What was the purpose of the Enrollment Act of 1863? Pupils consider the topic while completing the novel study for The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick. They write original similes and answer reading...

What do wizards smell like? A novel study for Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy walks readers through chapter one to help them answer the question. Scholars also practice vocabulary from the chapter and invent original similes.

Fortunetellers and elephants may not have much in common, but both are prominently featured in Kate DiCamillo's novel The Magician's Elephant. Using the novel study, learners answer questions and complete worksheets on figurative...

Imagine a place where airships are the primary mode of transportation and where some flying creatures spend their entire lives in the air. Scholars become immersed in a fantasy world with the Airborn novel study as they answer questions...

Discuss the character traits of a protagonist with a set of activities focused on literature and informational texts. As your class analyzes the differences between protagonists and antagonists, they determine each character's part in a...

You'll be a star at your next grade level meeting with an educational unit on Louis Sachar's Holes. Based on both the novel and film, the lessons include applications to language arts with character studies and movie reviews; social...

Characters in a story are more than a name to remember. Use a character builder worksheet to write out a character's appearance, background, personality, attributes, and story relevance, including whether they are a main or minor...

How can you tell if a character is a villain? What about a hero? Work on literary analysis with an engaging language arts activity. After completing an activity about the four types of conflict, learners fill out a character map about a...

Appropriate for any short story, this worksheet asks readers to identify key elements and then analyze the structure of a short story.

"It seemed the more I knew about people the more I knew about the strange magic hidden in their hearts." Ultima's strange magic and the hidden hearts of Narciso, Tenorior, and the other foils in Bless Me, Ultima, are examined in the...

What does Scout learn about herself from the other characters in Harper Lee's tale? Groups are assigned two different secondary characters, compile a list of the character's traits, and, using evidence from the text, consider what Scout...

Cover the canine characters in The Call of the Wild through discussion and writing. Small groups complete a jigsaw-style activity, with each group focusing on one dog and using textual evidence to back up their ideas. Next, individuals...

Use this writing prompt and brainstorming page to help your pupils prepare to write their own myths. Individuals must choose a natural event to explain, come up with a protagonist and an antagonist, determine a setting, and think of a...

Take your history class through Schindler's List with a learning guide, which offers an introduction to the film and a variety of discussion questions and related assignments. There are several useful resources in the sidebar, such as a...

Middle schoolers in particular will benefit from this simple presentation. Forty slides cover story elements like the protagonist, antagonist, and setting, and literary devices are also included. Some examples are given, but for the most...

Putting together an interesting story can be hard, but this set of worksheets will guide your writers into the depths of their own creativity as they characterize both their main character and villain. Using humor to keep learners...

The Cosby Show in the classroom? Use an episode from a 30-minute TV sitcom to introduce the concept of subplot. Young writers use a sub-plotting worksheet (not included) to record their observations about how the subplot is developed in...

Arm your writers with an arsenal of literary terms. With definitions of everything from plot structure and figurative language to point-of-view and types of irony, learners will gain an understanding of elements in stories and be able to...

The class considers parent-child relationships in relation to how they have been portrayed in classical and modern mediums. They view video clips and read excerpts from fairy tales and news paper articles to explore the evil-step parent...

This activity spans five days and culminates in a role-play where judges consider the arguments of each learners to determine the top five villains or heroes of all time. Learners discuss characterization of heroes and villains, theme,...

A villain is necessary in any great story! As your creative writers begin brainstorming characters, remind them not to skimp on their antagonist. This worksheet helps guide learners in detailing a villain, and adds some silliness to keep...

Take a closer look at heroes and villains with your eighth graders. In order to understand how an author pulls from works of the past to create modern literature, the class discusses every thing they know about heroes and villains. A...

The villain is sometimes the best character in a book. They are usually troubled, dynamic, and will do anything to stop the main character. Have your class better understand villainous antagonists by creating one in class. They work...

What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...