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Alter egos and more with Avi's "Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway?"

In this lesson, students read Who Was That Masked Man, Anyway? and study the history of radio shows. After students have read the story, they work together to chart the plot of the story. Then students compare it to other... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Analyzing character in "Hamlet" through epitaphs

Students draft original epitaphs for a character from Hamlet and using three-paneled poster board, design gravestones to display their work. After students create a list of the major deceased characters in the play, the class... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Become a character: Adjectives, character traits, and perspective

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students “become” one of the major characters in a book and describe themselves and other characters, using lists of accurate, powerful adjectives. In class discussion, students support their lists with details... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Book report alternative: Characters for hire! Studying character in drama

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students create a resume for a character in a play. This activity allows students to focus on one particular character within a Shakespearean drama and follow descriptions of that character throughout the play to determine... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Connotation, character, and color imagery in The Great Gatsby.

This unit, provided by ReadWriteThink, offers a variety of introductory activities in order to acquaint students with the rhetorical devices of connotation, denotation and color imagery in The Great Gatsby. Lessons provide... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Dramatizing history in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible"

In this EDSITEment lesson, students will consider how Arthur Miller interpreted the facts of the Salem witch trials and how he successfully dramatized them in his play, The Crucible. Students will examine some of Miller's historical sources:... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Eugene O'Neill on page and stage

Plays are “living” art forms, existing not only on the page, but in performance. Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night is a masterpiece of American theatre; the powerful words of the text take on even more weight and impact when performed.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts and Theater Arts Education)

Provided by: ArtsEdge

Exploring the subtext strategy: Thinking beyond the text

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students take the perspectives of various characters in a story and think beyond the written text. Students act as the assigned characters and speak aloud, expressing their interpretations of the characters' thoughts and feelings... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Faulkner's As I Lay Dying: Family voices in As I Lay Dying

In this second lesson in the EDSITEment unit "Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying: Form of a funeral," students explore Faulkner's use of multiple voices in narration and examine the Bundren family through the subjective evidence provided... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying": Burying Addie's voice

This EDSITEment lesson plan introduces students William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying. Students consider the role of Addie Bundren, the effect she has on the other characters, and the impact created by Faulkner's use of multiple narrative... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying": Crossing the river

This EDSITEment lesson plan introduces students to William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying. Students consider the symbolism of the river crossing in this novel and how Faulkner's use of multiple narrative perspectives relates to the author's... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–11 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Graphing plot and character in a novel

Students graphically illustrate events in the plot of the story, The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis in this lesson that analyzes sequences of events. The teacher introduces this lesson with... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Inferring how and why characters change

In this lesson, the teacher models how to evaluate the methods and reasons characters change in literature. Students learn to consider the underlying reasons why the character has changed and how to support those inferences with evidence from the text.... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Mapping characters across book series

In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students are introduced to a character from a literature series. The class critically looks at the character and his or her development over the course of the story. Students read critically to learn about the character's... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Once upon a time rethought: Writing fractured fairy tales

Students listen to fairy tales, identify common characteristics, and select a fairy tale to be re-written in this lesson. After a discussion of familiar fairy tales and the elements that are required for a story to be a part of this genre, students group... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Reader response in hypertext: Making personal connections to literature

This multi-genre lesson that focuses on setting, plot, and metaphor, uses novels that contain a strong sense of place, focus on closeness of characters, and are metaphorical in character. In this lesson students will demonstrate their... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing fact and fiction

In this EDSITEment lesson, the first of a two-part curriculum unit on Rudyard Kipling, students identify key events in Kipling's life and describe their effect on his story “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” (part of The Jungle Book). Students... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: EDSITEment

Sharing favorite books using interactive character trading cards

Students create trading cards as a way to recommend books they have read to classmates. After engaging students in a discussion about how they choose the books they read, the teacher introduces the idea of using trading cards as a way to recommend books... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–5 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

Unlocking the underlying symbolism and themes of a dramatic work

In this lesson, students choose a character from the play A Raisin in the Sun, to explore and write a character-idea poem about. Then, using an interactive drama map tool, students study a character and the literary element... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–10 English Language Arts)

Provided by: ReadWriteThink

What a character!

In this ARTSEDGE lesson, students analyze how a character's personality traits, actions, and motives influence the plot of a story. Students also learn how storytellers use their face, body, and voice, as well as the five senses to enhance the telling of... (Learn more)

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 English Language Arts and Theater Arts Education)

Provided by: ArtsEdge