What does it mean to "be of good character"? What are the qualities that define such a person? The 1825 Colonization Law of Coahuila y Texas required that all new immigrants into Mexican Texas present documentation that they were of...

In a single, soundly-designed class period, high schoolers define good character, think-pair-share about thought-provoking quotes on character (More options would enhance the discussion, worth searching online for other quotes to add.),...

Everyone learns and experiences life differently. A set of lessons about character intensities encourages middle and high schoolers to analyze themselves, their peers, and characters from a book based on the five listed intensities:...

Class groups assume the identity of one of the primary human characters in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. They create a body biography that identifies the most important traits of their character, translate these traits into...

Support a class reading of the novel Song of the Trees by Mildred D. Taylor with this series of discussion questions. Covering a variety of topics from character and setting to historical accuracy and symbolism, these questions...

When faced with a challenge, how do your pupils respond? Starting with character analyses, learners participate in a lesson about appearances and perseverance. They watch a short film, talk about common English expressions, and write a...

Use the dystopian novel After by Francine Prose to spark discussion about individual and student rights. Learners read the novel, evaluating how far a school can go to control its attendees. As they read, scholars...

Create baseball cards for literary characters with this lesson plan. It introduces students to baseball cards, their components (stats, picture, etc.), and prompts them to draft and publish their own cards based on figures from...

Here are two great lessons that work together and are inspired by the Stephen Sondheim musical Into the Woods. Young writers and actors will retell the story of "The Frog Prince" through games, improvisational script writing, and...

A 10-lesson unit takes high schoolers through a novel study of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. To start, students learn about Fitzgerald's background and gain historical context that prepares them for a reading of the book. The...

You'll be a star at your next grade level meeting with an educational unit on Louis Sachar's Holes. Based on both the novel and film, the lessons include applications to language arts with character studies and movie reviews; social...

Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...

Young scholars read short stories and write a response to the story about the character and their significance. In this character lesson plan, students also create a poster to represent their character.

Brian Jacques’ novel Redwall provides the focus for a series of lessons involving the analysis of folklore. Adopting the persona of a character, groups write letters in the voice of their character, assemble a collage using Microsoft...

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass provides the text for a study of how writers bring characters to life. Using the provided character mapping worksheets, readers respond to questions and then write a short character sketch.

Bring the historical relevance of baseball into the classroom, as pupils discover the lessons learned from the breaking of baseball's color barrier by Jackie Robinson. Learners view video and analyze Robinson’s character, as well as his...

Explore gender stereotypes by analyzing how male and female characters are depicted in comic books. Using the provided Comic Book Analysis sheet, young scholars record the attributes of male and female comic book characters. Then the...

Encourage your class to consider a beautiful short film about a boy named Theo who happens to be visually impaired. Over the course of the lesson, pupils work in pairs, discuss their ideas and the film as a class, view the film,...

Learning about literature can be so much fun; it can also be made more accessible through projects and dramatic play. As they explore theme, character, and setting, the class gets creative and makes a dramatic recreation of a classic...

Here's a must-have resource for educators who use J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and/or The Lord of the Rings. Packed with materials for both tales, the packet includes both a reader's guide and an educator's guide, lesson plans, vocabulary...

Class members create literary mandalas for two characters from Maus, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about his father’s experiences with the Holocaust. After finding quotes that reveal three good traits and three bad traits of each...

Address the literary elements in a piece of writing using these materials. The packet includes plenty of resources, and focuses mainly on theme, character, and point of view, with some materials for setting, symbolism, and author's...

Review myths and the characters therein, connecting them to vocabulary words in the English language today. Begin by searching online for myths and character names. With at least ten names that are familiar English words, students use...

Anansi is a tricky character, but can he realize he's wrong and write an apology letter? Learners use Anansi and the Pot of Beans to practice writing, art, and figurative language. A series of activities are engaging for both...