This project can be used at the end of a unit in which the students have read and discussed a work of literature that deals with The American Dream; here that is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It gives the students the opportunity to consider a fictional representation, examine real world statistics and facts about class and status in the United States, and draw their own conclusions based on personal interpretation, experience, and knowledge. The final product is a visual representation and written explanation of that personal interpretation.

This project can be used at the end of a unit in which the students have read and discussed a work of literature that deals with The American Dream; here that is F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. It gives the students the opportunity to consider a fictional representation, examine real world statistics and facts about class and status in the United States, and draw their own conclusions based on personal interpretation, experience, and knowledge. The final product is a visual representation and written explanation of that personal interpretation.

To review types of conflict in fiction text, students will create a storyboard highlighting each of the types of conflict. Students will develop a short story involving a form of literary conflict. Students will write and illustrate the story within the designated boxes of the storyboard. Students will create a total of six storyboards for each of the types of conflict - Individual vs. Individual, Individual vs. Self, Individual vs. Nature, Individual vs. Supernatural, Individual vs. Technology, and Individual vs. Society.

 Each student writes a one paragraph summary of a chapter of a book and then illustrates their chapter. It can be used for a book the whole class is reading so then all of the summaries are collected and bound together to create a “summary book” of the book read. This activity can be used for both fiction and non-fiction books in any subject and any grade, although this activity is linked to upper primary SOLs. This activity assesses reading comprehension and practices all writing skills. It also includes Art SOLs, and if you have students create their final products on the computer, then you would be incorporating the Computer Technology SOLs as well. If it is used for a non-fiction text in a different content class, then the activity would also cover those SOLs. It can be used for EL classes in middle school also. 

 Objectives: Students will be able to identify hidden images in visual media. Students will identify themes in images.Students will identify supportive evidence in images.Students will identify if the image is a fact or opinion, persuasive, or informational. Students will be able to identify encoded messages in visual images. Students will be able to identify a creative practice to reflect on hidden meanings in visual images.

This video is part of the Continue to Know with WHRO TV series. Watch Jadah Jones teach about genres in fiction.

This video is part of the Continue to Know with WHRO TV series. Watch Kristin Acchione teach about theme in fictional texts.

This guided reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” (1839) focuses on expanding vocabulary, developing student understanding of imagery and other figurative language, strengthening reading comprehension, and strengthening writing skills.

In this science/history-based unit, students learn about the history of the earth by studying fossils and dinosaurs. In the first part of the unit, students learn about how fossils are formed and how paleontologists study fossils in order to learn about ancient history. In the second part of the unit, students study what makes dinosaurs unique and fascinating creatures by learning about various species of dinosaurs and how they adapted in order to meet their basic needs for survival. Students will also be challenged to think about what earth was like at the time of the dinosaurs and how learning about dinosaurs helps them better understand the earth's history. In the last part of the unit, students read a collection of fiction texts, each with a unique perspective on what happened to the dinosaurs and if dinosaurs really are extinct. In this part of the unit, students should be pushed to use what they have learned from the informational texts in order to confirm or deny the statements the author makes in the fiction texts.

In reading, this unit exposes students to both informational and fiction texts. When reading informational texts, students will focus on explaining the connection between two or more pieces of information in a text, particularly in regard to retelling how fossils are formed or how scientists uncover fossils. Students will also be pushed to describe the relationship between the illustrations and the text in which they appear, specifically describing what new or additional information they learn from reading the illustrations. Additionally, students will continue to practice determining the main topic of a text and asking and answering questions about unknown words. When reading fiction texts, students will focus on retelling the story and making connections between the story and the facts they've learned from the informational texts.

In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. Written responses should focus on including an inference or critical thinking that shows understanding of the text and/or question and on using more words than pictures to communicate the answer to a question. This unit also includes two longer writing assignments: one research writing assignment and one narrative writing assignment.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Alystra Barefoot teach about visualizing a story.

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Amanda Knighton teach about comparing and contrasting setting in a story.

This resource is a remix of the EDSITEment! resource found through this link. That lesson does a strong job of placing Chinua Achebe's watershed novel within a particular cultural context. This resource aims to provide teachers and students with choices for comparative literature projects. This resource does not include activities so much as a list of resources that might pair well with a novel that is often difficult for high school students to grasp. 

Out of My Mind is a chapter book that I read aloud to my upper elementary students. It is about a girl named Melody that has an amazing memory. She is extremely bright, but is unable to communicate verbally. She was born with cerebral palsy which affected her speech and her ability to move and function without the use of a wheelchair and communication board. She is very limited in what she can express and do, and for that reason, people treat her as if she is not smart or capable of learning.   

This video is part of the Learn and Grow with WHRO TV series. Watch Alystra Barefoot teach about story elements.

This guided reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1842) focuses on expanding vocabulary, developing student understanding of imagery and other figurative language, strengthening reading comprehension, and strengthening writing skills.

In this unit, students explore the power of reading and writing around the world. Over the course of the unit, students will grapple with and explore the power involved with education and reading, and why so many people across the world seek the power to read. Students will also discover that not all people have equal access to education and that in many places receiving a high-quality education is not an easy feat. As a connection to the informational unit on continents, when the setting is clearly defined by the author either in the author's note or directly in the text, make sure to reference it and challenge students to notice features of the culture or country. It is important to note that many of the texts in this unit are fiction; therefore, large generalizations about an entire culture or country should not be made based on the books alone. Students should, however, be challenged to think about the ways in which the author portrays the characters' struggles and desire for education and what we can learn from the characters' experiences. It is our hope that this unit, in connection with other units in the sequence, will begin to open students' eyes to the world around us and the ways in which values are similar and different around the world.

In reading, it is assumed that students are inquisitive consumers of the text and are able to retell stories, including key details, using both the illustrations and words as a guide. Therefore, in this unit students will be pushed further to notice more nuanced central messages, particularly related to the idea of education and reading. Students will also be pushed to notice the words and phrases an author includes to suggest feeling and appeal to the senses. In Unit 3, students were exposed to the skill of compare and contrast by comparing and contrasting similar versions of the same story. In this unit, students will be pushed to the next level by comparing and contrasting more nuanced experiences and messages across multiple stories.

In writing, students will continue to write daily in response to the text. In every piece of writing, students should be expected to correctly answer the question and provide details from the text to support their answer. In this unit, students will begin to learn how to explain their evidence and thinking in a way that shows a deeper understanding of the question or text. By the end of the unit, most students should be able to score a 3 on the Reading Response rubric.

This guided reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” (1845) focuses on developing student understanding of imagery and other figurative language, strengthening reading comprehension, and strengthening expository and persuasive writing skills.