District 186 Springfield Public Schools
Tone, Mood, Theme, and Motif
It's all well and good when you're asked to identify a speaker's tone using his or her body language, facial expression, and pitch and emphasis. Identifying the tone of a written passage is another challenge entirely. Check out an...
Curated OER
O'Connor's Short Stories by Flannery O'Connor
After reading Flannery O'Connor's short stories, provide your high schoolers with these questions. You could use these to prompt higher level thinking for an upcoming test, or provide them as essay prompts.
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - Romeo and Juliet
“What is the theme of this story?” Now there’s a question all pupils dread. Rather than encountering a sea of faces that look like they were painted by Edward Munch, face a classroom filled with smiles and confidence. Show your readers...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Hobbit
From dragons to dwarves, from riddles to rings, the great adventure story of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has captivated generations of readers of all ages. An educator's guide explores the novel's literary elements, including the...
Curated OER
"Your Son, Your Only One" - The Sacrifice of Isaac as a Motif in Holocaust Poetry
Class groups examine a series of poems that use Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac as a motif in Holocaust poetry. Included are questions, notes to the teacher, and bibliographical information on each poem. The activities could be...
Curated OER
The Great Gatsby: Symbolic Story Representation
The themes of The Great Gatsby are embodied in the images F. Scott Fitzgerald creates. To encourage reader interaction with the text, individuals create a symbolic representation of themselves, place themselves in the story, and consider...
Curated OER
Spin Me a Story
Students examine the motif of spinning and weaving in myths and folktales. They read various myths, complete a WebQuest, develop a mind map of story elements, and write an original "spider" story.
Curated OER
Teachers See the Truth but Wait: Teaching Short Stories with Literature Circles
Students use literature circles to analyze four short stories from the Realms of Gold, Volume 3. In this literature circle lesson, students are assigned a role in the literature circle to improve their critical thinking skills for...
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Directed Reading - Thinking Activity
An in-class reading of Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece Meets the Big O introduces class members to the journey motif that forms the basis of The Hobbit.
Simon & Schuster
Classroom Activities for The Odyssey by Homer
A 15-page packet details three activities designed to engage scholars in Homer's The Odyssey. As they read, pupils use a graphic organizer to record examples of several literary terms found in The Odyssey and contemporary culture. Groups...
Curated OER
Introduction to Traditional Oral Narratives
Students are introduced to the idea of traditional oral narratives and divide them into genres. They explore the genres of context, motifs and variants. Each student finds oral narratives in their own lives and practice retelling them in...
Curated OER
Motifs and Variations Worksheet
In this oral tradition motif and variations worksheet, students answer several questions based on famous stories that cross cultural lines. Students examine similar story elements and motifs.
Curated OER
Native American Literature
Introduce your class to the writing of the indigenous Americans and, even more well known, their story telling. An engaging presentation describes what kinds of texts would be included in the oral stories performed and some common themes...
Prestwick House
A Separate Peace
John Knowles' A Separate Peace is the subject of a literary crossword puzzle that asks readers to identify key events and characters in this coming-of-age story.
K20 LEARN
Monster Monday - The Good, the Bad, and the Sparkly: Vampire Tropes through History
Fangs, capes, pale skin, and beady eyes! High schoolers investigate the tropes associated with vampires by examining excerpts from stories and films. They then create a timeline that reveals how the depictions of vampires have evolved...
Curated OER
Running Out of Time: Picture Book Activity
Ease your class into reading Running Out of Time by first reading The Boy Who Stopped Time, a picture book with some similar concepts and themes. After a reading of the story, learners participate in a discussion and journaling exercise.
University of Wisconsin
Don Quixote in Wisconsin
Are you looking for background information on Cervantes and his Don Quixote? How about a study guide and discussion questions or project ideas? Even journal prompts, tests, and quizzes? A 98-page teaching guide simplifies the quest with...
Curated OER
To Travel or Not to Travel: Locomotor andNonLocomotor Movement
Students develop dances. In this movement lesson, students play action and stillness games and learn motif writing symbols that communicate dance moves. Students use locomotor and non-locomotor movement to create their own movement phrases.
KIPP 3D Academy
Epic Poetry Unit
The Odyssey is the core text in this unit study of the hero's journey motif. Along the way, kids research Greek and Roman history, mythology, art, and epic poetry. The 104-page packet is perfect for homeschool or classroom situations and...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
Reading Literature - The Ruin
Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...
Random House
Teacher's Guide: The Hobbit: The Enchanting Prelude to Lord of the Rings
The Odyssey, Star Wars, The Hunger Games. Odysseus, Luke Skywalker, Katniss Everdeen. Add The Hobbit and Bilbo Baggins to these lists, and you have a unit examining classic and contemporary myths, legends, and folktales with hero and...
Prestwick House
The Book Thief
Review main characters, story events, and important quotes from Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief. A crossword puzzle with 29 clues gives high schoolers the opportunity to check their understanding and revist Zusak's haunting work.
Curated OER
Cinderella Stories
Students in a teacher education program examine motifs within a fairy tale. Using that information, they discuss how the motifs can reflect the culture of the country of origin of the fairy tale. Using the internet, they research...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.2
There is nothing more frustrating than discussing theme in literature, and now the Common Core requires that your learners determine two or more, and discuss the development of it throughout the text. This is crazy, but manageable with...