A central part of literary analysis involves analyzing the characters of a piece of literature. I have found that character analysis serves as an excellent means of increasing students' vocabulary. Here, I have compiled a list of adjectives (many of them SAT-level words) that can be used to describe a character. Students can select words from this list and use them to analyze and describe characters either in discussion or in writing. This list will help students to push beyond their current vocabulary by introducing them to new words that will not only help their analysis in class but simultaneously prepare them for the SAT! Words on this list have been categorized according to a common meaning, which will help students take risks in identifying potential new words and taking risks with new vocabulary. Note-- This is an excellent tool for English Language Learners as well!

This lesson contains a step-by-step guide for how to write a thesis statement for the literary analysis essay. It is a part of our Mega Lit. Analysis Essay Bundle, sold separately. The most important part of the writing process is crafting the thesis statement because it is the "road map" or "blueprint" for the entire essay. Because this one, single sentence is so important, I have crafted six mini-lessons to insure that your students will have focused, argumentative thesis statements specifically for the literary analysis essay. While the literary analysis essay is a type of persuasive or argumentative essay, it is important that students craft a thesis statement that is specific to the purpose of literary analysis. In this regard, lessons on persuasive or argumentative thesis statements may not be appropriate to teaching students how to write this kind of essay that is a cornerstone of the ELA classroom. This mini-lesson pack takes students through the process of learning the parts of a literary analysis thesis statement and how to craft them by creating thematic claims. By following this guide, students will be well on their way to creating effective "road maps" to write the literary analysis essay.

Product Description One of the things I really enjoy is reading and writing screenplays. In this unit by Bespoke ELA, I have put together some of the key lessons that I've learned about script writing in a format that is user-friendly to secondary ELA students. Screenplay writing is a high-interest type of writing because all students love movies. For this project, students will create their own original screenplay concepts, write a character sketch and plot treatment, craft a ten-page screenplay sequence, create a trailer, and pitch their film ideas to the class. The entire spectrum of this project targets various skills from reading to writing to speaking to listening-- and students will HAVE A BLAST doing it! At the end of the unit, you can hold your very own "ELA ACADEMY AWARDS" ceremony and give out "Academy Awards Certificates" to the winning groups and students! The lessons included in this unit are as follows: 1. Screenplay Project Assignment 2. Famous Movie Match Game 3. What is a Screenplay?— Introduction Power Point 4. Types of Movies/ Genres—power point 5. Movie Brainstorming Activities 6. The Logline—Power Point 7. Crafting the Logline Worksheet 8. Screenplay Concept Teacher Approval Form 9. The Elements of Character—Power Point 10. Character Sketch Assignment & Example with Rubric 11. Intro. to Screenplay Format—3-Act Structure & Types of Drama—Power Point 12. Elements of a Film Treatment—Power Point 13. Film Treatment Assignment & Example with Rubric 14. Famous Script Analysis Activity 15. Intro. to Script Format—Power Point 16. Script Format Analysis—Analyzing Excerpt from Just Drive 17. A Guide to CeltX 18. Script Assignment & Rubric 19. Sequence Structure—The Anatomy of a Sequence 20. Sequence Structure Revision Activity 21. Subtext: Action & Dialogue 22. Screenplay Sequence Submission & Feedback Form 23. Assigning Roles—Movie Jobs 24. Movie Trailer Analysis 25. Film Planning Guide—Handout 26. Movie Trailer Assignment, Rubric, & Outline 27. What is a Screenplay Pitch? 28. The Art of the Pitch-- Screenplay Pitch Samples & Observations 29. Screenplay Pitch Assignment, Sample, & Rubric 30. Class Feedback Forms & Group Self-Assessment Form 31. ELA Academy Awards Certificates Scriptwriting is something I truly enjoy, and this project was a work of love. Students will read sample excerpts from screenplays (including one of MINE), and model their new ideas after them. Exposing students to screenplay writing will open their eyes to the filmmaking process and help them garner a whole new respect the moves they love.

Lesson Plan Enduring Understandings To make connections between Shakespeare's style and modern music To use figurative language to communiate a theme To experiment with Shakespeare's language and English sonnet form To understand how the parts of an English sonnet are organized to create a central message To understand how tone shift impacts the thematic message in poetry To create an original English sonnet around a central theme Common Core Skills R1-6, 9, 11/ W 1-2/ 4-5 (6), 10-11/ SL 1, 4/ L 1-6 Procedure This activity assumes that students have prior knowledge and experience with Shakespearean sonnets. Students will first need to have a basic understanding of English sonnet form and Shakespeare's language. I would recommend this activity at the end of a Shakespearean sonnet unit. The pop sonnet began as an internet sensation and went on to become a popular book. The author had the idea to "Shakespearify" modern pop songs and morph them into sonnets. The result? A whole new level of depth for (mostly) simple songs with simple themes. Shakespeare would have been proud because this was Shakespeare's process-- to take simple ideas such as love and give them more complexity and sophistication. In this activity, students will explore pop sonnets via the (now famous) pop sonnet blog where it all started. They will then set out to select their very own pop songs to morph into Shakespearean sonnets. Students may choose to do this activity in pairs-- depending upon the level of the class. After crafting their own pop sonnets, students will then answer a series of questions that takes them through explaining and analyzing their original poems. Consider having students publish their pop sonnets online (via individual or class blogs) along with the original song lyrics and their analyses. Another fun and interactive way for students to share their pop sonnets is to have a read aloud in which the class tries to guess the title of the original song that inspired the sonnet. Differentiation Crafting a Shakespearean sonnet can be quite tricky due to the rhyme scheme and meter. Consider having students try one or the other, not both. Another option would be to give students an assortment of pop sonnets from the blog and have them analyze one of those in lieu of writing their own sonnets.

