Reader and Author Teacher Resources

Students discuss equality and fairness by reading a Maya Angelo poem.  In this U.S. history lesson, students read the poem I Know Why Caged Birds Sing, and discuss how the era it was written in affected the words.  Students...

Young scholars compare versions of Cinderella and draw conclusions based on the story elements identified. In this literacy comprehension and story elements activity, students read several versions of Cinderella, complete a "Comparing...

Students research why government community workers are important to us. They work in teams to identify and illustrate the jobs and services provided by these community workers. Assessment comes from their Student Concept Maps.

Students choose a creative medium for expressing personalization of one of the themes from the play. They share their projects orally. Instructions, rubric, and suggested theme choices are included.

Students use correct grammar, spelling and capitalization in their writing. They connect information acquired in history and science classes with the events described in the books that were read. Students make a clear and informative...

Twelfth graders read lyrics for "My Hometown" and complete a worksheet to identify setting and tone in the song. In this Romanticism instructional activity, 12th graders read Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey by...

Eleventh graders create a PowerPoint presentation or a brochure in which they persuade an audience of their choice and why their solution is the best for the problem they tackled after studying the Vietnam War.

Young scholars write a rap or hip-hop lyric about the life of a famous Black American. They explore famous Black Americans in history and explore how the rap form compares to other forms of poetic expression.

Get out those bells, sand blocks, and sticks! Your kindergarteners use their singing voices to ask and answer friendly questions while keeping rhythm. They take turns in a group and in pairs singing questions and answers while keeping...

Readers examine the traditional Indian story "The Mango Tree" as a literary analysis exercise. The story is broken into three parts, each followed by short-answer reading comprehension questions. While there are referential questions...

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is the most frequently cited novel for the Advanced Placement Literature and Composition Open Response Question. Those new to using the book and and veterans as well will find the teaching strategies, the...

A terrific and meaningful presentation on story writing awaits your class. This really is a good one! Young writers are led through a series of slides that do a terrific job of teaching story elements, but the slides also stimulate their...

To set the stage for reading Paradise Lost, class members compete an anticipation guide containing statements that connect to themes in Milton's epic poem.

Eighth graders identify and explain the connections between new ideas and information and their previous beliefs, values, and experiences. They understand that certain themes are relevant to their lives. They realize the harm of clicks...

Students, after reading and discussing, "The Metamorphosis," by Franz Kafka, explain the symbolism of Gregor's metamorphosis moving beyond a literal view of "he turned into a bug" into the idea that society/family/stress/environment led...

Students complete research to enhance their reading of "The Grapes of Wrath". Using the text, they identify and locate cultural artifacts and discuss their symbolic connotations. As a class, they create a museum exhibit of the various...

Eleventh graders examine the concept of the journey into self through a variety of literary genres. They express the personal notion of self by creating a picture poem and writing a personal reflection esssay.

Students investigate a minimalist dance using two props, a chair and a pillow. They demonstrate transferring a prop from one person to the next in a task-like manner. Then they work as a group to transfer a prop with restrictive guidelines.

Use the internet to research the differences between families in the past and today. In groups, they identify the reponsibilities and roles of each member of the family. As a class, they compare and contrast non-fiction and fiction and...

Eighth graders examine the impact of geography on a region. In this geography instructional activity, 8th graders study the themes of geography. Students write an open response to a question.

A biography is a type of literary genre that everyone needs to be familiar with. Here, the class will read two different biographies of George Washington and discuss how they are similar and different, then decide weather they can glean...

“Be glad that all things sort so well.” To make text-to-self connections to Shakespeare’s play, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise prior to reading Act IV, scene i of Much Ado About Nothing (the wedding of Claudio and...

To prepare readers for some of the themes in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, individuals complete an anticipation guide and then share their ideas in small groups.

Eleventh and twelfth graders research and create language-immersion Web-based presentations. They choose a particular theme (family, travel, etc.) to create a webpage on the Internet. They are given a rubric to check their grammar and...