Students read a play and create their own play using Thornton Wilder's Our Townas a resource. In this play lesson, students analyze how theatrical elements contribute to a play's meanings and effects. Students recognize differences...

Pupils read Nina Bonita by Ana Maria Machado. In this reading comprehension/ geography lesson, students recall various parts of the story and create a map of where the rabbit traveled throughout the story. They participate in group...

Students read Talking Walls and discuss the walls presented and their importance to the culture. In this geography lesson, students locate and label each country/continent discussed in the book on a world map. Students take a walk and...

Students complete worksheets and roleplay feudal simulations as they are immersed in the daily life of the Middle Ages. They study geography of Europe and the origins of European tribes. They outline and write a biographical essay and...

Learners investigate the historical events that have surrounded The Space Race. They conduct research using a variety of resources and focus upon the progress between Russia and The United States. Students describe the events that led up...

Students write a five paragraph theme that explains how the novel which they read in this unit effectively utilized various literary elements to portray the impact of a disease on a population. They then decide which three literary...

Students read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.

High schoolers are able to compose a dialectical journal entry which analyzes information presented in a text. They are able to compose a creative journal entry which develops characters, presents events in logical order, and includes...

Students research the English Renaissance era. In this research lesson, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in groups to research...

Students conduct research and create an eponym dictionary. They use their imaginations to create their own monster. They have a Monster Mash day to show off their creations.

Sixth graders read and analyze narrative writing by and about Henry Spelman, a boy-laborer who helped settle Jamestown. They read biographical information, discuss the harsh conditions, and write a narrative piece on Henry's experiences.

Fifth graders write walking poetry using the Walking Poetry Checklist and a teacher poem as an example.

Students consider how colonial citizens chose sides in the American Revolution. In this Revolutionary War lesson, students role play Loyalists, Patriots, and undecideds in a classroom simulation. Students research their positions so that...

Student define issues and questions they would discuss with a president. Young scholars read "Bill and Leo's Excellent Encounter". Students choose famous personalities, research their celebrity, and create a mock interview with them.

Fourth graders write poems using color to describe their feelings and environment. After viewing a sample student poem imbedded in this plan, 4th graders utilize The Student Writing Center educational software program to type their poem.

This slideshow lesson features the genre of historical fiction. It provides background information, common elements, literary examples, and practice. The practice consists of viewing pictures of Stonehenge and the Pyramids and thinking...

This is the fifteenth article in a series designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on the genre of historical fiction and the role of the author. Is the author a researcher or a story-teller?

This Holt Literature guide in .pdf format, offers some background on the novel, a chapter-by-chapter summary, and some post-reading suggestions.

This online book presents an overview of American literature chronologically. Eras and movements are explained and biographies of significant authors are provided. This is a good way to understand the background and influences of...

This site features questions for each of the chapters in Robert Newton Peck's "A Day No Pigs Would Die."