This product is a POWER POINT that contains 30 MENTOR SENTENCES from famous classic writers to model key literary terms, rhetorical devices, and syntactical structures for students. For each sentence, students are to: 1. Copy the sentence. 2. Make observations about the sentence. 3. Imitate the sentence. 4. Learn about literary devices. 5. Answer questions about how the devices are used for rhetorical and literary effect. 6. Revise an essay with a new sentence modeled after that of the famous writer. 7. Reflect back on the new added sentence. 8. Share with a partner. These MENTOR SENTENCE activities will take students through the process of not only using literary and rhetorical devices in action but will integrate them into writing workshop as mini-lessons for making their writing more powerful. This POWER POINT is fully editable and is suitable for Advanced Placement and modifiable for other levels of HIGH SCHOOL English. ========================== Devices included in this set include: Parallel Structure Antithesis Anaphora Asyndeton Parataxis Polysyndeton Paradox Irony Chiasmus Balanced Sentence Epistrophe Rule of Three Tricolon Analogy Personification Metaphor Simile Metonymy Synecdoche Loose Sentence Hypotaxis Apostrophe Allusion Alliteration Consonance Assonance Rhetorical Question Litotes The Dash Hyperbole Understatement Semi-colon Colon Repetition Contrast Periodic Sentence Simple Sentence Amplification Antimetabole Anadiplosis Balanced Sentence Zeugma Epithet Epanalepsis PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS ZIP FILE CONTAINS THREE VERSIONS OF THIS PRODUCT. IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO EMBED FONTS INTO POWER POINT WITH MAC, SO I HAVE INCLUDED A .PDF VERSION AND AN UNEDITABLE .PNG VERSION (ON POWER POINT) THAT YOU CAN USE TO PRESERVE THE ORIGINAL FONTS AS DESIGNED. THIS FILE ALSO INCLUDES THE ORIGINAL POWER POINT THAT IS EDITABLE BUT WILL OPEN WITH DEFAULT FONTS FOR POWER POINT UNLESS YOU OWN THE SAME FONTS AS IN THE PRESENTATION.

This product contains a close reading activity for the "Declaration of Independence." This close reading activity will target comprehension and analytical skills while exposing students to historical non-fiction. Skills assessed in this close reading include: Context Clues Non-fiction Structure & Purpose Rhetorical Devices & Effect Textual Evidence Have your students try it individually and then with a group to compare answers. For teachers in the states still taking the PARCC exam, it is important that students practice reading the diction and style of American "foundational texts" and authors because they are included on the "Simulated Research" portion of the exam. The "Declaration of Independence" can be a challenging read and is accompanied by 18 multiple-choice close reading questions that use Common Core/ PARCC question stems. Answer key included.

In this mini-lesson, students learn the three parts that make up an effective conclusion paragraph for a literary analysis essay. They will draft a conclusion paragraph, adding rhetorical punch to the final concluding statement, and then peer revise the conclusion for impact. This is an essential mini-lesson for the writing process. Find it in the Literary Analysis Mega Bundle, sold separately. Bundle and SAVE!

These Beowulf journal prompts contain writing tasks for all three levels of writing. They are excellent to use as warm-up/ bell-ringer tasks at the beginning of class periods or as more developed writing assignments. They also lend themselves to small group and/or whole class discussions. This listing is included in my MEGA BEOWULF BUNDLE with 25 lessons and activities plus answer keys! You can find the ENTIRE BUNDLE in our store, sold separately.

