Polk Bros Foundation
I Can Analyze a Story or History Completely and Carefully
Start off analysis of a text with a worksheet that asks pupils to complete several tasks. Class members note down a couple of characters or people and their distinguishing traits, describe the most important event, summarize the text...
Curated OER
A Poem for Two Voices for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Poems For Two Voices are a great resource in any language arts classroom, whether you are studying poetry or not. Focusing on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this lesson prompts young authors to write a Poem For Two Voices...
Prestwick House
The Book Thief
Review main characters, story events, and important quotes from Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief. A crossword puzzle with 29 clues gives high schoolers the opportunity to check their understanding and revist Zusak's haunting work.
CPALMS
Analyzing Vonnegut's View of the Future and His Commentary on the Present in Harrison Bergeron
Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" engages adolescents with its theme about the dangers of complete societal equality. Learners complete a graphic organizer to track literary elements in the story, as well as an inference...
Curated OER
Every Living Thing
Students read the book "Every Living Thing." They read one story at a time, and participate in various activities. Some of these activities include the following ideas: Students write about a time when they were in a similar situation as...
Curated OER
Dateline: 442 BC Antigone
Learners create and videotape a newscast about the events that take place in the play, Antigone. They perform scenes describing the main events, the main characters and their conflicts.
Curated OER
Literary Response and Analysis Theme Literature
Analyze the central idea or literary theme found in a series of quotes from the Shakespearean play, Hamlet. For literary analysis, learners paraphrase excerpts from the play and then identify the characters' motivations for their speech.
Curated OER
Literature: Watching Anna
Students view the PBS presentation of Leo Tolstoy's, "Anna Karenina." Prior and after each episode, they discuss plot and characterization and in one lesson, use adjectives to describe each of the main characters. Then, students create...
Curated OER
Tone and Mood
How are mood and tone similar? Different? Help your readers understand the difference between the two with this helpful guide. On the first page, they read the definition for both tone and mood and identify words that are describe each....
Curated OER
Become a Character: Adjectives, Character Traits, and Perspective
Students use an online chart to match the character traits of a character in a book they are reading with specific actions the character takes. Students then work in pairs to "become" one of the major characters in a book and describe...
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
Of Mice and Men: Character Chart
In this character analysis worksheet, learners complete a graphic organizer on the main characters in the story Of Mice and Men. Students describe physical appearance and personality/behavior.
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Semantic Feature Analysis
Racist, independent, conflicted? Readers of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn brainstorm words that describe the traits of characters in Twain’s novel and then rate these qualities in several of their favorite characters. Individuals...
Curated OER
"Three Shots": Ernest Hemingway's Nick Adams
Analyze characterization in literature. Readers use "Three Shots," from The Nick Adams Stories by Ernest Hemingway and complete classroom activities that require them to apply literary analysis techniques. They write their own short...
Novelinks
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter: Concept Analysis
Considering Carson McCullers' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter for whole-class reading or as a selection for book circles? Check out this resource that overviews the organizational patterns, themes, plot structure, tone, and setting.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Courage “In the Time of the Butterflies”: A Common Core Exemplar
The courage of Las Mariposas, the Mirabal sisters, is the focus of a series of activities designed to accompany a reading of In the Time of the Butterflies that ask readers to consider what it means to be courageous. Beautifully crafted...
Fabius-Pompey School District
Paired Passage Practice and the Extended Response Question
How do pupils relate paired passages to each other? Here's a resource that helps! The lesson includes a short story and a poem as a set of paired reading passages, followed by some analysis questions. It also includes an essay template...
Prestwick House
Catcher in the Rye Activity Pack
The Catcher in the Rye is the focus of a sampler that models some of activities included in a for-purchase packet based on J. D. Salinger's novel.
Curated OER
The Pearl Quiz
Do your readers remember Steinbeck's The Pearl? Check with this quick multiple-choice quiz. One question does not seem to have an accurate answer, so take the quiz yourself before giving to your class and check the answers.
Curated OER
Light in August by William Faulkner
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 16 short answer and essay questions about Faulkner's Light in August. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
The Oedipus Trilogy by Sophocles
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 8 short answer and essay questions about The Oedipus Trilogy. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the selection at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Twelve Angry Men
Students assess their understanding of Twelve Angry Men. They create flashcards for vocabulary terms, summarize one of the acts, construct a diorama and complete character wheels. They choose from other activities including creating...
Curated OER
Antigone Questions
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 6 short answer and essay questions based on Antigone by Sophocles.
Curated OER
All Along the Watchtower Questions
In this reading comprehension activity, learners respond to 5 short answer and essay questions based on the lyrics of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower."