Independent
Novel Study
Here is an independent
novel study that takes into account every difference in ability in your
class. Each student picks his or her own novel and does any number of assignments
that up to 50 marks. They can do two twenty mark and one ten mark assignments
or any other combination. The assignments are a mix of creative and applied
writing and art activities. If a student earns more than 50 marks give
him or her the marks as a bonus -- however, put a limit on how many bonus
marks a student can get or you will be marking assignments by the truckload.
This was used in a de-streamed Grade 9 class.
Another
Independent Novel Study -- Intermediate
This is an older version of the independent
study detailed above. It is also much more suitable for students who require
directed study rather than the more independent and wide-ranging type outlined
above. It has been used in Grade 9 right through Grade 11 with good results.
Set your due dates, if you have fixed dates, to allow enough time depending
on the mix of class time and homework.
Independent
Study with an "exhibition" component
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Lori Koplik of East Greenwich, Rhode Island,
submitted this lesson. She says that "the results are very impressive,
and the students revel in the ownership they have over their course of
study. Everyone loves seeing the final exhibitions...so much so that they
invite their friends and other teachers to see them during the last two
weeks of school." This unit is suitable for most grades. There is a proposal
sheet attached to the end of the handout. Take a look and if you like it,
use it. Lori can be reached at lkoplik@koplik.necoxmail.com
Free
Reading Independent Study Project
-
Jeremy Glazer, an English teacher at Miami
Northwestern Senior High in Miami, FL., uses this project with his ninth and
tenth grade students. The project is a goldmine of activities and Jeremy says
that "what has been great about it is that the kids have flocked to books
at their level". You can reach Jeremy at
jeremyglazer@yahoo.com
Independent Novel Project
This is a whole
independent novel project which intermediate students should find enjoyable and
challenging. It's the creation of Heather Shaw-Gardener, who teaches
English at Rio Americano High School in Sacramento, California, who has used it
with her grade 9 to 11 students. Heather can be reached at hgardener@sanjuan.edu.
The lesson is available in two formats, just click on the one you want:
Short Story Unit Plan -- day by day outline
This is just one of many very thorough lessons by Alyson Cope
who teaches English at Deerfield Beach High in Florida. You can find
many more excellent lessons ranging from independent study to Shakespeare and
writing skills. Visit her web site at http://www.geocities.com/jimrot/lessonplans2.html
to take a look.
A
Board Game from a Novel
This is an interesting independent study project submitted
by Sharon Stewart who teaches in the incredibly picturesque area
of Whitianga, New Zealand. You can reach Sharon at rsalisbury@xtra.co.nz
Authors
of the Past and Present Assignment
If
you want to really understand a book or story you should know about the
author. This assignment gets students to do just that by researching an
author. Tammy Manor, who teaches English at John Adams High School in
Queens, New York, made up the assignment for her Grade Nines and has even
included a list of authors for the students. Tammy can be reached at Poetgrl78@aol.com
Semi-Independent
Novel Study -- Grade 11
How do you teach a novel without those fifteen
pages of questions that have to be taken up in lock-step and that hardly
any of the less motivated students ever do? This exercise uses LORD
OF THE FLIES and goes along with your lessons on how to write an essay
and also incorporates writing skills and creativity and each student can
progress at a pace more in keeping with his or her activities (although
there are still deadlines). Give quizzes on sections of the novel if you
want to make sure that they are keeping a reasonable level of progress
in their reading of the novel. Use this as a guide for doing any other
novel. As I was looking through a collection of students' work generated
by this unit, I noticed that many of the students got really creative.
One wrote Piggy's diary using a burnt stick and old paper (all that he
could find) and another student presented the outline for the novel as
a musical, complete with basic stage directions, a list of songs and the
lyrics.
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Lord
of the Flies -- question sheets and answers
Aaron Bristol teaches
at the Shelterwood School in Branson, MO. which is a Christian residential
care facility. He uses these question sheets to guide his students
through the novel and check on their progress as they work on the novel
in an independent study environment. Each sheet included here has
an accompanying answer sheet to help you. Aaron can be reached at abristol@douloscorp.com
Comparison
of Lord of the Flies and Au Revoir Les Enfants
Not
only is this an excellent film review assignment, but also a comprehensive
summary of some of the major themes in the novel. The lesson was submitted
by Jason S. Lambert who teaches British Lit, freshman English and Writing
Workshop at Windsor Locks High School in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. He
can reached at FieldGold@aol.com
Flimibuff -- the classic Lord of
the Flies assignment
Ronnie Campagna of San Marin High School in
Novato, California developed this lesson while a student teacher in 1973.
Ronnie adds that "every year, the former freshman honors students ask when
I'm doing Flimibuff. It's become almost like a secret handshake: anyone
who knows about Flimibuff is a legitimate graduate." With a reference like
that, how can you not take a look? The lesson has three components: (click on
any title to see the text document)
Ronnie can be reached at
ronniecc@gmail.com
Film
or Play Review
This lesson involves
a review of a movie or a play and has group work and peer evaluation; a
peer response sheet is included. The lesson was devised by Marc Zimmerman
who teaches at Bristol Eastern High School in Bristol, Connecticut.
Marc also has a High School English Lesson Plans Page which, besides lessons,
has some good ideas for getting started at the beginning of the year.
Just click HERE
to visit his web site or you can e-mail him at MEZIM@aol.com
Visual
Assignment on Relationships -- Intermediate
Bill McCarthy's classes
at St. Stephen School in San Francisco study the theme of relationships
in their short story book. This assignment uses primarily photos
as well as songs, pictures, quotations and lyrics to produce a visual essay
on relationships in their lives. You can send comments or questions
to Bill at wjmac@pacbell.net
Growing
Up Portfolio Assignment
This is a comprehensive portfolio
assignment which is based on the growing up theme. Cyndy Reidy, who teaches
at Palliser Heights School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan says that "this assignment
was based on the need to provide for the focus of on-going evaluation and
the need to offer students choices for creativity in order to show comprehension".
It is a very large and adaptable project. Cyndy can be reached at
GPReidy@sk.sympatico.ca
Personal
Choice Personal Reading -- Grade 10
If you want a very comprehensive, demanding
and creative independent study for a secondary class, this is the place
to look. Erin Thaler teaches at Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia
and has submitted a huge novel study complete with a bibliographic exercise,
writing assignments, and the test has even been added to help you out further.
I found the exercises very demanding (but that's me) but very easy to adapt
to a class. Erin also has a web site with more lessons of interest
and many links. You can link to the site at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1298
or
e-mail Erin at
drthaler@teacher.com
Dissecting
a Story
"Let's look at some
examples of literature as types of biology specimens." That's how Erin
Thaler, who submitted the lesson right above, begins this lesson which
combines the science lab and the English class. The lesson involves
several web pages and so I have put the link here. Just click on the title
above.
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Reading
Group Tasks -- Intermediate
The term "tasks" seems much too harsh for these
varied and creative writing assignments which are designed to "keep students
on-task while they are in reading groups by giving them responsibilities
on which they will report to the group when they meet together."
The whole set was submitted by Marsha Serafin who teaches English at the
San Diego Academy in the city on the bay. She can be reached at serafat@telis.org
Group
Search
Mike Jackson is an English teacher at Houston County
High School which is about 90 miles south of Atlanta, Georgia. This lesson is
best for cooperative groups and the basic idea is to search through a text to
find passages which prove statements students make upon finishing a novel, play,
short story, or poem. Mike usually uses it as an exercise in characterization,
but he has found it adaptable to the study of plot, setting and theme. You
can pass on comments or questions to Mike at MIJackson@hcbe.net
Activities for
Richard Peck's A Year Down Yonder
Mrs. Z. at TR, or Karen Zach of
Turkey Run Jr.-Sr. High School in Parke County, Indiana (the Covered Bridge
Capital of the World) has submitted a set of very creative activities for the
2001 Newbery Award Winning novel A Year Down Yonder by Richard
Peck. This would be ideal for an Intermediate class. Karen can
be reached at zacho@wico.net
Hyper-Text,
Fiction and Reader Writer Interaction
Chris Lehmann is a teacher at the Beacon School
in NYC which has as its focus a true inter-disciplinary approach
to teaching students the skills that they will need in the next century.
This lesson is just one example of such a lesson. In this project,
"students, in groups, create a piece of "hyper-fiction", a piece of fiction
(or a poem) where students break down the linear structure of the narrative
by linking out from the story." The link above will take you to the page
for a full description and two worksheets; some of the other links there
will take you to the Beacon English Page. You can also find a link to more
of Chris' work in the Links section. Chris
can be reached at clehmann@beaconschool.or
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In
the Heat of the Night Novel Project
This is a stepped
set of assignments which invites students to shoot at different levels
of achievement based upon how far they venture in the list of assignments.
It was submitted by a fellow Canadian, Lorne Warwick, who teaches English
at Ancaster High and Vocational School in Ancaster, Ontario, (that explains
the name of the school) which is just outside of Hamilton. The lessons
are adaptable for a number of other novels and if you want to comment or
ask Lorne anything just e-mail him at lornewarwick@hotmail.com
Fahrenheit
451 -- Summer Reading Assignment -- Gr. 11
I have often thought
of assigning reading over the summer holidays for students entering English
in the fall. I always backed off of the idea; however, Ruth Ross and her
colleagues at Chatham High School in Chatham, New Jersey, have taken such
an approach. Over the summer the 10th graders will read The Crucible;
the 11th graders will read Fahrenheit 451; and the 12th graders
will read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. All levels! Even if you just
want to use the lesson ideas during the regular school year, this handout
has excellent assignments, discussion topics, web sites, and additional
reading to explore the novel. You can contact Ruth at evieross@home.com
Utopian/Dystopian
Literature Study -- Senior
The ideal of the perfect society has eluded mankind since time began, or
so it seems. One person's paradise is another's Devil's Island.
