Novelinks
The Hobbit: Directed Reading - Thinking Activity
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.
McGraw Hill
Study Guide for Island of the Blue Dolphins
Dive your class into a reading of Island of the Blue Dolphins with this in-depth study guide. Breaking the novel into three parts, the resource begins each section with a focus activity that identifies a specific theme or question...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust: Biopoem
As part of their study of Out of the Dust, readers create a biopoem for one of the characters in Karen Hesse's 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel.
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice
Help your class recognize classic literature with universal themes. They will demonstrate their familiarity with Pride and Prejudice by updating a selected scene from it to the 21st century. Tip: Bring in a modern movie clip that shows...
Developing a Global Perspective for Educators
Imagine Being Me
The design of this two-day lesson eloquently exposes learners to the topic of social justice for people with disabilities. The plan is built off the reading of Are You Alone on Purpose? by Nancy Werlin. The activity introduces...
Curated OER
Pudd'nhead Wilson: Anticipation Guide
Get your pupils thinking about some of the big ideas present in Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson with this anticipation guide. Learners decided if they believe a series of statements are true or false. A discussion follows.
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: ABC book (Vocabulary Activity)
Master Jane Austen's language from A to Z with an activity based on Pride and Prejudice. As kids read the novel, they find (or are assigned) words that begin with each letter of the alphabet, and create one-page documents that show...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: Personal Phrenology Chart During Reading Activity
Phrenology, the belief that parts of your brain control certain aspects of your personality, is described in Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science. While we now know much more about the brain, learners use this...
State Library of Ohio
Tuck Everlasting
A great toolbox of ideas for any teacher preparing to teach the novel Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt, this resource includes a short biography of Natalie Babbitt, several discussion questions that could double as writing prompts,...
Curated OER
Stump the Dump Maze Game
Young scholars complete reading Because of Winn-Dixie individually or as a class. As students reunite Opal and Winn-Dixie in this timed reading comprehension maze game, they demonstrate their understanding of the novel's plot, theme, and...
Curated OER
Quilt Squares-Literature Reporting
Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...
Curated OER
"Voicing" - A Believable Account with "The Glory Fields" by Walter Dean Myers
Dr. Seuss and Walter Dean Myers team up to cover the topic of prejudice. Using The Sneeches (about the culture clash between star-bellied and bare-bellied Sneetches) and The Glory Fields (about a boy coming to America on a slave ship),...
Novelinks
Words By Heart: K-W-H-L Strategy
How can we heal our hearts through forgiveness? The third activity in a series of six prompts readers to answer questions about Words by Heart by Ouida Sebestyen. Not only does it activate background knowledge on the...
Lesson Locker
Z for Zachariah: Questions for Study on Chapters 1 - 10
An efficient study guide for the first 10 chapters of Z for Zachariah that covers basic recall questions concerning the characters and the plot. It also includes short writing prompts for selected chapters that extend into the...
Film English
Be Happy
What makes your pupils happy? Find out with a instructional activity centered around this theme. Class members come up with things that make them happy and write about them in preparation for quick group project. Learners watch and...
Curated OER
What If: The Seed Of A Story
Learners read and comprehend a piece of fictional writing, analyze how setting, characterization, and plot affect the theme of a story and work in a group to create a new writing assignment. This 5-day plan culminates in students writing...
Curated OER
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: The Novel as Historical Source
Students examine historical fiction as historical sources. In this historical fiction lesson, students analyze excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as well as Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the...
Curated OER
Tracking Down Meaning in Great Expectations
Fourth graders are assigned an unique theme, symbol, or character in Great Expectations. They becomes the class expert on that facet of the novel while learning the basic skills needed to write a research paper.
Curated OER
Disease and Culture through Literary Time
Students select books to read that include disease as a plot or theme component. They fill out a matrix for the disease in their novel and write a five-paragraph paper about their book. Students use the rest of the week's classes to...
Curated OER
The Sun Sets Everywhere
Eighth graders identify and explain the connections between new ideas and information and their previous beliefs, values, and experiences. They understand that certain themes are relevant to their lives. They realize the harm of clicks...
Listening Library
The Sign of the Beaver
Extend a class reading of the novel The Sign of the Beaver across all subject areas with this literature unit guide. From basic discussion questions and writing prompts, to a research project about tracking animals, this...
Curated OER
Pudd'nhead Wilson: Guided Imagery
Inspire thought around some of the themes of Pudd'nhead Wilson with a visualization activity. As you read a passage, learners close their eyes and picture the scene. A writing exercise and discussion follow.
Curated OER
The Immigrant Experience: Down the Rabbit Hole
Students relate the immigrant experience to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. In this immigration experience lesson plan, students read Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and relate it to the immigrant...
Curated OER
The Power of Fiction
Students explore fiction that moves individuals to social action. In this literature lesson, students read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and analyze its literary worth as well as its investigative journalism. Students investigate other...