Curated OER
The Giver
Tenth graders identify the different ideas, emotions that different colors represent the significance of color in real life. They examine the significance of the lack of color in The Giver and the movie Pleasantville. They develop...
Curated OER
The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
Students discuss character development, literary devices, events, and foreshadowing found in, "The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts" by Maxine Hong Kingston. They compare and contrast the main character's actions while...
Curated OER
The Tempest
Students discuss cultural beliefs about magic. They investigate European exploration and colonialism. They create a cartoon strip of an episode that is described or dramatized in the play.
Annenberg Foundation
Modernist Portraits
How did literature reflect people's attitudes in post-World War I America? A lesson explores the topic using a variety of activities. Individuals watch and respond to a video; read author biographies and engage in discussion; write...
Curated OER
Native American Legends
Students create a "legend" about an animal. In this Native American legends lesson, students define the purpose and importance of Native American legends. Students read "Why the Possum's Tail is Bare" and "Earthmaker's Lodge" and...
Curated OER
One Story, Many Tales
Young scholars compare and contrast various versions of the fairytale Cinderella. In this folktale lesson, students read The Korean Cinderella and The Egyptian Cinderella and analyze the differences between the two stories. Young...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Multicultural Strategy
Track the changes and developments in Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis with a reading comprehension worksheet. Individuals copy important quotations from each of the book's three parts, record their reactions, and then reflect on the...
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Kinesthetic Grammar Approach
Though beautiful, William Shakespeare's prose can be inhibiting for learners who are new to his works. A lesson based on The Tempest guides high schoolers through the paraphrasing process, including noting the subjects and verbs to align...
Prestwick House
The House on Mango Street Activity Pack
Enrich a unit on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with a selection of related activities. The packet contains nine activities that go from pre-reading through wrapping up the novel. Young readers work on studying author's...
Indiana Department of Education
Indiana K-12 Educators’ Resource Toolkit
Imagine a tool that magically engages readers in the classroom. A handbook for Indiana educators doesn't guarantee success, but it does offer a variety of strategies for teachers to try. The handbook opens with research-based theory...
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein
Contrary to popular belief, the monster's name in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is not Frankenstein. A teacher's guide for the novel helps readers make sense of key details in the text, define vocabulary words, and discuss prominent...
Curated OER
The Meaning of Disability
Students discover the different types of disabilities. They examine the stereotypes and stigmas associated with them and hear from a person who lived in an institution.
Curated OER
Comparing and Contrasting Fiction and Nonfiction Using Graphic Organizers
Students compare and contrast fiction and non-fiction selections. In this writing skills lesson, students use different forms of graphic organizers to compare "The Three Little Pigs," to Wiesel's Night.
Curated OER
Longfellow Amongst His Contemporaries: the Ship of State Dbq
Young scholars evaluate the ship of state metaphor in relation to the historical events in America from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War. They synthesize ideas presented in ten different primary source documents and compose an...
Curated OER
Powerful Poetry Presenting the Writer's Soul
Students research Langston Hughes poetry for his use of figurative language. In this poetry analysis instructional activity, students research the life and poetry of Langston Hughes and his use of vivid words. Students complete 23...
Curated OER
How Tragic!
Learners study and interpret a classical tragedy and role play a character from the play. In this tragedy lesson, students discuss a specific work to discover the form, structure, and characteristics of the genre and interpret the...
Curated OER
Bless Me, Ultima: Dialogue Journals
Tenth graders read Chapter 1 of the novel "Bless Me, Ultima" and respond to the text. They answer and ask questions and record their impressions of different aspects of the book in a dialogue journal format with a partner. Students...
Curated OER
"Be the Kiwi" - Bible
Learners compare and contrast the English version to the Maori version of the Treaty of Waitangi. In this diversity lesson plan, students discuss similarities and differences in the two versions of the treaty. Learners discuss the...
Curated OER
A Woman's Crusade: Dorothea Dix
High schoolers examine the life and reform efforts of Dorothea Dix on behalf of people with disabilities. They also examine the role of women in the 1840s and 1850s. They discover different sources of examples of citizen's rights.
University of Southern California
Coming to America After the War
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War II. To...
Scholastic
Myths, Folktales, & Fairy Tales for Grades 7-9
Here is a must-have resource for studying fairy tales, myths, and folktales with your class! It includes instructional ideas, activities, and materials to support a month-long review of these three unique genres of writing.
Novelinks
Tuesdays with Morrie: K-W-H-L Strategy
Readers of Tuesdays with Morrie are directed to use a K-W-H-L chart to record what they know, what they want to learn, how they will find information, and what they learned about a particular topic related to Mitch Albom's book.
Curated OER
Making Connections between Robert Frost's Life and His Poetry
Become acquainted with Robert Frost's life in order to allow your class to fully appreciate how his background influenced his poetry. They analyze specified poems in relation to theme, setting and the use of imagery.
Curated OER
Visions for Students: A Study of British Ghost Stories
Ghost stories are the hook suggested in this proposed unit to engage reluctant readers.