Brenda Kukla of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia has developed
a detailed independent study unit using this theme. She says that "this
is my favorite unit to teach because it is so student-directed, and we
have such deep discussions." Take a look; Brenda can be reached at
bgkbear@aol.com
Extra
Credit Assignments
Rene Schofield at Westmont
High School in Campbell, California uses these assignments in her Senior
British Literature course. The students have the option of selecting
assignments to complete for extra credits. You could use the entire
handout or even incorporate some of the assignments into an independent
literature study.
Alanis
Morissette -- Connotation and Denotation
This is a challenging
writing assignment from Rene (see above) and is also listed on the
the Poetry Page (go there next) and uses
the song "You Learn" by Canadian superstar Alanis Morissette. You
can use it as a poetry lesson, a writing assignment, or preferably, both.
It's suitable for most secondary grades, depending on the abilities of
your students.
Science
and Technology-- Monsters We Have Created
This is another lesson
from Lorne Warwick. Lorne says that he uses the lesson after studying Hawthorne's
"The Birthmark" or Shelley's "Frankenstein". However, I think that it would
be an extremely educational follow-up to any unit involving science fiction
or modern problems. I have included Lorne's instructions for the lesson,
his handout for the class as well as a list of brainstorming terms. As
a teacher-librarian, I can also visualize this as a very effective instrument
for teaching or refining library research skills. You can contact Lorne
at the e-mail address above.
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Fifth
Business -- Themes and Quotes for Analysis
Fifth Business,
by Robertson Davies, is one of the greatest novels ever written by a Canadian,
and one of the best in the world. Of course, this is just my humble opinion.
Nevertheless, the novel is taught in numerous Canadian high schools, some
universities, and should be taught in high schools all over the world.
It is a complex novel that involves serious themes interwoven with a delightful,
utterly fascinating story and a serious amount of Jungian psychology. I
used this sheet near the end of the study as a group activity. This handout
is useful if you are not sure what some of the themes are and/or you need
some quotes to build the themes around. Refer to the Hamlet
and Jung activity below for more information.
Novel Quotations
for Analysis
When your students
have finished doing all of the group work and questions, you'll want to
see how well they have understood the "big picture" or major themes of
the novel. The best way to do this is through analyzing "intensely significant"
quotations from the novel. Here are two handouts on popular novels; the
quotations can be assigned or grouped for group work (each group does three
or four). The page numbers are, of course, approximate depending on the
publication that you are using.
The
Great Gatsby Setting Map
Setting is an important
element in The Great Gatsby and Jill Hyatt, Wathena High School, has her
junior students make a setting map. Jill says that she is "constantly
amazed at the critical thinking, problem solving, and deep reading that
goes on when I assign this map." All instructions are included with
the assignment.
The Great Gatsby
Facebook
Project
Liza Kernan and Gina Fabrizio teach
at Methacton High School in Fairview Park, Pennsylvania and they have come up
with a great assignment for their 11th grade English students who are reading The Great Gatsby.
The assignment looks as if it's a ton of fun and I'm sure that the students
really enjoy the blending of a classic American novel with social networking.
Liza can be reached for further information, or compliments, at
LKernan@methacton.org
The
Miracle Worker Trust Walk -- Grade 9
Winnie Wickstrom’s
classes at Parry McCluer High School in Buena Vista, Virginia, have
a novel and very appealing follow-up to their study of The Miracle Worker.
The students participate in a Trust Walk wherein they simulate what it
would be like to be blind. Winnie is at leilani@ntelos.net
The
Miracle Worker -- Using Your Other Senses
Jennifer Dickey Culver teaches at Houston
Lee High School in Montgomery, Alabama . This activity takes two periods and
builds upon the concepts needed to appreciate The Miracle Worker. Miss
Dickey's Ninth Grade English Class has its own web site where you can
see pictures of the class and follow some excellent links. Jennifer also
submitted the Titanic Poetry lesson and
can be reached at jennifer.culver@mps.k12.al.us
The
Miracle Worker -- Teach
Someone Something
Jennifer Dickey Culver, see above, has another project\writing
assignment for the Miracle Worker. However, this lesson could also
be used as a stand-alone writing assignment or to tie into several other
novels. Send all compliments and questions to Jennifer at jennifer.culver@mps.k12.al.us
The Miracle
Worker -- The Business Letter Assignment
Carla Beard is pretty busy. Besides teaching
English at Connersville High School in Indiana, she is also the guiding light at
several excellent web sites including The
Web English Teacher , Calliope:
Muse of Eloquence, and Ms.
