Literature is alive with iconic characters known around the world for their incredible exploits and heroic actions. James Bond and Sherlock Holmes are such characters. Less well known are the life stories of some of the authors of famous fiction. Many of these authors had real-life adventures that rivaled those of the fictional characters they created. Use the following discussion guide to explore with students how biographical information can influence fiction.
Grade Level: 9-12
Student learning objectives: Students will be able to see how real-life experiences help an author to shape a fictional character he or she is creating. These experiences often form the basis for many of the plots involving these characters.
Be sure to see our Language & Literature Subject Center for more great lesson ideas and articles. Expand students' cultural horizons by shaping a fun dialogue-writing exercise around Guy Fawkes Night, a November 5 historical observance that's popular in England.
Using the diary of a girl who lived through the events of the disintegration of Yugoslavia at the end of the Cold War, this lesson explores the historical, political, and human aspects of this difficult time. This would be excellent for World History, Geography, and World Literature classes.
Language Arts (Study Skills) Note: This activity can be used with a selection from literature or nonfiction reading materials related to science, history, and many other subjects. Brief Description A brief Amelia Earhart biography is used to teach the skill of summarizing.
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A lesson plan using a drawing program on the computer (or by hand!) for children to create their own endings to a story that is read to them...except for the ending!
Arts & Humanities --Language Arts --Literature --Visual Arts Educational Technology [facebookbadge] Brief Description Students use drawing software, such as Paint or AppleWorks, to draw, or write and draw, their own endings to a read-aloud story. Objectives Students will draw or write and draw a new ending to a story.
In film and in literature, medieval life seems heroic, entertaining, and romantic. In reality, life in the Middle Ages, a period that extended from approximately the fifth century to the fifteenth century in Western Europe, was sometimes all these things, as well as harsh, uncertain, and often dangerous.