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Activity
Perfection Learning

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

For Teachers 8th - 10th Standards
A revolutionary work of literature requires a revolutionary assessment project. A series of activities on Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings includes discussion questions, a plot synopsis, and a selection of both short and...
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Lesson Plan
PB Works

The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
There is more going on under the surface of Ernest Hemingway's work than one can glean in an initial reading. A literature resource compares the themes and structures of several of Hemingway's works before prompting class members to use...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

The Great Gatsby: Novel Study

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Some people believe that no matter how hard a man works, the American dream will always remain out of reach. A study guide for The Great Gatsby explores the themes, such as the illusory American dream, and elements of F. Scott...
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Activity
Orlando Shakes

Les Misérables: Study Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
A writer has the responsibility to defend the less fortunate members of society. At least that was the view of Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. The novel is the subject of a study guide from Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Learners...
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Handout
Ohio Department of Education

A Glossary of Literary Terms

For Students 7th - 11th Standards
If you're tired of defining allusion, onomatopoeia, and satire for your language arts students, hand out a complete list of literary devices to keep the terms straight. Each term includes a definition that is easy to understand and...
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PPT
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District 186 Springfield Public Schools

Tone, Mood, Theme, and Motif

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Activity
Prestwick House

Fahrenheit 451—Activity Pack

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
The burning questions is at what point do readers of Fahrenheit 451 recognize the many literary devices Ray Bradbury employs in his dystopian classic that warns of  a society that uses media to indoctrinate the public and denigrates...
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Activity
Orlando Shakes

The Best of Enemies

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
History comes to life with the play The Best of Enemie. Scholars learn literary elements as well explore racial issues in American history. The play is based on a true story and addresses the universal truth that people are capable of...
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Activity
Orlando Shakes

The Hound of the Baskervilles: Study Guide

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Sherlock Holmes may have been the greatest detective in literary history. A study guide for The Hound of the Baskervilles introduces a story featuring the famous detective before sharing activities related to the text. Readers complete a...
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Lesson Plan
ELA Common Core Lesson Plans

American Romanticism

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Rappaccini's Daughter" provides the text for an activity that asks readers to select specific passages from the story, identify the aspect of American Romanticism the passage exemplifies, and then provide an...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Designing Museum Exhibits for The Grapes of Wrath: A Multigenre Project

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Challenge readers of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath to create a museum exhibit that uses artifacts to focus on one issue raised by the award winning story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and the Joads.
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Activity
Great Books Foundation

Discussion Guide for Jane Eyre

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The ambiguity in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre makes the novel a perfect choice for a shared inquiry discussion. Readers respond to open-ended questions with evidence drawn directly from the text. 
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Activity
Great Books Foundation

Discussion Guide for 1984

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, can seem strangely prophetic when compared to modern news events and politics. Readers of Orwell's dystopian classic sharpen their critical thinking skills by engaging in a shared...
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Unit Plan
Louisiana Department of Education

Gulliver’s Travels

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Gulliver's Travels tells the story of a man who goes on voyages and encounters strange people. A unit plan introduces readers to the classic text, as well as excerpts from other examples of sarcasm and satire, such as "A Modest Proposal"...
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Handout
Bermudian Springs School District

John Steinbeck The Grapes of Wrath — Independent Reading

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
Lies, deceit, betrayal, criminality: these topics are just a few of the reasons that John Steinbeck's classic novel The Grapes of Wrath has captivated people since its 1939 publication. Scholars begin the lesson by reading background...
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Lesson Plan
Thalian Association Community Theatre

West Side Story: Teacher Resource Guide

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
West Side Story is widely known as a modern-day Romeo & Juliet. Learners read a list of characters from the play and list their counterparts from Romeo & Juliet before completing a vocabulary enrichment activity and word jumble....
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Activity
Great Books Foundation

Discussion Guide for Little Women

For Students 6th - 12th Standards
Start with the question in mind with a discussion activity on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. With four focus questions, note-taking prompts, and discussion points, readers practice answering thematic questions based on textual evidence.
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Activity
Great Books Foundation

Discussion Guide for Handmaid's Tale

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Great literature discussions are a consequence of carefully crafted questions, interpretative questions that permit more than one response, and responses supported by specific evidence from the text. The discussion questions in a guide...
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Lesson Plan
Prestwick House

Discovering Genre: Poetry

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Work on literal and figurative meanings with a lesson focused on Robert Frost's "After Apple-Picking" and "The Road Not Taken." Readers identify the literary devices used by the poet to set the poems' themes, settings, and narrative...
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Worksheet
Great Books Foundation

The Glass of Milk

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Assessment
New York State Education Department

Comprehensive English Examination: June 2016

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Those in positions of authority don't always have the best interest of their people in mind. As part of a sample assessment question, readers must consider how works of literature they read apply to a quote from Edmund Burke—"The greater...
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Assessment
New York State Education Department

English Language Arts Examination: June 2018

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Is graffiti art? Writers explore that question as part of a source-based argument within a set of questions from the NY Regents examination. The assessment from June 2018, part of a larger set of standardized tests, consists of three...
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Worksheet
Great Books Foundation

War Is Kind

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Ponder the complexities of war, peace, and country with Stephen Crane's "War is Kind." After reading the poem, learners answer six questions in a class discussion or as an individual assessment.
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Assessment
New York State Education Department

Comprehensive English Examination: June 2015

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
Heroes rise from adversity. That theme forms the focus of the critical lens essay in a sample comprehensive English examination. The exam, which is part of a larger series of sample standardized tests, also includes two short response...