Curated OER
Synthesis of Information
Locating and synthesizing information is an essential part of the research process but can be overwhelming for many young writers. Eliminate some of the stress and confusion, this resource suggests, by separating these steps. To focus...
Curated OER
Digging Deep for Figurative Language (Hyperbole)
What are hyperboles? Examine the attributes of hyperboles with your high school classes. Pupils read selected poems and prose selections that feature hyperboles and discuss their functions in each work of literature. Specific poems and...
Curated OER
Pioneer Values in Willa Cather's My Antonia
Included in this resource are a variety of activities to do while reading Willa Cather's My Antonia. The activities, which range from mapping out Nebraska to writing activities about pioneer living, are all designed with one guiding...
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Considering using Tolkien's The Hobbit for book circles or whole-class reading? Check out this packet that provides an overview of the novel, some interesting background materials, and links to additional resources.
Curated OER
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...
Penguin Books
The Curriculum Guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy by Tracy Holczer
The death of a parent can turn a child's world upside down. A curriculum guide for The Secret Hum of a Daisy explores defining moments in the main character's life, including the loss of her mother. Chapter-by-chapter discussion...
Prestwick House
The Grapes of Wrath
At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath activity pack...
Curated OER
Literature Study Guide: Gulliver's Travels
Although the title suggests this resource is devoted to Gulliver’s Travels, the materials and templates can be used with any work of literature. Readers fill out a reading schedule chart, write a summary, keep a vocabulary word list, and...
ReadWriteThink
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Paul Langan's novel The Bully is the core text in a six-session unit plan that engages high schoolers in an in-depth examination of bullying and its effects on bullies, victims, and bystanders. The richly textured and carefully...
Curated OER
She's All Over the Map
Students consider female authors and their literature. Working in partnerships, they research and map the life and work of a Nobel Prize-winning female author of their choice. Students write individual letters expressing their thoughts...
Curated OER
Plot and Conflict
Students review the literary elements of plot and conflict. In this plot and conflict lesson, students read a story and answer questions about the plot and conflict within. Students create a concept map for the novel to identify the...
Library of Congress
Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Fugitive Slave Act
From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the novel...
Curated OER
Literature Study Guide: To Kill a Mockingbird
Teaching tools designed to support student-centered literature study. Geared toward homeschoolers reading Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird, I would use these in my classroom. The materials are applicable to any text: graphic...
Curated OER
What's In a Name?
Students explore the relationship between names and certain cultures and locations. In this identity lesson, students create family migration or immigration maps. Students read excerpts from When My Name was Keoko and Lost Names: Scenes...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Much Ado About Nothing
Love, deception, witty bante—that's much ado about a lot! As learners navigate the resource, they view an interactive character map and read character biographies from Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Pupils also listen to...
Curated OER
Coming of Age During Japanese Occupation: Richard E. Kim's Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood
Explore the implications of the Japanese occupation of Korea during World War II. Learners read Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood, participate in classroom discussions about the novel and keep journals in which they respond to...
Penguin Books
A Teacher's Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra
Was Antony "transformed/Into a strumpet's fool," as Philo declares? (I, i) Was Cleopatra "green in judgment"? (I,5) A guide to Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare's tragedy, provides instructors with a framework for teaching the play about...
Curated OER
Literature: Mapping the Mockingbird
Students read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, focusing on setting. They list items that create mental images of the novel's setting along with location references to characters and events. Using posterboard, they construct physical...
Curated OER
Breaking News English: Iran to Replace 40 Ambassadors
In this English worksheet, students read "Iran to Replace 40 Ambassadors," and then respond to 47 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.
Curated OER
The Catcher in the Rye Character Map
For this literature worksheet, students respond to 7 short answer and essay questions about J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Narrative Structure: Les Miserables
What is the initiating event? What is the protagonist's goal? What attempts are made to achieve this goal? What is the outcome? Model for your class how to map out the structure of any narrative. Readers then search for answers as the...
Curated OER
The Eighty Yard Run
High schoolers read and explore the themes of the book The Eighty Yard Run. In this literature lesson, students discuss their observations and predictions. High schoolers develop their own story which is similar to that of The Eighty...
Curated OER
Wayne County Public Schools: Motto - Opening Minds...
Students use research, planning, and organizational skills to devise a technology crisis solution for the given school's problem. For this mapping and planning lesson, students read through the letter about the technology crisis for a...
Curated OER
Chronicling the Journey
Students chart the order of events in literature. In this literature lesson, students read The Odyssey and summarize the epic journey in their own words. Students then write about journeys they have taken in their own lives.