Beard's Online English Faculty Library. This lesson is a
good writing exercise which also involves careful examination of the text.
You can send comments and questions to Carla at cbeard@fayette.k12.in.us
Elie Wiesel's Night -- PowerPoint
Presentation
This lesson by Michelle Shimmin, who
teaches at Hillcrest
High School, in Midvale, Utah, has two separate handouts which you can
get by clicking on the links below. Michelle can be
reached at m.shimmin@m.hhs.jordan.k12.ut.us
The Crucible Essay
Teaching The Crucible? Need an essay topic
with some instructions? Jennifer Dickey Hudson has submitted another
lesson and this is a "basic" essay which can be adapted in a number of
ways. You can download the Word format document by clicking HERE
or get the plain text version by clicking HERE.
Send comments or questions to Jennifer at hellojenhudson@yahoo.com
The
Crucible Essay Test
Cathy Poston teaches both American and
World Literature at Liberty Union High School in Baltimore, Ohio, and has
submitted this essay test on The Crucible. It has a series of essay
topics which you could use as a test or quite possibly as an assignment.
Cathy can be reached at postonc@postbox.esu.k12.oh.us
The
Crucible Character Diary Project
Shannon Lupin teaches at
Savanna High School in Anaheim, California and uses this lesson with her juniors
after reading Act I of The Crucible. It combines critical thinking with creativity
and requires a good knowledge of the plot as well. Shannon can be reached
at SLupin@aol.com If you're interested
in more lessons from Shannon, visit her web site by clicking HERE
.
The
Inferno -- Essay Topics
Cathy Poston, who submitted The
Crucible Essay Test above, has also sent along a series of essay topics on
Dante`s The Inferno. The assignment also includes a rubric for marking.
Cathy teaches at Liberty Union High School in Baltimore, Ohio, and can be
reached for questions or comments at postonc@postbox.esu.k12.oh.us
A
Hooverville in Ancaster (The Grapes of Wrath)
This lesson's "purpose is to allow
students to understand that the kind of discrimination practised against the
migrant workers of the novel is not necessarily limited to a particular time
period nor is it simply a novelist's construction." It was originally
developed by English department head, Audrey Derii at Ancaster High in Ontario and
submitted by Lorne Warwick who is at
lornewarwick@hotmail.com
Grade
Eight Book Project
This lesson is
a very nice book project for a grade eight class, but that doesn't mean
that you couldn't use it in almost any Intermediate class. The great part
is that it combines creativity along with comprehension and analysis which
is an important blending of skills. The creator of the lesson is Lynn Ouelette
who teaches 8th Grade Language Arts at Jay Middle School in Jay, Maine
(USA). Lynn uses her lessons in 90 minute periods (and I thought 76 minutes
was long). Soon her Grades 6 to 8 school will become a Grades 5 to 8 in
a new building. You can reach her at: douel@megalink.net
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Novel
Newsletter Assignment -- Grade Eight
Lynn Ouelette has supplied
another novel study that she has used with her Grade Eight class. This
is a long-term assignment for middle school students who often need a set
of instructions. The assignment handout actually supplies the students
with the framework for organizing the assignment. You can
contact Lynn to get more information (or praise her) at douel@megalink.net
Book
Chat -- book activity for pairs.
Lori Koplik of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, has a devised a
book chat assignment . She writes that "I've done the Book Chats twice
now. While the students are allowed to choose the novel, it is helpful
if they are paired up so that their choices have something in common --
for example, two war stories, two mysteries, two coming-of-age stories,
etc. The kids get very excited when they find similarities between two
very different stories, though. I like this assignment because the students
need practice listening and taking notes! A fellow teacher does "Buddy
Books", in which students pair off and read the same book, sharing a journal
between them. I've been meaning to try that one, too. which involves students
in comparing and analyzing novels in pairs. This has tremendous potential
for developing the skills of analysis and integration while fostering valuable
work skills within the classroom. You will find other lessons by Lori on
this site and they all have tremendous group skills linked with solid academic
skills. She's at lkoplik@koplik.necoxmail.com
Biography/Autobiography
Book Report
Let a student become a psychologist
and diagnose a novel's main character. That's one activity in this lesson
submitted by Lori Koplik. Lori can be reached at
lkoplik@koplik.necoxmail.com
Short
Story Assignment
This lesson is very
much like one of the creative novel independent assignments, but it involves
short stories. I don't know if the short story is a neglected genre, but
this is one of the few independent study projects that I have seen for
short stories. You could even use a short story assignment to introduce
the work of many novelists and then if a student likes a short story, well
then he or she can go on to read a novel by the same author. The lesson
was submitted by Lori Koplik, who also sent in several other lessons, including
the two above this one.
