Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

The Janitor's Boy: Novel Study

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
The perfect plan can easily backfire. Jack, in The Janitor's Boy, thinks he has the perfect plan to get back at his father. Little did he know he would end up being sentenced to help his father. Scholars read about Jack and his...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Sense and Sensibility Vocabulary Strategy: Desk Top Teaching

For Students 10th - 12th
Amicably dispel “the prejudices of…young mind(s)” by exposing them to the language of Jane Austen. Readers of Sense and Sensibility use desk-top strategies to teach one another the vocabulary from this classic romance novel. The resource...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

NOVEL PARTNERS

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students read novels, completing a weekly assignment as they read. They meet weekly with another student to discuss the readings and assignments.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

HOLES UNIT

For Teachers 5th - 6th
Students participate in the unit based on the Newbery Medal-winning novel by Louis Sachar and the Walt Disney Movie "Holes". They use the layered curriculum model of assessment and activities.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

To Kill A Mockingbird: A Historical Perspective

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Students study the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through studying primary source materials from American Memory and other online resources, students of all backgrounds study the relationships between blacks and whites.
Activity
Curated OER

A River Runs Through It; Writing Assignment

For Teachers 9th - 12th
While reading A River Runs Through It, have your high schoolers work on their final project, a multi-genre research paper. There are 10 clear steps for completion but not much additional help. For early high schoolers (or...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Langston Hughes: Voice Among Voices

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars study Langston Hughes's poetry, short stories, and his first autobiography. They read and appreciate the candid, honest and powerful creative masterpieces of this black genius and discuss the numerous universal themes...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rap as a Modern Poetic Form

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners write and listen to rap songs. They discover how common themes in rap are indicative of the problems, as well as the empowerments, that can be seen in our urban cultures today. They discover how rap is actually an evolution of...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Vocabulary Bingo: Fever 1793

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Prior to reading Fever 1793, class members are introduced to vocabulary drawn from the text of Laurie Halse Anderson's novel with a bingo-style activity. The vocabulary list, a teacher copy with definitions, and the bingo template are...
Unit Plan
Curated OER

The Scarlet Letter and Transcendentalism

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Enhance your unit on The Scarlet Letter with a thorough and applicable lesson. Learners use the anchor text in this unit plan that asks them to consider the Transcendental concepts intertwined within Nathaniel...
Activity
Prestwick House

Catcher in the Rye Activity Pack

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The Catcher in the Rye is the focus of a sampler that models some of activities included in a for-purchase packet based on J. D. Salinger's novel.
Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 14: Dedication

For Teachers 6th Standards
Connect Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech, "I Have a Dream," to The Cay by Theodore Taylor. Taylor refers to the speech in his dedication, which creates a natural segue into talking about the speech and how it relates to the novel....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Oliver Twist Goes to Hollywood

For Teachers 5th - 12th Standards
How does Oliver Twist, the novel written by Charles Dickens, compare with its screenplay adaptation? Although the activity doesn't require learners to have read the novel, the similarities and differences of the highlighted passages...
Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Little House On The Prairie: Novel Study

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Laura Ingalls Wilder memorialized life in the American West with her Little House on the Prairie series. Readers explore the first book in the series using a novel study guide. Along with standard text-based questions, scholars...
Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Stone Fox: Novel Study

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Wyoming has the lowest population of all 50 states. Using the novel study for Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner, pupils create brochures to attract visitors to the state, which is the setting for the novel. Additionally, they answer...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Great Gatsby

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students read "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. In groups, they research the events and spirit of the 1920s and relate events in the novel to actual historical events. They compare the characteristics of various genres and...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lord of the Flies - Sentence Starters and Vocabulary

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers prepare for the reading of iam Golding's novel, The Lord of the Flies, by exploring the theme through a discussion and sentence starter activity.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Springfield Wiki Lesson - Literature Circles

For Teachers 6th
Using a variety of novels about survival, such as Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, pupils create author's studies using wikis. First, learners are placed in groups to study a particular novel. Then, they create a page...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Outsiders

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Are you working on an Outsiders unit? Use this list of activities to deepen your middle schoolers' understanding of the novel. After reading S.E. Hinton's novel, young readers work on three required activities, including participating in...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Individual and His Role in Society

For Teachers 10th
Tenth graders discover how various writers approach the themes of : alienation and solitude, living life "deliberately" and "phonies." Through reading, journaling, class discussion, and writing assignments they realize the power of the...
Lesson Plan
National First Ladies' Library

Mark Twain's America

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Pupils read Huckleberry Finn, analyze text for historical contexts, and write book report emphasizing historical elements, type report comparing and contrasting events in book to events of today, create Powerpoint presentation...
Interactive
Curated OER

For Whom the Bell Tolls - Essay Questions

For Students 9th - 12th
After finishing the dense novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, have your class prepare for your unit test with this set of study questions. Consider narrowing the list down to encourage a deeper analysis of specific questions.  
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Through Our Eyes

For Teachers 10th
After reading Sandra Cisneros’ novel The House on Mango Street, class members design a canned food drive, create advertisements for the drive, and use digital cameras to document the entire process. In addition, pupils journal their...
Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 13: Character Development 2

For Teachers 6th Standards
Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...