Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 15: Theme
Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...
Glacier Peak High School
Huckleberry Finn Theme Project Ideas
Looking for a project list to conclude a study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? The six suggestions included in the menu (a song, thematic box, CD case, book jacket, blog, scene) could be assigned to individuals or groups....
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 2
Use Langston Hughes's poem, "Words Like Freedom," to explore the concepts of freedom and liberty. Learners read the poem, determine the theme, and use the provided graphic organizer to examine the connotative and denotative meanings of...
Curated OER
Hoot: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Augment your unit on Carl Hiaasen's Hoot with a series of activities about the environment, civil disobedience, making an impact in the world, and growing up. A list of literary concepts and themes helps you to write your lessons to...
Penguin Books
Using Thirteen Reasons Why in the Classroom
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher helps bring difficult, but important, topics such as suicide and bullying into the classroom. An educator's guide for the novel provides activities and discussion questions to help teens explore the...
Virginia English Bulletin
Book Trailer Projects From Classroom to Community
Invite your pupils to express their understanding of a novel through a collaborative video project. Groups choose a novel from those you have studied in class, select four scenes, storyboard the scenes, film the scenes, edit the film,...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Herber Readiness Activity
Delve into Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis before opening the book with a lesson on literary themes. High schoolers engage in a word association activity before reading a list of statements based on the book's themes. Then, in groups,...
Novelinks
The Giver: Concept Analysis
Cover the vocabulary and thematic concepts from Lois Lowry's The Giver with an extended reference guide. It includes relevant plot elements, discussions on themes and motifs, and any possible issues arising from your class's background...
Curated OER
Poetry Project
Choosing a poet or a theme, eighth graders conduct research in the world of poetry. They conduct Internet research and select five poems that fit their poet or theme, and create a seven slide PowerPoint presentation on their selected...
Pinecrest Preparatory Middle and High School
Touching Spirit Bear: Final Novel Project
Close up your study of Touching Spirit Bear with any of these assessment options. Each of the four project options is described in detail. Also included is a page that learners can use to portion out their time to make sure they fulfill...
Novelinks
The Graveyard Book: Concept Analysis
Neil Gaiman's award winning children's fantasy novel, The Graveyard Book, is the focus of a literary analysis overview. Those new to the novel can decide whether the book is appropriate for whole-class discussion or as a book circle...
Novelinks
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Concept Analysis
Ready yourself for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer with this analysis of the novel. Included here is a summary of the plot, a list of themes, notes on vocabulary and other issues, a brief analysis of plot elements, and project ideas that...
Novelinks
Sense and Sensibility: Concept Analysis
If you need an anchor for your unit on Sense and Sensibility, use a concept analysis with key discussion points. It includes literary themes, vocabulary, background information, and suggestions for addressing gender and diversity questions.
Curated OER
Journeys: A Common Core State Standards Unit for A Wrinkle in Time and Companion Texts
You won't find any wrinkles in your instruction with this unit guide on Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. The 34-page document includes everything from instructional questions and learning tasks aligned to Common Core State...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Hobbit
From dragons to dwarves, from riddles to rings, the great adventure story of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has captivated generations of readers of all ages. An educator's guide explores the novel's literary elements, including the...
Curated OER
Tangerine: Writing Assignment: Paul’s Witness Account
As a final assignment in a unit study of Edward Bloor's Tangerine, individuals assume the voice of Paul Fisher and craft the witness report Paul mentions in the final pages of the novel. A great way to assess the writer's understanding...
Curated OER
The Outsiders Essay Question Options
Extend your study of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton with an essay. Pupils can choose one of the three prompts provided on this page and write about either characterization, conflict, or theme. Each prompt includes a brief definition of the...
Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Herber Readiness
Begin your unit on Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a pre-reading activity about the novel's themes. As class members ponder five questions that reflect the book's themes, they talk about their opinions in a class discussion.
Curated OER
My Antonia: Concept Analysis
Use this analysis of My Antonia to help inform your instruction and prepare your pupils for the project and enrichment ideas listed at the end of the resource. The analysis covers big questions related to the text, themes, plot elements,...
Prestwick House
The Grapes of Wrath
At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath activity pack...
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 12: Story Event
Focus on plot and the impact-specific events in The Cay. Class members use their double-entry journals, created in a previous lesson in this series, to record their thinking about the guiding question as they read chapters 15 through 17....
Prestwick House
The House on Mango Street Activity Pack
Enrich a unit on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with a selection of related activities. The packet contains nine activities that go from pre-reading through wrapping up the novel. Young readers work on studying author's...
Curated OER
Hero Myth Creative Writing Assignment
Send your pupils on a hero's journey! Individuals must compose a story that includes six key elements of the hero's journey. In order to determine the basics of the content of their stories, class members use the included grid to circle...
Novelinks
The Lightning Thief: Concept/Vocabulary Analysis
Before you begin reading Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, read over this comprehensive handout that gives you a plethora of information regarding the story's summary, organizational structure, central...