Curated OER
Lesson Plan 10: Writing Really Good Dialogue
Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this instructional activity has a...
Curated OER
Monster: Compare and Contrast
Helpful for a unit on Walter Dean Myers' Monster, or any novel that you are teaching, a graphic organizer prompts learners to compare and contrast different character traits. The first box has one set of lines to jot down what two...
Curated OER
Shizuko’s Daughter: Discussion Web
Is Yuki a selfish character? Analyze her motivation and behavior during a unit on Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori. Readers fill out two sides of a graphic organizer with reasons why or why not she is selfish, and then come up with a...
ReadWriteThink
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Paul Langan's novel The Bully is the core text in a six-session unit plan that engages high schoolers in an in-depth examination of bullying and its effects on bullies, victims, and bystanders. The richly textured and carefully...
Learning to Give
Teaching Playwriting in Schools
The world is a stage, and so is your classroom! Hone the skills of the next generation of Tony® award winners with a set of exercises, reference pages, writing prompts, and excerpts from famous plays.
K12 Reader
If
Rudyard Kipling's advice to his son in the poem "If" is a resounding message that echoes through generations. After reading the famous poem, middle schoolers work on analyzing specific lines, completing activities based on unfamiliar...
Curated OER
Kids for Character Pledge
Students discuss character and values and discuss what it means to be a good citizen. In this character lesson plan, students also sign the Kids for Character pledge and pledge to be good citizens.
August House
Anansi and the Tug o' War
Combine art, math, language arts, drama, and delicious Jell-o with a instructional activity based on the African folktale Anansi and the Tug o' War. Kids make predictions and discuss plot points of the story before joining in...
Have Fun Teaching
Who Am I? (14)
What's the difference between a clown and a cashier? Use context clues to infer what each character does for a living in five different reading passages. Kids mark their choices on the space provided.
Prestwick House
Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller's work of American tragedy and frustration is as relevant today as the first day it premiered on stage. Learners review character names and details from Death of a Salesman with a crossword puzzle that contains 27 clues.
August House
Anansi and the Pot of Beans
Anansi is a tricky character, but can he realize he's wrong and write an apology letter? Learners use Anansi and the Pot of Beans to practice writing, art, and figurative language. A series of activities are engaging for both advanced...
Curated OER
Gulliver's Travels Discussion Questions
Good discussion questions are hard to find and even harder to craft. If you're looking for questions that will stimulate in-depth discussions for all four books in of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, check out this resource.
Curated OER
THE GOOD AND THE BADDE: ARE STEREOTYPES A PERFECT FIT?
Students examine stereotypes of women from The Good and the Badde in juxtaposition with the female characters in The Taming of the Shrew. Through this exercise, students locate evidence from the text of the play to support or refute...
Curated OER
Story Setting - The Art Lesson by Tomi dePaola
Learners read the book The Art Lesson by Tomi dePaola and analyze the story. In this setting activity, students discuss the importance of the setting and how it helps us understand the story. Learners answer questions and chart their...
Curated OER
Character Education Poster
Students participate in a class discussion about what makes a poster promote a message. They explore topics from character education and make a poster to define and promote a desirable character trait.
Missouri Department of Elementary
Acting Out Respect and Compromise
Puppets showcase the importance of being a good friend. Following a discussion about positive character traits, scholars create a paper-bag puppet and role-play scenarios with a peer.
Missouri Department of Elementary
How Do I Act Like a Friend?
Familiar puppets set the stage for a thoughtful discussion about friendship. To show what they know, scholars role-play scenarios. Peers offer a thumbs up when they view positive character traits exhibit good friend behavior.
English Worksheets Land
Party!
What could be more fun than two birthday parties in one day? Compare and contrast two parties with a short reading passage and a graphic organizer that focuses on character, setting, and events from the story.
Infobased Learning
Bloom's Literature: How to Write about Nineteen Eighty Four
A good prompt is hard to find, especially ones that encourage application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of a text. Help is here in the form of a prompt list for George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty Four that offers essay topics that...
Great Books Foundation
The Glass of Milk
It's not easy to ask for help. Learn why a boy on a ship struggles with accepting help in "The Glass of Milk," a short story by Manuel Rojas. Six discussion questions prompt class members to make inferences from the text about character...
Curated OER
Analyzing Character Traits
Learners read "Frog and Toad are Friends" and investigate physical, emotional, and mental character traits. They brainstorm a list of character traits that make a good friend. The list is placed into a visual ranking system that is...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin and the Way to A Good Life
Young scholars explore American history by reading biographical text in class. In this Benjamin Franklin lesson, learners research the famous inventor by reading assigned text and answering reading comprehension questions afterwards....
Curated OER
Character Cluster
Third graders practice identifying characters and story elements by creating a character cluster in class. In this story analysis lesson, 3rd graders discuss the story Snow White and identify the characteristics of the evil witch....
Curated OER
Lesson 3: Character Values
A value is something a person or character thinks is right or good; it's also a characteristic of a fairy tale. Learners discuss how fairy tale characters often have or exemplify a specific value. They compare the values found in The...