United StatesTeacher Guides to Intermediate & Middle Literature
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Select one of the titles below to view great material that will assist you in teaching these literary classics, old and new. These teacher's guides to works of literature for the late-elementary and middle-school levels (grades 3-8) include overview information, discussion questions, and extended learning activities, in addition to printables worksheets and lesson plans. Find guides to novels, short stories, nonfiction, and poetry by diverse authors such as George Orwell, R. L. Stine, Emily Dickinson, Jean Fritz, Barbara Robinson, James Howe, Jerry Spinelli, Lois Lowery, Roald Dahl, Jeff Kinney, Elizabeth George Speare, and many others. You're sure to foster an interest in literature for your students with these guides, and the included lesson plans, printables, and extension activities will help you discuss these works with confidence. |
Guides for Novels and Short StoriesGeorge Orwell's thought-provoking novel 1984 covers the themes of dehumanization, isolation, repression, loneliness, social class disparity, and abuse of power. This teacher's guide includes chapter summaries, questions, and extension activities. Use the discussion questions in this guide to engage students in a conversation about the characters, feelings, relationships, and story elements in A Certain Strain of Peculiar, a novel about self-discovery. This printable packet also includes extension activities and information about the author. After reading A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck, use the discussion questions in this guide to continue a classroom dialogue about the book. The story of Grandma Dowdel, an eccentric, forceful, big-hearted woman, continues in this sequel to A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder. Enrichment activities and Internet resources to enhance teaching Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. Get the most out of reading African folk tales by using these worksheets. This is a great lesson plan to use during Black History Month and when studying African-American history. Address the issue of bullying with your students and encourage class discussion with the resources in this guide to Adam Canfield, Watch Your Back!. This printable packet includes an interview with the author, a post-reading activity, and discussion points to use before and while reading the book. This literature guide is an excellent resource for School Safety Month (October). Further students learning with this discussion guide for Al Capone Does My Shirts – a Newbury Honor Award Book – and Al Capone Shines My Shoes. This guide includes discussion questions, research topics, activities, and bookmarks to help you structure reading instruction. These children's books by Gennifer Choldenko are set on Alcatraz in 1935. Enrichment activities, Internet resources, and literature tie-ins related to the Goosebumps series book All Day Nightmare. Activities, lessons, web resources, and references to teach Jean Fritz's American Revolution books. Develop students' critical thinking skills with the discussion topics in this teacher's guide for Among the Hidden. Use the activities and research projects to compare the laws, government, and society in this work of fiction to real-world situations. Lead students in a discussion about characters and events in Antsy Does Time and The Schwa Was Here. This literature guide includes printable bookmarks, advice on how to start a book club, discussion questions, and activity suggestions for these books by Neal Shüsterman. Refer to the discussion questions in this printable literature guide before, during, and after reading Because of Winn-Dixie with your class. Explore the themes of the novel and extend students' understanding of the story through various cross-curricular activities. Encourage critical thinking and discussion with comprehension questions for Kristine Levine's The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, a story about friendship, race, and justice. Find a collection of tests, grammar sheets, and project ideas for Barbara Robinson's classic book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. This novel – about finding the true meaning of Christmas – will be a great addition to your literature curriculum. Explore teaching activities to be used with the books of Amy Goldman Koss. Explore teaching activities to be used with the books of Donna Jo Napoli. Help students keep track of their reading with bookmarks to accompany the works of Joan Bauer: Peeled, Thwonk, Stand Tall, Sticks, Squashed, Rules of the Road, Hope Was Here, and Backwater. Each bookmark provides discussion questions and a brief synopsis for one of the eight books. This educator's guide also includes an interview with the author and suggestions for starting a reading group. Explore teaching activities to be used with The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter. Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery provides lots of laughs for the reader. This lesson includes Internet resources and enrichment ideas to use while reading James Howe's novel. Explore Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins with your students. This book was originally published online at Funbrain.com, but is now also available in print! Find enrichment activities to use with the story Camp Confidential: Jenna's Dilemma. This is the second book of the series. You can read the whole book online or buy it in stores! Find enrichment activities to use with Camp Confidential: Natalie's Secret, part one of the Camp Confidential series. This book is available online and in stores. Enrich a classroom discussion of The Cats of Roxville Station, written by Jean Craighead George and illustrated by Tom Pohrt, with the questions and activities in this teacher's guide. Use this printable resource with the book to examine feline behavior and explore friendship between species. Extend students' learning with discussion topics for Chains, a National Book Award finalist. The questions in this printable literature guide examine character development, literary devices, and life in Colonial times. Explore the themes, characters, and story elements of Chancey–a novel told from the perspective of a horse–with the resources in this literature guide. This packet includes an introduction to the book, a list of main characters, discussion points, information about the author, and extension activities that connect music and literature. Charlie and The Chocolate Factory is a story about Charlie's hilarious adventures in Mr. Willy Wonka's enormous chocolate factory. Intermediate students will love meeting the five, unique children who win a trip to the chocolate factory and find hilarious adventures. Extend this well-loved book with enrichment ideas and resources. Full text, vocabulary words, and discussion questions for tales of horror: "The Monkey's Paw," "The Raven," and "The Black Cat." Develop students' reading comprehension and writing skills with the questions and activities in this literature guide to Climbing the Stairs, a coming-of-age story about a girl in British-occupied India during World War II. Find enrichment activities and resources to use with Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal. This book was originally published online at FunBrain.com, but is now a best-selling print series as well! Use the activities in this guide before, during, and after reading the book. Enrich students' reading experience with the discussion questions, writing prompts, research topics, and drama activities in this teacher's guide for Double Dutch. Students will learn about the competitive sport of jumping rope while examining family relationships, the idea of fear, and the consequences of lying. Explore teaching activities to be used with the book Dreamland, by Sarah Dressen. Use the questions in this teacher's guide to discuss character development and social issues in Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree and Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell in Love, by Lauren Tarshis. This printable resource includes bookmarks and tips for starting your own book club. Enrich students' reading experience with comprehension questions and extension activities for Family Reminders, a short novel about a family overcoming hardship in the late 1800s. This printable also includes a biography about the author, Julie Danneberg. After reading Feathers with your class, use the questions in this reading guide to start a discussion about race, segregation, and the 1970s. Use these lessons and activities with Felita, by Nicholasa Mohr. Explore late eighteenth-century life in America with the discussion topics and cross-curricular activities in this teacher's guide for Fever 1793. Students will learn about the yellow fever epidemic, the Free African Society, and life after the American Revolution. Enhance understanding with a teaching guide that offers reading suggestions from Firebird, a fantasy and science-fiction imprint. Enrichment activities and internet resources to enhance the teaching of the true story Fireboat: The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey by Maira Kalman. Explore teaching activities to be used with Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott. Promote thoughtful discussion about race, heritage, and women's history with this printable discussion guide to Flygirl. It includes questions, research, and activities about World War II and the Women Airforce Service Pilots program. Explore teaching activities to be used with the Freddy the Pig Series by Walter R. Brooks. Enhance understanding with a teaching guide that offers teaching ideas and extension activities for Friendship According to Humphrey by Betty Birney. Your students will enjoy reading Frindle, a story about language and creativity. The projects, activities, and discussion topics in this teacher's guide will get students thinking about vocabulary, story-telling, and inventions. The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn is an award-nominated mystery that takes place in 18th-century Japan. These ideas and activities will assist you in teaching this outstanding book. Encourage critical thinking and discussion about life in ancient Mesopotamia with the comprehension questions in this literature guide for The Golden Bull. Share a book guide that includes activities and discussion questions that can be successfully integrated into a cross-curriculum program. Explore the medieval world through the monologues in Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, then have