Lori can be reached at lkoplik@koplik.necoxmail.com
The
Victorian Tea Party
The party is a tremendous activity for
engaging your students in role playing, history, research, analysis, presentation
skills and, well the list goes on. It will also require effort and planning
on your part but the results should be rewarding. The lesson is an adaptation
by Sandra Comeaux of Westlake High School in Westlake, Louisiana, in Calcasieu
Parish. Sandra says that "I use the lesson in my twelfth grade college
preparatory class during the study of the Victorian Age. I felt that the
students would enjoy the research of their authors more if they actually
"became "this author for the tea party. The lesson could be adapted in
American ( or Canadian) literature with a different list of authors, or
the research could be a collaborative project between English and history
classes in any time period". If you need any more information, contact
Sandra at scomeaux@hal.calc.k12.la.us
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Language
Change -- Pre-Shakespeare Study
If your students hate
Shakespeare because they don't understand the language, then maybe you
should acquaint them with language change. This exercise is good for raising
their consciousness about how weird we will sound in a couple of hundred
of years. Yet will the movie SPEED be any less of a good movie in two hundred
years just because the language and society have changed? Will we find
it awful that future societies laugh at our old fashioned language? Hamlet
or Romeo and Juliet are still dynamite plots hidden by the language. Remember
"groovy"?
Shakespeare
Research Assignment
This lesson, besides being very
challenging, comes complete with instructions, a handout, and an evaluation
scheme. It also looks much better in its original MS Word format, which
you can download by clicking HERE.
The lesson is submitted by Chantel Mathias who can be reached at Chantel@english-teaching.co.uk
Shakespeare's
Dentist
This is another introduction to what it was
like in Shakespeare's society. This one involves the crude state of dentistry.
You can expand this by taking a survey on how many students have had either
an infection requiring antibiotics, or measles, or chicken pox, or have
had their tonsils removed, etc. Needless to say, in Elizabethan times,
none of these students would have survived until they were their present
ages, which probably explains why so many of the plays have dads
trying to marry off their kids at such young ages. If you want to pursue
this area further, there is an excellent web site which discusses most
of the aspects of medieval society. If you have a friend who has
the plague, or you are interested, it even has an interactive section where
you use medieval methods to try to cure some common ailments of the middle
ages. It's at http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/townlife.html
Hamlet
and C.G. Jung
Actually you can use a simplified
version of Jung's theories to analyze characters in most novels or plays.
Of course the characters have to be somewhat developed and believable.
Try this approach to Romeo and Juliet and you'll see that Juliet is a finely
rounded character with a lot more depth than your usual teenage heroine.
This works really well with Robertson Davies' Fifth
Business and Margaret Laurence's The Stone Angel.
Hamlet
Dramatization
If you are looking for a creative but analytical way to get your students
to understand the basic concepts of Hamlet, this may be the lesson for
you. This is another lesson from Lori Koplik of East Greenwich, Rhode Island. It is not your usual drama activity and includes
improvisation as well as developing group and individual skills. Lori can be reached at
lkoplik@koplik.necoxmail.com
King
Lear Group Work
Macbeth Pie Chart and Seminar
There is no handout for this one but the lesson
is easy and remarkably effective. The idea originally came from Peter Rootham,
a math teacher, at North Grenville D.H.S. in Kemptville, Ontario.
Divide the class into groups. Each group will decide on the percentage
of blame for the killing of Duncan. You'll be surprised at the percentages;
Lady Macbeth will probably get over 50% and Duncan about 5%. Give each
group some markers and a sheet of chart paper and have them do a pie graph
of the percentage of blame and then give an oral presentation to the class.
You'll get some lively debate and they'll understand the play a lot better.
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Macbeth
Drama Assignment
I have a feeling that most of you have probably
thought of this already. The idea is simple -- small groups of students
pick a section of the play, re-write it using any period and setting that
they want, and then dramatize the scene in front of the class (or on video
tape). Here's my version...
Macbeth
Comparison Assignment
This assignment by Lorne Warwick who teaches
in Ancaster, Ontario uses a study of Macbeth to tackle the task of
writing a comparison/contrast in his grade 11 class. Lorne sent along
a very complete set of instructions which are appended to the top of the
handout. He can reached at lorne.warwick@hwcn.org
Macbeth
Activity Using Alanis Morissette's "Wake Up"
Cheri Anderson of Eminence High School
in Eminence, Kentucky has supplied the activity, the song lyrics, and examples
of students' rewritten lines for this creative and interesting lesson.
Cheri can be reached at cherbar@entreky.net
The
Macbeth Soundtrack
If you had total control over the Macbeth soundtrack (if there was one), what
songs would you choose? This is the creative assignment that Christy Horn
of R. L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas gives her students. It is
an interesting lesson which is easily adapted. Christy is at hornc@cfbisd.edu
Shakespearian Sound Track
Lisa Scherff teaches Theory and Practice
in Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee and was intrigued by the
Macbeth soundtrack above and decided to submit a lesson in the same vein.
