"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Students discuss the characteristics of the literary genre known as "Southern Gothic". They write an analysis of the short story, "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor.

Students explore the origins and development of a literary genre. They investigate how shared imaginative concerns link the members of a literary period and compare works of literature from different eras.

This resource is part of a three-activity unit that introduces your class to the concept of popular culture and the role that it plays in their lives. Here, learners examine the importance of the music industry and music videos in pop...

An exciting twist on the study of the classical hero and the heroic quest! Using film to explore modern-day tales of heroes, the resource contains complete, ready-to-use lesson plans for as many as twelve days of instruction. Throughout...

Students research the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya and his use of fantasy and allegory in his artwork. After reading either classic or contemporary fantasy stories, they discuss how Goya might have illustrated the stories. Students...

Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...

Paul Chan's latest exhibit includes seven manifestations of light. Today, kids analyze the pieces 1st Light  and 5th Light. They consider the concept of opposed or dualistic realities found in literature, society, and Chan's work....

If your ESL pupils love talking about movies, here is an activity ideal for providing practice with both informational reading and elements of a story. Given fictional movie posters, they decipher the information and put it into a...

Providing countless examples of gallows humor in both literature and film, this presentation explores the many instances and utilities of "black humor." While the definition is not explicitly stated, students can deduce what gallows...

Learners apply word analysis skills to recognize new words, identify genres of fiction and nonfiction, and identify important themes and topics. They explore differences in plants, flowers, and vegetables. A book bag full of activities...

Some emotions are indescribable, but sometimes you have to try! After brainstorming adjectives that describe emotions, pupils watch a quick film, at first with no sound. Partners share their adjectives and come up with descriptions for...

Students analyze song lyrics and discuss Faust theme in musical history. In this thematic lesson plan, students view a film clip and create a song lyric, poem or short story developed around the Faust theme. Students perform or present...

High schoolers use appropriate terms to reflect a working knowledge of the musical elements. Then they use terminology from music and other arts to analyze and compare the structures of musical and other artistic and literary works. ...

Latin American culture is deeply embedded in American culture as a whole. From the Latin rock scene in San Francisco to the hip-hop world of New York, Latin American artists have influenced every genre of modern music. Learn about the...

Students examine plot and setting of Cinderella, and how it changes as it is translated into different cultures, discuss universal literary elements of the Cinderella story, and write narratives with original settings and plots...

Students examine the elements of drama to develop an appreciation and understanding of the genre. In this lesson students read, analyze, discuss, and review a dramatic selection.

Song lyrics, like poems, are meant to be heard. After examining the literary devices in several poems, scholars examine the lyrics of popular songs and identify the sound devices and the figurative language writers use to create the...

Students analyze "To Build a Fire" by Jack London and "The Open boat" by Stephen Crane. They write an essay in which they compare and contrast the narrators and plots in each story.

Enjoy the thrill of the movies with this ESL activity! Not only can learners talk about their favorite films, but in creating riddles about their chosen movies, they can practice the skills of context clues and deductive reasoning. This...

Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.

Middle schoolers explore characteristics of the myth genre.  In this myth instructional activity, students become familiar with various myths and the cultures they were derived from. Middle schoolers compare in a graphic...

Are you teaching Modernism to your class? Connect different areas of artistic expression in the Modernist Era. Learners read T.S. Eliot, view art by Pablo Picasso, and listen to a Modernist musical composition. This final assignment is...

Use drama to study and practice dialogue. Creative minds discuss what dialogue tells about a character, and how it can be used to advance the plot. They read a play, think about what they gleaned from dialogue, and record their...