Students read a given play. They choose the key scenes from the play and write a narration to carry the plot line between those scenes. They create a comic book that depicts these key scenes, complete with pictures and text balloons.

An excellent lesson plan on the classic book, Where the Red Fern Grows. Learners view the W. Wilson Rawls website and engage in a series of activities generated by the website. They write in their reflective journals, watch a video, and...

Suggested literature and classic books are part of this literature idea book. Ideas about how to interact with books and activities are given along with instructions for art and more. Note: This is not a typical lesson plan, but more of...

Every culture has its own stories to tell. An interesting educator's guide shares a large collection of fairytales and folktales, some from different cultures and some re-creations of classics. A summary and brief teaching ideas...

Students observe book ads from Reading Rainbow and decide on a book to write an ad for. They prepare an ad and produce it using a digital camcorder and software.

Students use previously prepared book reports about fish themed books to make a shoebox float that displays the theme of the book. Shoe boxes are decorated colorfully, using dolls or stuffed animals as the book character. They create a...

Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...

First drafted in the year 996, The Pillow Book contains reflections of those met by a lady-in-waiting in the Japanese court. A brief summary, historical context, and discussion questions are provided on the first two pages. Then, two...

Elementary schoolers are given an overview of the baroque, classical, romantic, and modern periods of music. They focus on the lives of Beethoven and Mozart; two of the greatest composers of all time. After listening to samples their...

After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and an article about the use of the novel, class members engage in a Socratic seminar focused on whether or not Twain's book should be banned.

Students engage in the practice of producing a report about favorite books. The show Reading Rainbow creates context for this instructional activity. The making of an iMovie is done to present the book as an advertisement for the whole...

Here is a fine unit of lessons which compare and contrast the culture during the time period of the classic book, Little Women to present day. Topics covered are the family, politics, morality, fashion, transportation, cities, historical...

Explore literature through the completion of reading comprehension worksheets in class. After reading the classic book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, middle schoolers review each chapter by completing study questions and story webs....

Fans of Sherlock Holmes may be surprised to learn that in addition to stories of the famous deductionist, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is also the creator of Professor Challenger. An irascible, unpredictable scientist, Challenger was featured...

Encourage scholars to retell their favorite short story or folktale, adding personal details to make it their own. After reading their book of choice several times, story tellers retell a tale verbally to their classmates. 

Here's an alternative to a traditional book report for your class to demonstrate that they understand and can articulate the main character's evolution and the social themes presented in Voltaire's satirical novel Candide. Your young...

How many daisies did we sell? A classic jump rope rhyme provides the framework for an activity that asks kids to rewrite the rhyme, record their names on the provided pages, illustrate their story, and build a mini-book. 

Students explore the best approaches to reading with book buddies (younger students). Students create a student-friendly definition for "mentor" and identify traits of a success that a mentor displays. They examine literature for...

In this literature worksheet, pupils match the titles of fifteen pieces of classic literature with the authors who wrote them.

Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...

Students compare two pieces of literature. In this literary comparisons lesson, students read 2 books that they personally select and then compare and contrast the literary elements of each in a comparative essay.

Get out the text-book, and CD player to teach a lesson on Mozart. Afterward, you can administer this quiz which requires learners to complete 20 short-answer questions related to Mozart's life, operas, music, and general music terminology.

The classic book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs instructional activity, is used to help readers compare and contrast the weather in Chewandswallow to their own town. Young scholars write their own fantasy weather story. This...

A reading of Beowulf: Dragon Slayer, Rosemary Sutcliff's retelling of the classic epic poem, launches an exploration of what it means to be a hero, a noble leader, and a great warrior. A great way to introduce middle schoolers to...