literary analysis

Students have been struggling with deeper understanding within a text.  They generally are doing what I call "Plot Thinking".  By using an interactive read aloud and re-reading for different purposes, students will have an opportunity to develop their critical thinking over time.  I plan to...

John Krakauer tells the story of Christopher McCandless who threw all maps away and embarked on an infamous journey through the West and Southwest after graduating from college in 1991.  During the journey and the publication of this book, McCandless became an enigmatic and almost romantically...

In this module, students will analyze how a character's significant traits, motivations, or feelings contribute to the events of a story. Before the module begins or on Day One of the module, students will listen to a read aloud of the entire story (13 minutes). Please see Essential Vocabulary...

MACBETH is one of Shakespeare's most famous plays, but students may not be familiar with Macbeth the man. This module will lead them to a better understanding of the author's craft through analysis of how the playwright uses character to develop a theme. 

We have talked about pride and how too much pride could be a "wonderful, terrible" thing. We have applied that to racial discrimination and injustice. After we analyze Dr. King's speech, investigate court rulings, and evaluate current issues, we will read and interpret the play A Raisin in...

Students will read Poe’s famous short story closely, carefully, and multiple times, savoring the story and analyzing how Poe invites readers both to believe and not believe the narrator’s account of the key events. The reading process engages students with a sequence of questions that can only...

This module has been written with the intent of implementation before the studying of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This argumentative module has been designed with four purposes in mind:

1. Allow students to read/watch a variety of online texts to determine relevant connections to...

Students will work through two literary texts and two non-print “texts” to write a literary analysis for one of the literary pieces. The analysis will be in the form of a multi-paragraph, informational response to literature asking them to make a claim, cite evidence from the literary text, and...

This module is an in-depth study into Edgar Allan Poe. Students will research the author's background and writing techniques to determine the characteristics of his style. Students will also synthesize why Edgar Allan Poe's style continues to fascinate and gain popularity with audiences today....

This explanatory LDC module is embedded within a larger unit; both the larger unit and module are documented here. The LDC module, on its own, starts at the "Task and Rubric Analysis: Part 4 of the Unit: Breaking Down the Prompt." Teachers may choose to teach the entire unit or teach the LDC...

Students have been struggling with use of textual evidence to support their thesis and with documenting that evidence. They have a strong understanding of the allegory, so the focus is on incorporating evidence in their writing. They understand basic essay skills, but need reinforcement on...

This common analytic rubric assesses students' ability to engage in literary analysis and develop and support arguments related to that analysis.

In this task students assume the role of a film festival programmer planning a film festival with a literary twist. Students research films and choose five to six that to include in the festival. Each film in must connect to literature, and the group of films must connect to each other in some...

In this task students write a literary analysis on Kindred around the theme of mental slavery.

Note: This task is not accompanied by a rubric. We suggest teachers/schools select an appropriate rubric from this resource bank or your school/district materials.

Students complete a literary analysis paragraph that makes a claim about an author's moves or choices in a text. 

This is an analytical essay that follows the reading of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. The assessment will answer the following essential question: What did it mean to “come of age” during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and how does that compare to coming of age today?  ...

In this task, students will answer the following essential question: How do writers communicate ideas through literature?

Students will begin by reading an America novel and focusing on the elements of the text — characters, ideas, symbols, etc.— they find most interesting....

Students will imagine themselves as journalists writing about Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, making connections to wars in the past and Hemingway’s literature.

Using direct quotations from Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home” and “...

This task requires students to analyze the development of a theme by analyzing the author’s use of a color’s symbolic meaning(s). Students present their analysis through an essay that is drafted and peer reviewed on email and submitted via email as an attachment.

Students read the novel Wuthering Heights and analyze the major cultural issues that arise in the novel, including questions of race, class, and gender.

Additionally, students may want to compare the elements of the romance between the couples (Catherine and Heathcliff, Catherine...