Explore the theme of release and death in Lois Lowry's The Giver with a K-W-H-L chart. After noting what they already know, kids come up with a list of questions about topics that they would like to know about, as well as how they...

This worksheet on metaphors is your ticket to better writing! As learners read ten sentences, they underline the metaphor and circle the two objects of comparison.

Looking for some additional materials for Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"? Included in a 14-page packet are an anticipation guide, a vocabulary list, exercise, and quiz, a list of literary terms, and an essay assignment with pre-writing...

A key challenge in teaching kids how to read informational text, particularly primary source documents, is finding suitable resources and then developing questions that guide readers. Never fear, help is here in the form of a series...

Help your learners grow their critical thinking and analytical skills by asking them to examine logical fallacies. After reading an example, pupils determine if two sets of premises and conclusions are logical fallacies or not and...

The point of view in a story can dramatically change the story itself. Focus on finding the points of view in various reading passages with a language arts packet, which includes fiction and nonfiction text.

The California Gold Rush was not just an opportunity for the male gold miners sifting for shiny nuggets. Small groups read accounts of the ways women took advantage of the influx of workers to run hotels, bake pies, and wading out into...

Take heart! Here's a lesson that will encourage learners to notice details. After listening to Sarah Vaughan singing "My Funny Valentine" and noting how the word heart relates to Valentine's Day, scholars observe a human heart image....

Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...

Vivid quotes and strong sensory language compose Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club, bringing the women to life as they navigate through issues surrounding identity and maternal relationships. Examine Waverly's relationship with her mother...

Amy Tan's The Joy Luck Club brings together the central ideas of identity, ambition, expectations, and relationships. As high schoolers read an excerpt from the chapter "Two Kinds," they note how Jing-Mei's connection to music relates to...

Relationships between characters generate energy that propels the plot and connects events with a central idea. Track character development and meaningful relationships with a literary analysis lesson focused on H.G. Bissinger's Friday...

Delve into the heart of dramatic dialogue with a unit focused on Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Having completed an online exploration about ancient Greece beforehand, ninth graders read the play's opening lines and analyze how...

Pupils continue reading and discussing Simon Schama's article "The Shakespeare Shakedown." They work together to analyze the article's paragraph structure, completing a note-catcher worksheet.

Piece by piece ... Scholars read the text World without Fish by breaking the text into pieces. They identify challenging words and determine the gist of each section as they read. They then work together in triads to answer...

Where do directors and set designers get their ideas so that the set they build creates the mood and atmosphere the director wants for a production? From the script! Introduce theater high schoolers to the script analysis techniques used...

Proficient reading of informational text, especially primary source documents, requires practice. This message from Thomas Jefferson about the Louisiana Purchase offers readers a chance to develop these comprehension skills.

"Much has been given us, and much will rightfully be expected from us." As part of a series of worksheets that provide readers with an opportunity to develop their primary source comprehension skills, kids examine an excerpt from...

Riddle me this! As part of a Valentine's celebration, class members are challenged to find the key to solve the riddle in Edgar Allan Poe's Valentine poem.

Fish, fowl, foul fish, or foul fowl? Just what is a siren? Young scholars listen to a video clip and draw what they imagine when they hear the word "siren." After watching several videos depicting sirens, class members read "The Sirens'...

Young scholars are asked to reflect on how personal experiences might influence points of view and perspectives. They read poems and biographies of the poets and then match the poem to the poet. To justify their matches, learners...

Two stories by Kate Chopin provide high school freshmen with an opportunity to reflect on the importance of the perspective from which a story is told. Class members read "The Story of an Hour" and a passage from The Awakening, then...

The fourth instructional activity in the series of 16 asks researchers to analyze an exchange of letters between John and Abigail Adams for what they each valued in letter writing.

How much progress has Claudette made at the end of "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves"? Ninth graders note evidence for and against Claudette's successful adaptation into human society with a graphic organizer. Additionally,...