Sometimes people find friendships in the most unlikely places, and The Whipping Boy is no different. Few would think that Jeremy and the Prince for whom he takes whippings could ever become friends. However, after a hostage situation...

Have you ever been so focused on others, that a look in the mirror surprises you? It seems that Catherine, a character in Rules, does just that when she focuses so much on her autistic brother's behaviors that she is surprised by her own...

As part of a unit study of The Hobbit, class members engage in an activity that asks group to practice the skills needed to reach consensus in a discussion.

What do you do when you find a word that's not familiar to you? Help readers use context clues when encountering unfamiliar words with a grammar activity. They note the parts of the sentences that show the meaning of the word,...

After reading or watching the musical Les Miserables, challenge your high schoolers with these analysis questions. The sheet provided suggests having class members record the answers to these questions, but they would also be good...

Good readers make connections between texts. The SAT regularly assesses the ability to make those connections using paired reading passages, a topic discussed in an official SAT practice lesson plan on synthesis. During the lesson,...

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...

A house with no windows and a garden full of stinging nettles make the perfect home for Mr. and Mrs. Twit. The seventh instructional activity in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl takes a closer look at...

Readers experience classic thrills and chills in the digital version of Mary Shelley's Dracula. The online version of the classic text has the look and feel of an old book with modern upgrades, such as buttons to navigate between...

Heart of Darkness can challenge even the best readers. Here's a pre-reading strategy that will engage class members and provide background and context for Conrad's study of racism, savagery and imperialism. Class members brainstorm,...

Readers of Man's Search for Meaning use context clues, create stories using words from the text, and retype these stories as part of their vocabulary study of Viktor Frankl's book.

Take a moment in your language or social studies class to review key terms and details from Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. A quick crossword puzzle allows learners to check understanding before a larger unit, test, or...

Are there secret worlds? The four children in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe answer the imaginative question when they discover a magical land in a wardrobe. Scholars read the first chapter to match vocabulary words and...

Many English teachers dream of a classroom full of readers silently enjoying their books. A useful guide helps make that dream become a reality by providing book recommendations for a range of readers. Each suggestion includes the...

Fourth graders read A Cricket in Times Square and examine the essence of living in New York City. They examine subway maps and other resources concerning NYC and then complete several writing activities about the city. They also create...

Students, in groups, study a Tony Award winner from the past through researching its history, watching the production, and reading the written origin of the production. They create programs for these productions and assess

Describe yourself or a character from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a biopoem activity. Using the provided format, kids write their own characteristics or the character traits from the novel to create a poetic portrait.

Play a classroom version of the classic game show Jeopardy, to review and discuss the novel your class has been reading. Questions about plot and other story elements are written on cards and given point values. Divide the class into...

To do this engaging and pleasurable activity, your learners should have already read a graphic novel, and produced a piece of writing that can be reproduced into the format of a graphic novel. This exercise provides a script that...

Take an in-depth look into the vocabulary from the novel, Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. With a list of words to choose from, scholars discover the definition, origin, stories associated with...

Wrap up a study of Seedfolks with a final essay. Writers can draft their essays by following the steps and filling in the organizer provided here. The packet begins with a prompt, includes a few basic requirements, and provides an...

To generate interest in some of the major issues in Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, class members engage in a four corners activity that asks them or agree or disagree with a series of statements and provide reasons for their...

Get to know more about the characters of the novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis by comparing and contrasting their character traits using a Venn diagram.

Readers of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner assume the voice of one of the characters from the novel and draft eight reflective journal entries and a one-page collage that depicts the character's interests, personal beliefs, etc.