Lisa says "this project worked so well that most students chose to do a
song per scene and act!!! The
next year when I taught Hunchback they asked to do it for that
novel". Lisa can be reached at escherff@utk.edu
Julius
Caesar and History Newspaper Assignment
What were the major newspaper stories before
and after Julius Caesar's death? This is the question which a class
must answer after reading Shakespeare's Julius Caesar and studying
the history of the era. Brad Coltrane teaches English at Hoover High
School in Hoover, Alabama; "this project
came from my recent efforts to integrate my curriculum with the other teachers
at my grade level." He has also used it for Romeo and Juliet.
Brad is at bcoltrane@hoover.k12.al.us
Analytical Shakespeare Quotations
A good way to test
your students' comprehension of a play and develop analytical thinking
skills is to have them analyze quotations from a Shakespearean play. This
should always be done AFTER the play has been studied. The big problem
is combing the play to find the appropriate quotes. Well, I did some of
the work for you and have my handouts for several plays.
Romeo and Juliet Characterization Assignment Using MYSPACE
Koty Zelinka, who teaches at Portland High School in Portland, Oregon,
decided that "with all the bad press out there about MySpace, I decided to find
a way to not only teach students to be safe on the site but to explore the
persona of major characters in Romeo and Juliet. This assignment could
easily be adapted to any other piece of fiction with multiple characters, but
Shakespearean plays work particularly well." The lesson is in MS Word
Format. Koty can be reached for comments or questions at
kzelinka@portland-lutheran.org
The Romeo and Juliet
Promptbook
In this writing assignment submitted by Koty
Zelinka, a language arts teacher at Portland Lutheran School in Portland,
Oregon, the students get to construct a version of the balcony scene in Romeo
and Juliet, complete with stage directions. Koty has even included an
example to help everyone understand the concept. Koty can be reached at
kzelinka@portland-lutheran.org
Romeo and Juliet/Julius Caesar Media
Assignments
These two assignments are very similar but each has one unique project and the themes connected to each
play are different. Gaile Wotherspoon, who teaches at The American School of Kuwait,
has called them "media madness " assignments and has included
everything you'll need, including the lessons and marking schemes. Gaile can be reached at gdwotherspoon@hotmail.com
Romeo and Juliet Group Poetry
Activity
Suzanne Meyer teaches at New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North
Carolina and she has submitted this lesson. This assignment is completed in one
90 minute block and uses various poetic elements while examining the themes from
Romeo and Juliet. You can reach Suzanne at
Suzanne Meyer <tsm919@atmc.net>
The lesson is available in two formats; click on the one that you prefer:
> MS
Word
>
Plain Text
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Persona
Writing Assignment
Whom do your students
idolize or want to be like? This is an assignment that developed from studying
Robertson Davies' Fifth Business. It seems like fun, but it actually
requires careful thinking and the application of ideas. It's suitable for
most secondary grades and levels.
-
Find out my class' heroes.
Mythology
Review Using Poetry and Creative Writing
This is a lesson originally
designed for Grade 9 Advanced students but it works well for senior levels
as well. If your students have trouble remembering the names of all of
those mythical heroes and you want a good writing assignment, this is the
lesson. It uses poetry and creative writing to foster recall and understanding.
Submitted by Kara Bettencourt, St. Bonaventure High School, Ventura
California.
Greek
Myths, Oedipus, Antigone ... and Star Wars
John Hoben is an English
and History education student at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland.
He has also come up with a two current and intriguing lessons which should
prove interesting and demanding for senior students. Both lessons
use "The Return of the Jedi" to teach "timeless humanistic themes expressed
through a culturally responsive drama". I have put both lessons on the
same page for convenience but you can easily separate them. John also has
a lesson for teaching poetry using "Stairway
to Heaven" on the Poetry Page. You can reach John at jhoben@morgan.ucs.mun.ca
Greek Feast Day Videos
Julie Miller, who teaches at the
Livingston Academy in Livingston, TN uses the following assignment with her
honors level sophomores. It counts as a project grade. She says that
"they love doing it and and I love watching these videos. We
watch them on "Greek Feast Day" when they each make an authentic Greek
dish for a grade and bring it in to class for everyone to enjoy".
Julie can be reached at
abooklover@earthlink.net
Antigone--
Screenplay Assignment
Judi Wyatt is a Canadian teacher who teaches at the
American School in Lima, Peru. She has submitted a rather demanding
assignment for Sophocles' Antigone which should test your students'
creative and analytical skills. The lesson is also very adaptable
for your particular class' abilities and knowledge. Judi is at jdwyatt@amauta.rcp.net.pe
Mythological
Character Research and Role Playing
This lesson has many aspects to it. Janis Little, who
teaches at Brentwood High School, which is just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, devised this
excellent lesson which is applicable to numerous grades and levels.
