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Jacob Have I Loved: Semantic Feature Analysis Chart
Do not allow your pupils to ignore the connections among the characters in Katherine Paterson’s Newbery Medal winning novel, Jacob Have I Loved. Instead, provide them a semantic feature analysis chart that asks them to note things Louise...
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Michelle Kwan: Heart of a Champion
Who is a champion to your class? Elementary and middle schoolers think of a role-model from their lives. Then, in their journals, they write evidence of that person's perseverance. They identify the character trait of perseverance with...
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Reading Fiction - Character
The goal of this lesson is to have learners understand how character is created through a combination of what they say and do, and what others say about them. In pairs, learners construct a short dialogue between a parent and child after...
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The First Part Last: Part 2
In this The First Part Last comprehension check worksheet, students respond to 20 short answer questions pertaining to part 2 of the Angela Johnson novel to better understand the novel and the author's craft.
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The First Part Last: Part 3
In this The First Part Last comprehension check worksheet, students respond to 20 short answer questions pertaining to part 3 of the Angela Johnson novel to better understand the novel and the author's craft.
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The First Part Last: Part One
In this The First Part Last comprehension check worksheet, pupils respond to 25 short answer questions pertaining to part 1 of the Angela Johnson novel to better understand the novel and the author's craft.
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The First Part Last: Part 4
In this The First Part Last comprehension check worksheet, learners respond to 34 short answer questions pertaining to part 4 of the Angela Johnson novel to better understand the novel and the author's craft.
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Introduction To Literary Analysis
Explore the fascinating ways in which authors use specific literary devices to create interesting and realistic texts. Using non-fiction articles with the subject of rogue waves, an excerpt from The Perfect Storm, by Sebastian Junger,...
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Academic Vocabulary
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...
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Analyzing Literature via Literature Circles
Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...
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Lesson Plan 2: Good Novel, Bad Novel
What are the characteristics of a good piece of writing? What makes a story interesting? Give your pupils a chance to define the qualities of good novels and what they see as the qualities of bad novels. Class members record these...
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Lesson Plan 2: So What's a Novel, Anyway?
What makes a novel a novel? Class members select a favorite novel, record their impressions on a worksheet, and then come together in groups to discuss the elements common to narrative writing. Next, they identify the characters, the...
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Folktales and Ecology: Animals and Humans in Cooperation and Conflict
Story elements such as conflict, character analysis, resolution, and moral are discussed and charted as elementary children read folktales involving animals. An element of science is also introduced as learners discover what a keystone...
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Lord of the Flies: Chapter 1 Reading and Study Guide
In this comprehension check worksheet, learners define 13 vocabulary words, define 5 literary terms, and respond to 23 short answer questions pertaining to chapter 1 of The Lord of the Flies in order to help them better understand the...
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Understanding Character
Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...
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Create a Migrant's Scrapbook from the First Great Migration
Help young historians personally engage in the stories of African Americans during the Great Migration! Assessing a migration route map, learners create a migrant character's experience, adding details while studying primary sources. A...
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Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury: Narration, Voice, and the Compson Family's New System
Young scholars complete a variety of discussion and writing activities surrounding the study of Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury.
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If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War.
Students investigate major characters of history that are represented in children's literature. They conduct research using a variety of resources and each character is put into a class book as a presentation. The character includes a...
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Character Traits
Using a three-column chart labeled "Character," "Action," and "Trait," pupils analyze the traits of several characters from a short story. The lesson is designed for a SMART board, but a teacher could easily do the lesson without the...
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Characterization of Mice and Men
Using a SMART board presentation (provided), your class discusses the characterization of Lenny, George, Curley, Curley's wife, and the farmhands in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The presentation includes a list of traits for...
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Writing Fiction: Using Older Characters
Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Students learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...
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Methods of Characterization
The best stories usually have the best characters and identifying characterization in literature is key to fostering good writing skills. The four most common characterizations are defined in this slide show. Each slide presents a...
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Twain: Tom Sawyer—Mythic Adventurer
Learners take a closer look at archetypes. In this characterization lesson, students examine the setting and the characters of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer as they read and analyze the novel. Learners consider how Twain mythically...
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Julius Caesar Act I Pre-Reading Characterization Worksheet
In this Julius Caesar worksheet, students determine character traits of Julius Caesar and Brutus from quotations given. Students are given 13 quotations about or by Julius Caesar and 8 quotations about or by Brutus.