Curated OER
What Makes a Hero?
Viewers will love this engaging video, which is an adventure of its own! The narrator begins by relating the hero's journey to modern books, and then introduces Joseph Campbell and his thoughts about the process. As the narrator details...
PBS
Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises: “Talking” with Authors and Scholars
Film clips from the documentary Hemingway Ken Burns and Lynn Novick provide readers of The Sun Also Rises with the opportunity to hear what other writers and critics have to say about Hemingway's portrayal of the post-World War I Lost...
PBS
Comparing Hemingway to Young Adult Literature
Challenge groups to create a recommended reading list of contemporary young adult fiction that explores the same themes found in Ernest Hemingway's short stories and novels. After examining a list Hemingway created and a list put...
PBS
Hemingway’s Influences and Contemporaries
Three clips from the documentary Hemingway by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick explore the events and people who influenced Ernest Hemingway.
PBS
Chosen Family and Ghost
There's something powerful about a book that speaks your language and experiences or introduces you to the language and experiences of others. A National Book Award winner, Jason Reynolds' novel, Ghost, is such a book. Find out more...
PBS
Frankenstein | The Great American Read
A top vote-getter for the Great American Read program is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Find out why the classic tale, adapted into over 50 films and numerous TV shows, has earned its spot on the favorites list.
PBS
The Handmaid's Tale | The Great American Read
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is the focus of a Great American Read video that urges viewers to read this dystopian novel about a villainous society that oppresses women and minority groups.
PBS
George R.R. Martin Discusses Lord of the Rings
George R.R. Martin, famous in his own right for heroes, villains, dragons, and direwolves, offers his rationale for why viewers should vote for J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings with its elves, wizards, and hobbits as part of the Great...
PBS
Dune
Dune remains one of the most popular science fiction tales ever written. Find out why with a short video that argues for including Frank Herbert's tale of sandworms and Fremen, Mentats and witches, villains and heroes in the Great...
PBS
1984 by George Orwell
Reverend Katrina Foster offers her rationale for why Winston Smith, the tragic hero of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984, is her favorite literary character.
PBS
The Continuing Fight for Tom Robinson and To Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, but its messages remain just as true today as they were in Harper Lee's novel. Learners watch a video that details the story of Anthony Ray Hinton, who was sent to prison for a crime he...
PBS
S. E. Hinton, Danny Boy O'Connor, and The Outsiders
Could your 16-year-old students write a novel? S.E. Hinton did! An engaging video reviews the setting and themes of Hinton's breakout novel The Outsiders through the perspective of hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor, as well as the author...
PBS
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Is the Queen of Hearts a misunderstood monarch or an unchecked tyrant? A video from a series on villainous characters examines how Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland paints the Queen of Hearts as the ultimate...
British Council
Twelfth Night
Scholars experience Shakespeare's, Twelfth Night, with an engaging interactive. After watching the story, six activities extend the learning experience. Topics include characters, vocabulary, a sequence of events, comprehension, and...
Lit2Go
The Swallow and the Crow
What characteristics make a true friendship? Pupils explore the question when reading "The Swallow and the Crow," Aesop's fable about two birds comparing their feathers. The post-reading graphic organizer encourages thinkers to write...
Lit2Go
The Tree and the Reed
Are thoughts of superiority ever justified? Aesop's fable "The Tree and the Reed" is about a tree that thinks he's better than a reed and is taught otherwise by nature.The post-reading compare/contrast activity features a graphic...
Lit2Go
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
When does simplicity trump glamor? Readers compare and contrast a country mouse and a town mouse after reading a 312-word fable by Aesop. The graphic organizer differentiates instruction for all readers, scaffolding them to carefully...
Lit2Go
The Lion and the Statue
How does one's perception affect their representation of places and events? Readers investigate this question by listening to Aesop's "The Lion and the Statue" and completing a graphic organizer to analyze characters and their motivations.
Lit2Go
The Horse, Hunter, and Stag
A resource on plot structure and summarizing begins with an audio retelling of "The Horse, Hunter, and Stag." After listening to the fable, pupils break down the plot chronologically before writing a short summary.
Lit2Go
The Fawn and His Mother
Teach your class about fear and cowardice from the perspective of a doe and her fawn. A teaching resource based on Aesop's "The Fawn and His Mother" includes an audio version of the fable, a text passage, and a reading activity in which...
Lit2Go
The Hart and the Hunter
Hunt down a great way to teach characterization with one of Aesop's fables. An audio retelling of "The Hart and the Hunter" depicts the prideful hart and its disdain for its slender, quick legs. The activity concludes with a written...
Lit2Go
The Fox Without a Tail
Can you trust advice from a person who has something to gain? Aesop's fable "The Fox Without a Tail" depicts the skepticism of a fox community when one of their fellow foxes, having lost his tail in a tap, tries to talk them into...
Flocabulary
The Importance of Setting in a Story
Where does it happen? When did it happen? These are two questions that play a key role in understanding the setting of a story. The fourth and final video in a Language Arts playlist uses a song to explain how the setting connects to...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Plot
This lesson introduces the concept of plots (how the material is organized and presented to the reader so that the text will have a specific effect on him or her) in fiction. It explains the plot diagram and provides examples. RL.9-10.5...