fun casting students in a readers' theater. Use this literature guide to help students analyze their characters, create costumes, research life in the Middle Ages, and much more. Discover lesson plans, web resources, and references to accompany the book Guests by Michael Dorris -- the story of a Wampanoag boy in the 1620's. Use these resources to teach students about Native Americans and Colonial times. Take advantage of the fact that kids love to read about Harry Potter and his marvelous adventures. Use these lesson plans and activities to get in on the fun for any of the books. Use the discussion questions in this teacher's guide for Heaven to explore the meaning of family. Activities and project ideas in this printable guide will also help students learn about the civil rights movement in the context of more recent events. Activities and resources to teach Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz. Activities, tests, and Internet sites that will help you teach How to Eat Fried Worms. Thought-provoking discussion questions for Hurricane Song will deepen students' understanding of this book about a high-school boy's struggle for survival in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. This literature guide also includes bookmarks with discussion questions for Rucker Park Setup, Rooftop, and Black and White. Engage students in a discussion about the characters, themes, and events in The Importance of Wings with the questions in this printable guide. This literature guide also includes a biography about the author, Robin Friedman. Explore the themes of true love, friendship, and family through the discussion questions in this guide to Impossible, a novel by Nancy Werlin, inspired by the ballad "Scarborough Fair." This literature guide includes enrichment activities and internet resources for In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson, a book about a Chinese child who comes to Brooklyn, New York in 1947 and becomes Americanized by her love for baseball. Island of the Blue Dolphins tells the story of an American Indian girl stranded on an island, alone, for 18 years. This literature guide for the Newbery Award winner will excite students to keep reading from cover to cover. Our resources will help teachers to extend the book. Students love James and the Giant Peach, an action-filled fantasy that will amuse and encourage them to read more. Use the activities and resources provided to extend appreciation and learning. These are stories of change: of pilgrims and pioneers, soldiers and children, explorers and adventurers building new lives and finding new worlds. Deepen students' appreciation for the history behind famous landmarks and monuments with the resources in this literature guide for Lady Liberty. This printable packet includes reading comprehension and discussion questions, cross-curricular activities, and research topics for further study. Explore teaching activities to be used with The Land and other books by Mildred D. Taylor. The classic tale of a fantasy world and four children's adventures in it,The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, will surely delight and inspire your students. We provide enrichment activities and resources for the book. Expand students' understanding of the world with discussion questions and activities for Locomotion and Peace, Locomotion, by Jacqueline Woodson. The resources in this printable literature guide will help students examine characters, emotions, experiences, and events in these novels. These two stories by Richard Peck offer a lively picture of the depression years in small-town America. Joey and his sister Mary Alice describe the time they spent with their grandmother, a feisty, terrifying, and goodhearted woman. Engage students in a thoughtful discussion about physical appearance, social hierarchy, friendship, and revenge with the questions in this printable guide to Looks, a novel by Madeleine George. Use the discussion questions in this guide to engage students in a conversation about Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant, a magical story about the impossible quests facing a little boy, an old musician, and a lost elephant. This literature guide also includes extension activities that will enliven children's imaginations and spark creativity. This Newbery Medal winner tells the mythical tale of a legendary hero: 12 year old Jeffrey Magee -- known as Maniac Magee. An orphan with no place to call home, Maniac Magee enters the town of Two Mills, a town sharply divided by race. Magee's athletic skills, combined with his nonjudgmental way, lead the people of Two Mills to overcome segregation, racial profiling, and ignorance. Introduce students to the common themes in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice through the pre-reading activities in this printable guide. Then, use the discussion questions and teaching suggestions to enrich students' reading experience of the play. In Milkweed, author Jerry Spinelli paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a young orphan. This teacher's guide, which includes summary, discussion questions, and activities, will help in your instruction of the novel. This teacher's guide to The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is chock-full of discussion questions, lesson planning resources, projects, and research ideas that will help students examine the book's characters, events, and meaning. After reading The Misfits, use the discussion questions in this guide to examine the events in the book and develop students' critical thinking skills. The related activities and research projects will encourage students to learn about political parties, the history of name-calling, and the experiences of misfits. Tim is forced to deal with the difficulties of the Revolutionary War in the story My Brother Sam Is Dead. The young boy is torn between his father, who is an English loyalist, and his brother, a Rebel. |
