Is Phoebe a good friend to Sal or not? After reading chapters twenty-five and twenty-six of Walk Two Moons, class members use the provided graphic organizer to develop an argumentative piece. Writers must decide if the two...

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...

Looking to set up literature circles in your class? Use these materials to support pupils when they meet in groups. Pupils take on various roles over the course of reading and meet with their groups to share the work they have done on...

Tap into the wisdom and knowledge of older members of the community with this New York Times plan. To warm up, learners write about and discuss advice they have been given. After reading "The Life Report," an op-ed column that asks older...

Paul Fisher, the main character in Tangerine, comes to see that it's the choices in life that lead to the consequences that make all the difference. A unit study of Bloor's young adult novel leads readers down this same path. 

Here is a lesson which is "flexible," and can operate as an individual or whole class activity. After reading a book of their choosing, with the use of a semantic map, learners identify character traits. They infer how their feelings...

Boring dialogue can run a great story into the ground; get your novelists using dialogue as a tool to move their story into deeper and more developed territory. As part of a larger writing series, this lesson has a worksheet that can...

Can your class figure out who said what just by looking at a quotation? This activity for Of Mice and Men includes 11 quotations from the novel. Use this quote sheet as a light activity to get your readers to look back into the text or...

Great for a reading intervention or remedial Language Arts class, this instructional activity uses two stories from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III ("Terri Jackson" and "Mary Lou" to reinforce note-taking skills, story elements,...

This James and the Giant Peach worksheet provides 15 short answer questions and extension activities. They address characterization, basic reading comprehension, making personal connections to the reading, and more. The...

Whether you are planning a unit on F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, or simply want to improve your pupils' descriptive writing, this lesson could be a good addition to your class. Using the Six-Trait Writing process, pupils...

Here is a wonderful online language arts activity for your emerging readers. Learners play an interactive game where they look at two characters who are engaging with each other. They must choose the word from a word bank that best...

What's one way to make a good essay great? Revise! Scholars revise their drafts from a previous lesson plan to help write their final polished analytical essays about the universal refugee experience. They also practice properly citing...

Give your middle school writers the opportunity to form an opinion and provide strong supporting details. Writers will respond to the statement "It is better to give than to receive." This is a particularly good assignment to use if your...

In his article about color-blind casting entitled, "Willy Loman Is Lost, Still Looking for Stimulus Plan and Some Dignity," Charles Isherwood quotes August Wilson as saying,  "To mount an all-black production of a 'Death of a...

Expose your readers to the fascinating legends of Norse Gods Thor and Sif. They read a brief introduction about traditional stories and myths then read several paragraphs on these figures, marking unknown words as they go. Learners look...

Encourage respect, responsibility, and caring within your classroom with a collection of lessons that spark dialogue and self reflection. To address character traits, lessons touch on topics such as staying safe in the...

Is Yuki a selfish character? Analyze her motivation and behavior during a unit on Shizuko's Daughter by Kyoko Mori. Readers fill out two sides of a graphic organizer with reasons why or why not she is selfish, and then come up with...

How would you feel if you were on trial for murder—and you were only 16 years old? Put yourself in Steve Harmon's shoes before reading Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Kids listen to music that fits the theme of the book before...

What makes a fairy tale a fairy tale? Use a 27-page packet to supplement your next fairy tale unit. With sequencing activities, story map worksheets, character analyses and story elements graphic organizers, and fairy tale highlight...

Finding and/or designing a menu of equally weighted synthesizing projects to end a unit can be a challenge. Simplify the task with this menu of individual and group projects meant to accompany a study of The Crucible. Presentations,...

Even someone with a dark side can make a good decision—and vice versa. Readers explore Cole's traits and decisions in Ben Mikaelson's Touching Spirit Bear and analyze his sunside and...

Provide young readers with an opportunity to share their opinions about independent reading books with this book report form. Focusing on their favorite character, children complete a series of sentence frames requiring them to think...

Examine the characters in Willa Cather's My Antonia with a group project. Small groups illustrate their chosen character on a large piece of paper and choose quotes from the text that tell about the character. Where young scholars...