Civil War. In this American Civil War lesson, students view segments of "Glory," and "The Descendants of the 29th Regiment." Students discuss the conditions of black...

Ninth graders identify and recognize characteristics of nonfiction in literary works, explore language and culture of Gullah people, compare and contrast purposes of spirituals and quilts in terms of their relationships to escape from...

Students engage in research about the development of the Pacific Northwest using specific individuals to emphasize different racial and gender influences in the 1800's. The research method that is used is inquiry based.

Students discuss their prior knowledge of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Using the internet, they research the personal, political and economic influences that made an impact on the expedition. They also discover how the expedition...