Activities and resources to teach My Teacher Is an Alien, by Bruce Coville. Enrich your study of religions and ancient civilizations with discussion points and cross-curricular activities to accompany Mythology: The Gods, Heroes, and Monsters of Ancient Greece. This printable teacher's guide includes lesson planning resources for each chapter in the book. Share a book guide that discusses ways to broaden students' understanding of Native American life, traditions, beliefs, and history. The Newbery Award-winning book, Number the Stars, has educated many children about the bravery of the Danish people in World War II. Use these activities to extend the reach of the book. Use this literature guide to help you teach On the Far Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. This African legend tells the tale of an elderly Maasai man who gets help from an unlikely source -- Venus! The literature guide for Pedro's Journal, a story about Columbus' travels, includes enrichment activities and Internet resources, as well as a list of other books by Pam Conrad. Enjoy this novel for Columbus Day or during a unit on explorers. Enrich students' understanding of Priscilla and the Hollyhocks with the cross-curricular activities and questions in this discussion guide. Use these resources with the book to teach students about slavery and westward expansion in America. Enhance reading comprehension with a with a guide that provides synopses and activities that can be used with any of the Redwall volumes. Deepen students' understanding of life, love, loss, and grief through the resources and activities in this printable teacher's guide to Remembering Mrs. Rossi. This literature guide includes a dictionary activity, open-response questions, writing assignments, teacher appreciation activities, and curriculum connections for art, math, and social studies. Encourage elementary and intermediate students to think about educational issues with the discussion topics, activities, and projects in this teacher's guide for The Report Card. These resources will get students thinking about the meaning of intelligence, the emphasis on grades, and the significance of test scores. Mildred D. Taylor's Newbery Award-winning novel, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, will capture your middle and intermediate students' attention. This story is about a black family who must struggle with discrimination during the Depression of the 1930s. After reading The Rules of Survival with your students, use the resources in this literature guide to discuss the novel's portrayal of family dynamics, mental illness, and abuse. Enrichment activities, web resources, and literature tie-ins related to Sacagawea. This printable literature guide to Savvy, a novel by Ingrid Law, includes pre-reading points, discussion questions, and activities to extend students' learning and enjoyment of the book. The book features a family with a gift: they each earn special powers when they turn thirteen. The almost-13-year-old girl at the center of the story is awaiting her "savvy" when she receives terrible news. Her coming-of-age story will resonate deeply with intermediate students. The pre-reading activities in this guide will provide students with a basic knowledge of mythology and prepare them to read The Sea of Trolls. After reading the book with your students, use the discussion topics and activities to examine the characters and the elements of the story. Use this guide on The Secret Garden to stimulate discussions focused on themes, symbols, recurrent motifs, and Frances Hodgson Burnett's style. Enhance students' reading experience with discussion topics that explore the characters, plot, and writing style of Seek. This printable teacher's guide includes activities and research projects about autobiographies and radio broadcasting. Enrichment activities and Internet resources to enhance teaching Shadow of a Bull, by Maia Wojciechowska. We have dozens of resources about Shakespeare – from teacher's literature guides, to lesson plans, to art activities. You'll find plenty of ways to help your students appreciate the Bard's plays and poetry. This literature guide includes lessons and activities to use while teaching Sign of the Beaver, written by Elizabeth George Speare. After reading Silent to the Bone, use the discussion topics in this reader's guide to explore the book's characters and events. These resources will help you engage your students in a conversation about serious emotional issues, family relationships, and abuse. Use the questions in this literature guide to Sleeping Freshman Never Lie to check reading comprehension and engage students in a discussion about the trials and tribulations