introduces us to the life, works, and writing techniques of Edgar Allan Poe. Learn about point of view in "The Cask of Amontillado." See Poe's edits in subsequent versions of "The Lake." Discover how he used code in "The Gold Bug" and imagery in "The Black Cat." Learn about "The Raven" and "My Tell-Tale Heart." Consider Poe's view of what makes a poem good. See letters he wrote and a piece of his casket.
encourages communities to read and discuss novels. Teacher guides, discussion questions, and other information are provided for Fahrenheit 451, My Ántonia, The Great Gatsby, The Maltese Falcon, A Farewell to Arms, Their Eyes Were Watching God, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, The Grapes of Wrath, The Joy Luck Club, The Age of Innocence, and Bless Me, Ultima.
examines what the Mississippi Valley meant to people in the 1800s and how these meanings influenced Twain's writing. Learn about economic development, politics, race, religion, culture, and the idea of "the West." Read a biography of Clemens. Find the full text of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Life on the Mississippi.
is an attempt to recover the lost words of one of America's most influential writers and to create a complete, definitive, and annotated edition of his writings.
features Louisa May Alcott and Samuel Clemens. See excerpts from Alcott's girlhood journal and Little Women. Read Clemens' explanation of his white suit in Mark Twain's Autobiography and the last chapter of Tom Sawyer, where Huck Finn has fled the Widow Douglas's civilizing influence. Help students see that their own lives and views can be a basis for creative writing.
aims to provide professional development opportunities for high school teachers, set new benchmarks for poetry education, and create an online community of teachers and poets dedicated to teaching poetry. The website includes information on annual summer institutes.
contains several lesson plans relating to aspects of the works and times of the great playwright.
helps students explore the literary elements of a Tanzanian folktale, connect its message to contemporary Tanzanian life, create original conclusions, and thematically illustrate the folktale using oil pastels.
In this ReadWriteThink lesson, students respond to a short story by freewriting. They then determine a thesis idea for a literary analysis essay from their body of freewriting and create an outline for an original essay. Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" is used to model this process, but any short story of equal literary merit may be used.
Bookwink is for kids in grades 3-8 that provides podcasts and web videos, to connect them to books. Videos are 3 minute booktalks, updated monthly, on topics like popularity, parallel universes, sharks, and World War II. Browsing the site under subject area will provide additional read-alikes. You can look for books by subject, grade level, author or title. Videos require QuickTime.
Find discussion guides and resources for a wide range of classic and recent science fiction.
Categorizes and recommends books for children, from picture books to titles for early readers and preteens. The site, targeted to parents and teachers, also features a lesson plan exchange for educators and a discussion forum.
