Are your scholars reading Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee? If so, use this textual analysis packet and lesson guide to drive deeper thinking about the characters, create personal connections, and apply historical...

Is interacting with people from different backgrounds part of a well-rounded education? A big question awaits young readers as they explore two New York Times articles that discuss modern-day segregation, population statistics, and...

Review one of the most memorable cases in the history of the United States. After reading To Kill A Mockingbird, young scholars read and select court transcripts and other primary source material from the Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933....

Who cares about manners anyway? According to the New York Times, Mrs. Mason does. Learners read and consider an article which addresses the decline of manners and the impact it has on society. They answer seven critical thinking...

What? A long-lost poem from Robert Frost? Introduce your class to a poem recently found and published from Robert Frost's personal collection. The lesson includes background information on the author, the poem itself, and a list of...

A simple text analysis lesson, language learners transfer, order, and group information so that it is presentable. No apparent link to the five required worksheets.

Develop a better understanding of "Blackbeard's Ghost" with this differentiated lesson plan. Working in groups on a creative project, middle schoolers can reinforce their reading comprehension and literary analysis skills. Use this...

"How can a magazine reflect a particular time and culture?" Using this prompt, your class explores the Victorian Era as it relates to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. They can also play the "Victorian Women's Rights" game for the year 1840...

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...

Come explore with me. Scholars complete an end of the unit assessment in which they write an essay describing how Meg Lowman explored the rainforest canopy. Pupils fill in an outline organizer before beginning their writing.

High schoolers analyze mood and voice in Emily Dickinson's poem, "There's a Certain Slant of Light." After the analysis, learners write a poem of their own emulating the Dickinson poem, and then write a one-page essay describing what...

Search a variety of sources to create a multimedia or book project about Japan. Learners use the independent investigation method to plan and conduct research about Japan. They use the information they discover to create a computer book...

Jacque's soliloquy from Act II, scene ii of As You Like It sets the stage for a close reading exercise that models how to approach difficult, dense text and enables readers to practice reading comprehension and analysis...

In this novel analysis lesson plan, students read the short script about Lord of the Flies related activity. Students then complete a survival activity relating to the story.

"How come there's no ending?" After a close reading of Frank R. Stockton's tale "The Lady, or the Tiger?" in which scholars examine each of the main characters' conflicts and motivations, writers craft their own ending using textual...

Tenth graders complete a variety of activities related to the first two chapters of the book The Outsiders. They define metaphor, simile, idiom, and hyperbole, and take a vocabulary pre-quiz. In small groups, they write a character...

What important facts about Dr. Seuss influenced the Read Across America movement...? This is the driving question of a research project that requires scholars to find information about Dr. Seuss' life and work. Class...

What does your class know about logical fallacies? They can find out quite a bit and practice identifying logical fallacies if you follow the steps and use the resources provided here! After reviewing ethos, pathos, and logos, ask small...

In this text analysis activity, students examine different types of texts and identify each one by matching them from a list. Students determine what each text communicates and for whom.

Excerpts from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath and from John Fante's Ask the Dust, as well as a variety of primary source documents provide the background for an examination of the migrant experience from 1920-1945.

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...

Students explore characterization. In this characterization lesson, students give analytical responses to questions and determine a character's beliefs. Students use the school mission statement to develop two beliefs that the statement...

High schoolers explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.