She can be reached at
Mr2little@aol.com
Allusion
in Thornton Wilder's Skin of Our Teeth
Allusion can be a difficult concept to teach
but this lesson makes it not only easier to understand but interesting
as well. The person to thank for this highly adaptable approach is Beverly
Lucey who now resides in Georgia after teaching in Massachusetts for many
years. She can be reached at SwampDuffy@aol.com
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Making
a Movie Based on a Short Story
This is another lesson from Beverly Lucey and
the short story the move is based on is “Brother Carlyle” by William Melvin
Kelly, although you could adapt the assignment for any short story.
Kurt
Vonnegut's "Tomorrow and Tomorrow..." -- role playing
One more lesson from Beverly Lucey. This
is an interesting group role playing exercise which could probably be adapted
for other works.
Interactive
Approach to The Scarlet Letter -- Intermediate
The Scarlet Letter can be a very difficult
novel to teach because of its language, time period and plot. However,
Joe Mason, who teaches at the Amphi High School in Tucson,
Arizona, has tried to make the teaching of the novel more interesting
through the use of poetry, diaries, and presentations. This lesson
includes one of the poems that is used as well as a great deal of Joe's
comments about the material and how to use it. Joe can be reached at jmason@amphi.com
Hester
Prynne and Monica Lewinsky -- shunning in society.
Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter can
be compared to Monica Lewinsky and many other real life people who have
been "shunned" by society. Marli Janata, who teaches at Lyndhurst
High School in New Jersey, uses this lesson in her grade eleven class and
involves them in reading the novel and researching a modern counterpart.
Marli is at shwampy@ix.netcom.com
Book
Club Discussion
This lesson was originally
designed to be used with a grade 10 honours English class in the study
of Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe but it is very adaptable for
many other literary works. Thanks for the lesson go to Janis Little, who
teaches at Brentwood High School, which is just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.
She can be reached at
Mr2little@aol.com
Huck
Finn Questions
Aaron Bristol who teaches at the Shelterwood School
in Branson, Missouri, has sent along all of the questions that you will
ever need for Huckleberry Finn.
If you would like the answers to the questions, you can send me an e-mail
request at lessonplans@rayser.ca
using your school e-mail account and include your name and specifically where
you teach.
Beowulf
Mock Trial
How would Beowulf have made out if he actually
had to defend himself in an American court? Your class can learn
a lot about the story, the legal system, and their abilities to play roles
in this demanding lesson from Jill Kaliher who teaches at Hillcrest Christian
School in Granada Hills, California. The handouts include all instructions,
assignments, and a glossary and details of a courtroom procedure. Jill
is available at jillkal@earthlink.net
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Literary Trials
In this challenging exercise, the main character
in each assigned novel is put on trial. Beverly Jacobson of Mountain
Home High School in Mountain Home, Idaho, decided on the trials instead
of a test for her senior honors class. Beverly can be reached at
bkeist@juno.com.
Dramatic
Interpretation of A Streetcar Named Desire
This is a
challenging dramatic interpretation which will develop and build on a student's
knowledge of the play A Streetcar Named Desire. Thanks for the lesson go
to Cheri Mann who teaches at Eminence High School in Eminence, Kentucky, a
small rural school with about 120 students. There is also a rubric
which can be used for evaluation; click here
to download the rubric. Cheri can be reached at cmann@eminence.k12.ky.us
Tea
with Miss Alexandra -- To Kill a Mockingbird
Are you looking for a
lesson for this novel which combines analysis, role playing and interactive
fun? Then take a look at this one submitted by Christy Horn who teaches at
R. L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas. Click HERE
if you would like a fancier copy of the lesson in Word format. Christy is
at hornc@cfbisd.edu
Memory
Box -- To Kill a Mockingbird
This is another interesting lesson from
Christy Horn (see above) which involves constructing a box of memories for a
character in the novel.
Tall Tale Assignment
Although this lesson stems from a study of To Kill a
Mockingbird, it would also tie in to many other novels as well. Suanna
Wingfield teaches English at Ouachita High School in Arkansas and uses the lesson in a writing
elective class with sophomores and juniors. You can view the lesson in two
formats (click on the appropriate one):
Tall Tale Assignment (plain
text) Tall Tale
Assignment (Corel WP format)
You can pass comments or questions on to Suanna at wingfis@ouachita.dsc.k12.ar.us
Questions
and Answer Key for Billy Budd
Aaron Bristol teaches
at the Shelterwood School in Branson, MO. and he has supplied over fifty quiz
questions on Billy Budd complete with answers. Aaron is reachable at abristol@douloscorp.com
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Harry Potter and The Philosopher's
Stone
These lessons are designed
to be used with The Philosopher's Stone, the
first novel in the Harry Potter series. All of them have been contributed by Michael
Jursic who teaches at the Ryerson Community School in downtown Toronto. Contact Michael at mjursic@yahoo.com
Word
Categories
Michael says that some of the categories that his students have come up with are
"words beginning with A", "things you would not find in Mr. J's
kitchen and "words from the personals ads".
