After reading a work of literature as a class, students will brainstorm "crimes" committed by characters from that text. Groups of students will work together to act as the prosecution or defense for the selected characters, while also acting as the jury for other groups. Students will use several sources to research for their case, including the novel and internet resources. All the while, students will be writing a persuasive piece to complement their trial work.

While this lesson uses Shakespeare's The Tempest, there are several other text options. Handouts (except for the model case handout) are generic so that they can be used with any text.

Students can map out the key literary elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution as prewriting for their own fiction or as analysis of a text by another author in this secondary-level interactive.

Literary Graffiti, a high school version of the Doodle Splash student interactive, also aims to teach students to visualize what they are reading to help them develop as readers.

This lesson asks students to analyze the features of a poetŐs work then create their own poems based on the original model.

This lesson leads students to reflect on and respond to literature by creating an online scrapbook. Students view a sample electronic scrapbook and use the project rubric to evaluate it, becoming familiar with the project requirements in the process. They use an online tool to evaluate resources on a topic related to a piece of literature and post their evaluations for class reference. Students then use online resources to capture ŕscrapsĚŇ of information about their assigned topic and create a scrapbook using PowerPoint or another presentation software, making sure to cite all their sources. They share their online scrapbook with the class, defending their choice of scrapbook entries: why is the entry important to the understanding of the topic?

This lesson focuses on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, but any piece of literature could be used for the basis of an online scrapbook.

Capture studentsŐ enthusiasm for film and transfer it to reading and literature by substituting film production roles for the traditional literature circle roles.

Students practice different ways of collaborating to read a work of literature. They work in different roles as they compose and answer questions, discover new vocabulary, and examine literary elements.

Students use text sets to research a topic inspired by a fiction book they have read. A text set is a collection of multiple text genres with a single focus.

In this minilesson, students practice identifying and purposefully using vocabulary in persuasive writing that is intended to have an emotional impact on the reader.

Students identify similes in poetry and gain experience in using similes as a poetic device in their own work.

This lesson uses ŕBens DreamĚŇ by Chris Van Allsburg to highlight ten major landmarks of the world. Students research the landmarks and present their findings to the class.

Using the character of Edward Cullen from the Twilight series, this lesson introduces the Byronic hero and asks students to compare the Byronic hero to the traditional hero and villain.

This lesson pairs the reading of historical fiction with nonfiction to introduce students to the large themes of history.

Students explore the theme of love of war through texts on camaraderie among soldiers. They then compose a visual collage depicting their beliefs about the relationship between love and war.

Paper and pixels get compared in this lesson in which students compare both printed and online versions of a magazine.

Children write and receive postcards from friends and family, and then chart where all those postcards come from on a classroom map.

Students will have a blast as they use descriptive language to write about an ŕexplosiveĚŇ and dramatic moment in their lives.

Following the model of N. Scott MomadayŐs The Way To Rainy Mountain, students write three-voice narratives based on Kiowa folktales, an interview with an Elder, and personal connections to theme.

Students compare the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald with the song, ŇThe Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,Ó then create their own poetry about a historical event.

Spark the engagement of English-language learners or reluctant readers with the graphic novel "Maus". The visual information provided by the genre serves as a support for reading and critical engagement.