Conflicts in literature. They give our stories movement. Identifying examples for different types – man vs. man, self, nature, society, and the supernatural – is the focus of many class discussions.…
Browsing Categoryliterary devices
Setting Activities for Any Novel
The setting of a novel or short story is important, but sometimes students mistakenly ignore the setting if it doesn’t grab them. For instance, dystopian novels force students to consider…
Characterization Activities for any Novel Study
Analyzing characters could be my favorite part of literature exploration. Wondering what make a character tick, looking at foreshadowing in regards to his actions, guessing why he’s involved in certain…
Ready to Brainstorm? Activities for Literature
Brainstorm activities for literature! Older students are accustomed to brainstorming for their own writing projects. But a regular-ol brainstorm, not connected to a writing assignment? If your students like to…
Literary Term: Plot (Diagram)
Students must understand plot structure so they can analyze the author’s message. If they don’t… not only will they be confused but higher analysis won’t happen. Completing a plot diagram…
Children’s Books and Literary Terms
Do you have students who struggle with understanding literary terms? Approaching literary terms in a more familiar way may help. Combining children’s books and literary terms may be just the…
Teaching Character Arc
A character arc includes the changes and growth a character has throughout a story – written or on screen. When students struggle to understand this with literature, sometimes it helps…
Teaching the Literary Term Theme
Teaching the literary term theme? Read on for some teaching ideas to implement with any novel or short story. My children are watching Disney’s “Frozen” as often as I will…
Literary Term: Antihero
Teaching the literary term ‘antihero’ is a favorite of mine. It’s everything that high school students love – weird, against the grain, out of the ordinary, tricky, and oftentimes, badly…
Teaching the Literary Term Symbolism
Teaching that literary term symbolism… students may have difficulty understanding all of its implications. A favorite literary term? Symbolism is it for me. When I teach The Great Gatsby, I must…