The Hogwart's High School Assignment
This is
his first big assignment of the year.
Diagon
Alley
Draw a map
to the Diagon Alley in your city.
Survival
in Extreme (Magical) Circumstances
"This
makes a wonderful wrap for the end of the book. Once the students are
finished the book, they can begin writing one of your own. "
"The
War Prayer" by Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)
Michael F. Jursic, an Applied Technology Teacher at
Ryerson Community Public School in Toronto, has his class read and respond
to "The War Prayer" as a response to the tragedy in NYC.
He has included all of the instructions and questions for the lesson as well as
the short story by Mark Twain. The story and its implications are very timely at
this traumatic time in the world's history. Contact Michael at mjursic@yahoo.com
Exhibition for
Grade 11 American Literature
This is a
very demanding assignment which involves each student in selecting an American
writer, reading a selection of his or her works, and then producing an oral and
written product. Barbara Roosevelt of Chatham High School in Chatham, New York
has supplied the lesson which includes a list of a broad range of American
writers as well. You can contact Barbara for further info at barb1@nycap.rr.com
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black
Cat"
Barbara
Roosevelt (see the Exhibition assignment above) has submitted a series of
activities for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat". If you need
any assistance, Barbara is at barb1@nycap.rr.com
Chaucer's The Wife of Bath poetry
assignment
Cliff
Green is a Language Arts teacher at Centennial High School in Corona, California
and he gives this assignment to his 12th graders. "It is for use when
studying the Canterbury Tales; the lesson is a poem demanding two poems one from
the old woman and one from the knight. " You can get the stylized MS Word
document by clicking HERE
or the plain text version HERE.
Cliff is at drgreen@hotmail.com
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Emily Brewer teaches The Canterbury
Tales to her 10th graders at Yeshiva University High School in Los Angeles
(California) and has produced set of handouts which includes a worksheet, a web
quest, a "help the host" quiz, and a presentation complete with a grading
rubric. Emily has formatted the pages with classic fonts and thus they are available for download
only in MS Word (doc) format. You can send comments or questions to Emily
at Msbreweryula@aol.com
The Alchemist by Paulo
Coelho
Lori Koplik
is a prolific contributor to the site and this lesson is a good example of her
thoroughness and creativity. It includes numerous activities and a concise
explanation of how she used and developed the unit.
Lori can be reached at lkoplik@koplik.necoxmail.com
How the Garcia Girls Lost
Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
Differentiated instruction has become very popular as a teaching method
and Betsy Mork Potash has submitted a wonderfully detailed and demanding
differentiated project. Betsy teaches at the American College in Sofia,
Bulgaria and
you can direct compliments or questions to her at
betsymork@gmail.com
You can download the project in either of two formats:
Emma -- An in and out of class
differentiated project of choices
This is another demanding and very thoughtful differentiated project from
Betsy Mork Potash who submitted the project right above this one. You can
contact Betsy at
betsymork@gmail.com.
The project is available in two formats:
A Life in Freeze
Frame --- Independent Reading Project
This is a fascinating lesson wherein a student will select
a character from a novel and
"freeze the most
significant, life changing, and important aspects of their life and create
freeze frames of this individual’s life." The lesson has been
supplied by Michelle Singh, a 10th Grade Language Arts Teacher of the
gifted at the Robert Morgan Educational Center in Miami, Florida. Take a look and
you'll be impressed. Michelle can be reached with comments and praise at
MichelleSingh@dadeschools.net
The lesson is available in
MS Word format or
WordPerfect Format
-- click on the format you desire.
A study in character development and all sorts of other cool
literary devices
in the movie Jaws!!!!
Janice Van Campen is a teacher at École Lacombe Junior High in Lacombe,
Alberta and she has kindly submitted a fascinating lesson in character
development based on the Steven Spielberg film Jaws.
She says that she
usually saves this one for right before Christmas vacation or spring break.
They take 3 classes to watch and enjoy the film. She has included a
teacher info page and the assignment itself along with a link to a 30th
anniversary perspective on the film.
She
also has submitted an interesting lesson on the poem The Highwayman which
you can find on the
Poetry Page. Janice can be reached for compliments
or questions at
jvancampen@wolfcreek.ab.ca
The Pigman
-- Detailed Study Guide
If you're looking for a goldmine of thought-provoking
questions and activities for the novel The Pigman, then you need look no further
than this detailed and thorough study guide supplied by Christine Hutchinson who
teaches Grade 9 English at NFA North Campus in Newburgh, New York.
The guide is organized by chapters and by days and is extremely adaptable to
being edited or used in its entirety. If you have questions or comments,
Christine can be reached at mshutch@gmail.com
Bugs? Questions? Comments? Submit a Lesson?
lessonplans@rayser.ca
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