Students invsestigate cocoa producing regions in the world. In this geography skills lesson, students examine how the 5 themes of geography affect the Hershey Chocolate Company as they compare and contrast cocoa production in America,...

Learners complete the Frayer Model. In this literature lesson, students review the concept of theme in literature. Learners identify major themes in books they've read. Students learn the attributes of the Frayer Model and then complete...

Divide your geography class into groups and have each research an assigned region. The result of this project is a regional magazine that addresses the five themes of geography. Many valuable resource links are embedded into the...

For this cross-curricular sampler of worksheets, students determine the meaning of specialized vocabulary and to understand the precise meaning of grade-level-appropriate words, describe and connect the essential ideas, arguments, and...

Students, in groups, read and analyze the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor. They present their findings tot he rest of the class and then connect the various themes discussed to outside material, events...

What do an early 20th century poet and a 1980's rock star have in common with a novel from the 1960's? Using Wilfred Owen's poem "Disabled" and George Michael's song "Mother's Pride," learners answer questions about the lyrics and themes...

Students explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.

Focus on the literary elements of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince with a concept analysis sheet. With suggestions and explanations for many of the book's concepts, vocabulary, and other issues that may arise in...

A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...

Eager readers have waited a long time, very patiently, for a set of literary analysis lessons that connect text structure to the work's central idea. As ninth graders continue reading "The Tell-Tale Heart," they focus on the central...

Students identify story elements.  In this stories instructional activity, students read a story and identify the chracter, character traits, plot, setting and theme.  Groups of students match problem and solution cards.

Challenge your class to hold a discussion about the theme of death in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead without direct teacher guidance. After going over the discussion protocols and quotes from the text, learners move in a circle...

Seventh graders define six different literary terms after reading I, Juan de Pareja. In groups, they are given a specific literary term to create a PowerPoint presentation explaining how their term in utilized in the context of I, Juan...

Sixth graders review literary devices. They use both fiction and nonfiction texts to review metaphor, simile, alliteration, imagery, symbolism and personification. This lesson plan has a scripted guide for the teacher to follow.

How would you describe a great leader? Explore the theme of leadership with a unit that focuses on emotional intelligence, and how great leaders have a strong sense of emotional intelligence.

A 17-page Educator Guide is designed to support classroom discussions of Ken Burns' documentary on Ernest Hemingway. The guide includes background information on Hemingway's life, the themes found in his works, essential and discussion...

Students analyze the characters and events in fictional writing. In this literary elements lesson plan, students study the meaning of the words characterization and fiction. They listen to the story Pigsty by Mark Teague, or any other...

Identify literary elements in fiction. In this reading comprehension lesson, learners read the book Pigsty and record literary elements onto a graphic organizer. They specifically discuss the main characters and events in the text.

Eleventh graders explore the concepts of Impressionism and theme. They choose a section of narration which presents Henry Fleming's vision of war. They analyze this section to determine which images invoke the senses: sight, sound,...

Middle schoolers examine a painting that depicts a scene from the Underground Railroad. They discuss the painting and write journal entries and poems in response to the painting's themes and their impressions.

Young scholars identify the elements of fiction, and work on compare and contrast skills.. In this comprehension activity, students read different versions of Cinderella. Young scholars use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the...

Students explore the life of Harriet Tubman. They examine a painting of Harriet Tubman and consider the tools used to communicate information about her. Sudents describe how the color of a painting explains the mood of the illustrator....

The manipulation of time is one of the most essential elements in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As your language arts class participates in a jigsaw discussion activity, they work together to analyze the play's plot structure and...

Seventh graders need to be able to distinguish between major and minor characters and need to have read the novel Bearstone and be familiar with the sequence of events as well as the qualities displayed by each character over the course...