Ease your class into reading Running Out of Time by first reading The Boy Who Stopped Time, a picture book with some similar concepts and themes. After a reading of the story, learners participate in a discussion and journaling exercise.

Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...

John Knowles' A Separate Peace is the subject of a literary crossword puzzle that asks readers to identify key events and characters in this coming-of-age story.

Young scholars examine Pre-Columbian Ecuadorean design motifs. They view examples of the designs, discuss the motif themes, and replicate the designs on modern fabric using authentic methods.

The themes of The Great Gatsby are embodied in the images F. Scott Fitzgerald creates. To encourage reader interaction with the text, individuals create a symbolic representation of themselves, place themselves in the story,...

Learners examine a "Bird of Paradise Quilt Top" to discover what the themes and patterns tell about mid-nineteenth-century America.  In this American Folk Art lesson, students discuss the possible creator of the quilt and the...

Avoid the horror of readers straining to recall details of Joseph Conrad's complex Heart of Darkness. Instead provide scholars with a frame for their note taking. As they read, class members record evidence to support their responses to...

Good discussion questions, quizzes, and tests teach as well as assess. Readers of The Great Gatsby will learn much from the materials in a 36-page packet designed to help students prepare for the AP Literature exam. Included in the...

Students analyze common recurring motifs and themes found in literature and artwork from various cultures. They research and report of the "trickster" motif found in Native american, Mayan, and Ethiopian cultures.

Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...

Check out this 21-page text guide if Sophocles' Antigone is part of your course content. Packed with background information, suggested talking points, and activities, the guide is a must-have for instructors using the Greek tragedy. 

What was Shakespeare's intent? That is the question at the heart of a summer assignment designed for AP English Literature. Class members focus on five scenes from The Tempest and compare the interactions of Prospero, Caliban,...

A comedy? A romance? A little of both? Shakespeare's The Winter Tale is the focus of an overview appropriate for those who are considering using the play for the first time. 

Before the class makes abstract art, they see contemporary examples and analyze them. They look at art made by abstract artists under the age of 33 then use similar techniques to create an interesting collection of their own. The...

An in-class reading of Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece Meets the Big O introduces class members to the journey motif that forms the basis of The Hobbit.

Students view images from fine and decorative art galleries in the Museumlink Illinois website. They make connections regarding theme, mood, or emotional expression. They present their findings orally and display their images.

The Odyssey is the core text in this unit study of the hero's journey motif. Along the way, kids research Greek and Roman history, mythology, art, and epic poetry. The 104-page packet is perfect for homeschool or classroom situations and...

In this The Idiot worksheet, students discuss setting, plot, and the motif of alienation, then analyze characterization and theme.

What really knocks me out about this project list is that when you're done reading about the projects, you wish you could do them all. I'm not kidding. There are 16 terrific ideas and that doesn't happen very often.

There is nothing more frustrating than discussing theme in literature, and now the Common Core requires that your learners determine two or more, and discuss the development of it throughout the text. This is crazy, but manageable with...

In this study guide worksheet for The Bean Trees, students answer comprehension questions based on the reading. Students are given vocabulary words to know, asked about motifs, themes and symbols.

Learners examine and create artwork. In this visual arts lesson plan, students examine the motif present in "Camels and Pyramids." Learners design their own motifs that they incorporate into a painted and stenciled piece.

Students examine the motif of spinning and weaving in myths and folktales. They read various myths, complete a WebQuest, develop a mind map of story elements, and write an original "spider" story.

Tenth graders compare three Chinese folktales for their "messages" and literary techniques to see how they reflect Chinese Confucian and Taoist values. They discuss how folktales share certain subjects, characters, plots and themes.