There is a reason why an Oscar is given each year for the Best Adaptation Screenplay. Adaptations are the focus of an exercise that asks class members to compare a work of literature with a least one adaptation of the work into a...

Students, using the Internet, communicate with peers around the world about winter-themed books. They study authors, write book reviews, re-write endings, interview book characters, create scene dioramas, paint murals, and write...

If you are considering adding or expanding a unit on utopian and dystopian literature you simply must check out this fabulous resource. Packed with plans, activities, project-based and 21st century learning opportunities, the unit...

What a wonderful way to follow up on the reading of, Roll of Thunder Hear Me Cry! The lesson has pupils split up into small groups of two to four middle schoolers. Each group must work collaboratively to create a multimedia project that...

Use your tablets to participate in a culture-sharing project with a class in a foreign country. Your class can communicate and share ideas with a class in another country, swapping information regarding language and culture. Together you...

Only a thorough understanding of history can save us from repeating it. Practice close reading skills with an eighth grade unit that focuses on 19th century America, including European immigration into Ellis Island and Frederick...

Useful for literary analysis, citing textual evidence, or summary skills, this lesson about the Kumeyaay Indians would be a good addition to your language arts class. Middle schoolers read novels and summarize the literature in their own...

Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...

Students examine the use of the Underground Railroad. In this Underground Railroad instructional activity, students determine the meaning of the word slavery. They study the Underground Railroad through the use of literature and Internet...

Using a constructivist approach and a graphic organizer, small groups work together to begin a paper, comparing and contrasting the novella Night and the movie Life is Beautiful. Assuming that your learners have studied both of these...

Students practice their reading comprehension by utilizing computers. In this education technology lesson, students utilize a drawing program such as Microsoft Paint to draw pictures based upon the story they read, The Very Quiet...

Young scholars work collaboratively to create PowerPoint presentations on an author of their choice. This lesson is written for a first and third grade joint project with students pairing up across grade levels.

The Scarlet Letter is the anchor text in a four-week unit that examines Hawthorne's novel through the lens of the intolerances found in a supposed civilized society. In addition to their reading, class members watch clips from...

Students explore the concept of Jan Brett.  In this author study lesson, students are introduced to several Jan Brett books with visuals, listening centers, and video.  Students browse the internet in search of information...

Learn more about Dr. Seuss in an author study activity. After young readers create a KWL chart on information they know about Dr. Seuss, they take on group roles, such as the researcher or recorder, to find out more about Dr....

Fifth graders participate in various activities related to the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson students understand the events and feelings of people during the Civil War by studying primary sources, journal writing, readings, viewing...

Students investigate Southwest Indian Reservations. In this Native American lesson, students research Southwest Indian tribes on the Internet and by reading the book, Arrow to the Sun.

Take advantage of Banned Book Week to pique students' interest and get them reading! Create a classroom display of previously banned books and allow each member of your class to choose one to read. After they have read their book, get...

Students use Moodle to participate in a chat session to complete a character analysis for a novel they've studied. In this novel analysis and technology instructional activity, students are assigned a character from a specific chapter...

Students research, analyze and study a variety of resources and activities to broaden their horizons on careers and service learning through classroom, community and career activities. They scan all possible choices they have at their...

Learners correspond with e-pals about their community. In this cross curriculum geography, technology, and literacy instructional activity, students complete a postcard webquest about their home location including local photographs....

Students retell a story using computer software. In this story elements lesson, students retell the story giving the plot, setting, characters and moral using Pixie software.

Young scholars explore characteristics of the myth genre.  In this myth lesson, students become familiar with various myths and the cultures they were derived from. Young scholars compare in a graphic organizer. Students...

Students, after reading the novel, Brave New World, research in depth topics like the production and consumption of Henry Ford, Pavlov's and Skinner's behavioral science work, as well as the existence of Utopian and dystopian societies....