Reed Novel Studies
War Horse: Novel Study
Some war heroes have four legs. War Horse tells of a courageous foal taken from his farm and sent into war. Joey, the foal, loves and touches the lives of many soldiers. However, his heart is still with his boy back on the farm. Scholars...
Central Oregon Community College
Things Fall Apart Study Guide
“There is no story that is not true.” And Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, uses proverbs (“. . .the palm-oil with which words are eaten”), a compelling tragic hero, and historic events, to engage readers in the truth of his story of...
Curated OER
Class Memorial
What is a memorial and what should it look like? Learners will choose what they believe is important to remember about September 11 and how it should be displayed. They work in groups and brainstorm details about the memorial and present...
Curated OER
Looking at Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes
Students read about a god, goddess, or hero and compare two images of him or her.
Curated OER
Sophocles' Oedipus the King
Introduce your class to the Greek tragedy with a study of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Learners examine the features of a Greek tragedy, Sophocles’ achievements and contributions, and the universal themes that make the drama an enduring...
Curated OER
Project Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh and Leadership
Do leaders need to be more moral than followers? Does power corrupt? Can anyone be a leader? Begin a study of leadership with a reading of excerpts from the Epic of Gilgamesh. After examining the ancient Mesopotamian hero, class members...
Curated OER
The Concept of the Hero
Learners explore the symbolic implications for the concept of the hero with a focus on the Beowulf theme. In this hero concept activity, students find specific examples of monsters from Beowulf to complete the chart. Learners list the...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Old Man and the Sea Ernest Hemingway
Accompany a reading of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with a thorough literature packet. Although the materials are meant to prepare readers for a timed essay, the background information and the activities are sure to engage...
PBS
Satire, Parody, and Humor in Catch-22
Laughter is the heart of dark comedy. It makes the unbearable bearable. Joseph Heller crafted his dark comedy Catch-22 to enable readers to laugh at the painful realities and underscore the absurdities of a war where people you don't...
Royal Shakespeare Company
King Lear Teacher Pack 2016
Disguises, deceptions, destruction. Thankless children, wise fools, aging rulers, and knaves. The Royal Shakespeare Company's 2016 King Lear Teacher Pack provides instructors with a wealth of resources for a study of Shakespeare's famous...
Curated OER
Resilient Heroes
Students read the "Seven Resiliencies" and examine the life of a famous or historical person using the concepts. In this resiliency concept lesson, students discuss The Seven Resiliencies handout and discuss how people show the...
Curated OER
Beowulf Lesson Plan
Students analyze the text of Beowulf. In this epic poetry lesson, students explore the themes and imagery in the text to evaluate their meaning. Students analyze the Old English language and examine the cultural and historical context of...
Star Wars in the Classroom
"Shakespeare and Star Wars": Lesson Plan Day 4
Class members have an opportunity to compare how a film and a play handle the same source material by viewing the opening chapters of George Lucas's Star Wars: A New Hope and acts I and II of Ian Doescher's play, William Shakespeare's...
Media Literacy
Good Versus Evil: Exploring Popular Children's Animation
Dora, Buzz Lightyear, Mufasa. Swiper, Dr. Porkchop, Scar. The six lessons in this unit packet focus on how good and evil, and violence, are portrayed in children's animation. The lessons encourage kids to consider how violence is...
Curated OER
Courageous Heroes
Students investigate the concept of a hero. In this character education lesson, students define courage and discuss heroes they know. Students brainstorm ways to describe a hero and create an acrostic poem.
Curated OER
Shakespeare's Othello and the Power of Language
Students explore the basis of Iago's persuasive power by analyzing Shakespeare's use of rhetoric and figurative language. In this Othello lesson, students analyze Iago's rhetoric in monologues and dialogues with other characters....
Curated OER
In Search of a Hero
Pupils explain heroic pattern and use it to identify heroes from classical mythology and from readings o fthe Polynesian Voyaging Society.
Curated OER
A Plague on Both Your Houses: a Romantic Guide To Transgression
What are the roles within your family, culture and society as well as the personal and societal consequences of transgressing them? To explore this question, class members look at long-held traditions, examples in literature (Romeo and...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Heroes in American Culture
Students examine heroes and discuss their characteristics, values, and actions. They produce Powerpoint presentations on real-life and fictional heroes. Students interview veterans for an oral history project.
Curated OER
In Your Opinion: Are Athletes Heroes?
Learners identify athletes that could be classified as heroes. They participate in a debate in which they argue whether or not they should be classified as such. They are evaluated on how they work together and the information presented.
Avi Writer
Crispin: The End of Time
Crispin: the End of Time is the core text for this teaching guide, a valuable resource for those who use Avi's trilogy as whole-class reading, in book circles, or as independent reading.
Curated OER
Heroes
Students come up with their own defintions for the word "hero" and write a reflection comparing their definition with the defintion of "hero" in the dictionary. They discover what adjectives are and compile a list of adjectives to...
Curated OER
Everyday Heroes
Students identify the heroes in their everyday lives. They compose a class poem about heroes, which they illustrate and bind into a book. A Reading Rainbow episode is used in this lesson.
Curated OER
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A viewing of Disney’s 1993 film of The Adventures of Huck Finn launches an examination of the events in and themes of Mark Twain’s story. Viewers respond to prompts on a film story worksheet, engage in full-class discussions, and select...