of high school. This printable also includes language arts projects and activities to enhance students' enjoyment of the book. Use the resources in this literature guide to Speak to engage students in a thoughtful discussion about the serious and sensitive issue of rape. This printable includes a poem by Laurie Halse Anderson and discussion questions about friendship, social hierarchy, truth, and the importance of speaking up. This is the story of a Korean family that immigrates to California in search of a better life, only to find that the American Dream is harder to achieve than they thought. The tale is told through the eyes of Young Ju, as she grows from preschooler to young woman. Enrichment activities and Internet resources to enhance teaching Summer of My German Soldier. This touching story follows the life of a young girl in search of her missing disabled brother. Deepen students' reading comprehension through the pre-reading questions, reading instruction, and connection activities in this literature guide for The Tale of Despereaux. This printable packet includes worksheets, a graphic organizer, and lesson planning resources for each section of the book. Enrichment activities and internet resources to enhance teaching To Be a Slave by Julius Lester. Deepen students understanding of The Underneath, a National Book Award finalist, with the resources in this literature guide. Pre-reading activities, discussion topics, and projects will help students explore the main themes, emotions, and relationships in this novel. The lesson planning resources in this discussion guide for Vote! will involve students of all ages in the electoral process. These activities are a great way for students to learn about their local, state, and Federal government while researching campaign issues, political parties, candidates, and voting methods. This is an excellent resource for learning about the presidential election. Extend and enhance students' enjoyment of the book Vote! with the activities in this printable teacher's guide. This packet includes discussion questions about the electoral process in the United States (including the presidential election), a word search with election vocabulary, and Internet resources for additional information on this topic. The questions in this printable reader's guide will help you and your class explore social issues in American history and discuss the meaning of family. Students will better understand the personal and social challenges that Addy O'Donnell faces in When I Crossed No-Bob, a book about life in the South after the Civil War. Encourage critical thinking and discussion with reading comprehension questions for Laurie Halse Anderson's novel Wintergirls, a story about friendship, relationships, eating disorders, and loss. This printable also includes discussion questions for Speak. Enhance understanding with a teaching guide that offers lessons and extension activities for The World According to Humphrey, by Betty Birney. Keep your students involved in reading with the projection and discussion questions in this teacher's guide for Worth. Cross-curricular projects will deepen students' understanding of the story as they learn more about the social conditions of the late nineteenth century. Supplement students' reading of The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail with an author interview, pre-reading questions, and cross-curricular projects in this literature guide. The epic adventure novel by Michael P. Spradlin will capture their imaginations as they learn about the Crusades and the Knights Templar. Extend students' enjoyment of Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: Backyard Animal Show with the teaching resources and cross-curricular activities in this guide. This printable includes several discussion topics for each chapter, so you can monitor students' comprehension as they progress through the book. Develop students' language arts skills while extending their enjoyment of Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: The Buried Bones Mystery. The discussion topics, research activities, and writing prompts in this teacher's guide will help you engage your students in the reading experience, while exploring the characters and elements of the story. Assess students' comprehension skills as they read Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: Lost in the Tunnel of Time. This printable teacher's guide includes discussion questions for each chapter, as well as writing activities and research topics. Activities in this teacher's guide for Ziggy & the Black Dinosaurs: Shadows of Caesar's Creek include writing prompts, a vocabulary list, and research topics. This printable also includes discussion topics for each chapter in the book. Guides for NonfictionDiscuss the Indian Independence Movement and the challenging work of 15 activists with this literature guide for After Gandhi: One Hundred Years of Nonviolent Resistance. Research projects, cross-curricular activities, discussion questions, Internet resources, and reading comprehension checks are included in this printable guide for teachers. Use these enrichment activities and Internet resources to enhance teaching Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. Study the life of Barack Obama with the resources in this literature guide to Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope, a biography of the 44th President of the United States. This printable includes pre-reading questions, discussion topics, and cross-curricular projects to further young children's knowledge of this important political figure. Enhance students' enjoyment of The Brook Book, by Jim Arnosky, with this educator's guide. This printable includes pre- and post-exploration research, activities, and discussion questions to help students observe and discover their natural world. Explore teaching activities to be used with Food Rules! The Stuff You Munch, Its Crunch, Its Punch and Why You Sometimes Lose Your Lunch. Explore teaching activities to be used with Forging Freedom: A True Story of Heroism During the Holocaust, by Hudson Talbott. Use this book guide to assist you in implementing the Grossology books into your curriculum. Enrich your language arts or social studies unit with this reading guide for the biography Hillary Rodham Clinton: Dreams Taking Flight. The discussion questions and activities in this printable will introduce young children to the dreams and career goals of Hillary Clinton. Students will research the job of a U.S. senator, the life of a First Lady, women in politics, and much more. Celebrate communication skills with this teacher's guide to Lisa Winkler's Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the StoryCorps Project. Use the lesson planning resources in this printable to teach students of all ages about the power of storytelling and how to conduct successful interviews. Engage students in government by holding a mock election in your classroom! After reading Margaret Chase Smith, use the research ideas, discussion questions, and activities in this guide to teach your class about U.S. political parties, presidential debates, political campaigns, and voting. Author Nathaniel Philbrick evokes the drama of the voyage of the Mayflower, the emptiness of coastal Massachusetts that greeted the Pilgrims, and the friendship of the settlers with many powerful Native American leaders. But the promise of the First Thanksgiving was broken with the next generation of leaders when a horrifying conflict (King Philip's war) nearly wiped out the colonists and Natives alike. This discussion guide is a fantastic introduction to the beginning of American History, the tumultuous relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans, and to the meaning behind Thanksgiving. Discuss John McCain's time in the U.S. Navy and as a POW with the questions in this reading guide for the biography My Dad, John McCain. This printable also includes activities and suggests websites of interest to further students' knowledge of the U.S. senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate. Explore African-American history from slavery through the civil rights movement, with the pre-reading activities, discussion questions, and illustrated timelines in this literature guide. This printable teacher's guide includes resources for each book in the trilogy: No More!, Free at Last!, and Nobody Gonna Turn Me 'Round. Examine the history of the Roman alphabet with the activities in this guide for Ox, House, Stick. Children will enjoy using pictures and symbols to create their own alphabet. This printable teacher's guide contains discussion questions, lesson ideas, and extension activities for September 11, 2001: Attack on New York City, a book of firsthand accounts by people who lived through the terrorist attacks. The resources in this literature guide will help your students examine how the events of 9/11 impacted individuals, the U.S. economy, world politics, and international relations. Explore themes of peace and generosity as you discuss the story of Greg Mortenson and his journey to change the world. The discussion questions, research projects, and cross-curricular activities in this literature guide will enhance the reading of Three Cups of Tea and Listen to the Wind for students, educators, and communities. In addition, use our brochure to engage in community-building activities. Refer to the discussion questions in this guide before, during, and after reading War in the Middle East: A Reporter's Story to encourage critical thinking about war and world politics. Use these resources with the book to teach students about the history of events leading up to Black September and the Yom Kippur War. The national bestseller Who Moved My Cheese? is now available in versions for kids (ages 9-12) and teens (ages 13- up). Use the lesson plans and printables below to bring the message of positive change to your classroom. Pre-reading activities, class projects, discussion topics, research ideas, and writing assignments will deepen student's appreciation for the six inspirational sports stories in Winning Words. Enhance students' reading experience by using the resources in this printable literature guide. Guides to PoetryStudents will immerse themselves in the poems of Emily Dickinson by writing, researching, drawing, and more. Have fun teaching your students about poetry with questions, writing assignments, and drama activities that extend and enhance their enjoyment of the parodied poems in I Must Go Down to the Beach Again. This guide offers tried and true techniques for bringing poetry into the lives of young people. |