This listing is for a characterization activity in which students analyze how a character's weaknesses impact the story as a whole. This mini-lesson is part of the Mega Characterization Bundle of over 15 characterization mini-lessons that get your students working with all literary devices and techniques. You can find it listed separately in our store. Bundle and save over $15.00! Task To analyze how a character’s weaknesses impact the story Objectives To develop criteria for analyzing character To assess comprehension of character development across a text To support analysis with textual evidence To assess how character traits affect literary elements To apply understanding of character to a new writing situation Common Core Standards R1-3, 6, 10, 11/ W1-4, 10-11/ SL 1, 4, 6/ L1-3 Instructions Characters often experience downfall as a result of a weakness, or inherent flaw. Oftentimes, this flaw is pride or hubris; nonetheless, the protagonist makes mistakes and faces conflicts as a result of this overweening weakness. This series of activities asks students to analyze how a character’s weakness affects literary elements such as characterization, plot, and conflict and to consider how the consequences of a character’s actions determine whether or not a protagonist accomplishes his/her goal in the story. The lead activity included here asks students to exploit a protagonist’s weakness by sensationalizing it in a tabloid article. This activity will get students thinking about the negative aspects of a character and how they cause issues for him/her in the story. The “follow-up” activities include a tabloid article swap in which students respond to each other’s interpretation of the protagonist’s weakness, an exploratory exercise that asks students to analyze the cause/ effect relationship of character weakness and mistakes, and finally a shaping sheet for a synthesis paragraph in which students analyze the protagonist based upon his/her weakness. Essentially, the goal of this series of activities is to “assassinate” the character of a protagonist. Note that you may or may not want to use the paragraph shaping sheet with your students. It is typically effective with students that struggle with writing in general. You may want to simply have your students respond to the prompt by writing/ typing their own paragraph to submit instead of using the shaping sheet. But use your own discretion according to the needs of your students.

This listing is for a characterization activity entitled "Love Triangle" in which students analyze how a character's romantic relationships affect the story as a whole. This mini-lesson is part of the Mega Characterization Bundle of over 15 characterization mini-lessons that get your students working with all literary devices and techniques. You can find it listed separately in our store. Bundle and save over $15.00! For this mini-lesson: "Love Triangle" Task To assess the motif of the “love triangle” in a piece of literature and its effects upon literary elements Objectives To develop criteria for analyzing character To assess comprehension of character development across a text To support analysis with textual evidence To assess how character interaction affects literary elements To synthesize findings and present them to a group Common Core Standards R1-3, 6, 10, 11/ W1-4, 10-11/ SL 1, 4, 6/ L1-3 Instructions Oftentimes, a story involves three characters that are in love with one another (or pursue one another) at different points in the plot. This is called a “love triangle” and is a common motif in stories (and sometimes this “love triangle” is quite bizarre—pun intended for the 80’s audience). In this activity, students will consider the “love triangle” of a piece of literature that involves three characters who are in love or lust with one another in varying combinations. For example, one of the most popular “love triangles” in recent pop culture is that of Bella, Edward, and Jacob in the Twilight series. At different points, Bella shows feelings for both Edward and Jacob who, in turn, show feelings for her. As with the Twilight series, the “love triangle” propels the plot by creating tension and conflict in the story and by forcing the protagonist to make decisions. In the case of Twilight, Bella is forced to choose between Edward and Jacob, which causes her character to become conflicted at different points in the story and also to confront feelings of jealousy and rejection. In the “Love Triangle” Activity, students will consider the “love triangle” in a piece of literature in order to assess the dynamics of the relationships among the three characters involved. They will also consider how the “love triangle” motif affects other literary elements in the story such as conflict, plot, and characterization. In the first follow-up activity, the “Love Triangle” Group Presentation, students focus upon a single literary element and determine how the “love triangle” affects that element in the story. Students are then to present their findings to the class using textual evidence. In the Exploratory Activity, the “Love Triangle” Poem, students write from the perspective of one of the characters involved in the “love triangle” in or

This listing is for a characterization activity entitled "Personality Profiles" in which students analyze character by creating various social media profiles. This mini-lesson is part of the Mega Characterization Bundle of over 15 characterization mini-lessons that get your students working with all literary devices and techniques. You can find it listed separately in our store. Bundle and save over $15.00! For this mini-lesson: "Personality Profiles" Task To create social media pages from the perspective of a literary character in order to explore character traits Objectives To develop criteria for analyzing character To assess comprehension of character development across a text To select appropriate academic vocabulary for literary analysis To support analysis with textual evidence To apply modern-day culture and technology to character analysis Common Core Standards R1, 3, 6, 11/ W1-4, 10-11/ SL 1, 4, 6/ L1-3 Instructions One of the best ways for students to get “into” a character’s mind is to envision how a character would use social media. This always captures students’ attention because they themselves use social media in their everyday lives. The activities that follow can be used either as simple activities or as more involved project presentations. Depending upon your school’s technology (and whether or not these social media sites are blocked), you might even be able to have students design real accounts for a character and then share them with the class. You could even give the following handouts to groups as brainstorming and planning tools to use in class to brainstorm ideas for creating social media pages outside of class. This is particularly useful for me because we do not have computers at my school for students to use, so I have them plan out their social media pages in class and then assign students to create the “real” pages outside of class. They then bring in “screen shots” of each page to share with their peers and submit for a grade (due to the fact that all social media sites are blocked at my school). However, if your school has computers and these sites are not blocked, groups could even present their social media to the class and explain the rationale behind their posts, photos, comments, etc. The following handouts include forms modeled after such social media sites as: Twitter Facebook Instagram While these handouts are not exact replicas of these social media sites, they do capture the essence of how they are laid out, and students will understand how to fill them out based upon their own use of social media. A reflection guide follows each social media activity that asks students to explain their rationales behind the character’s posts/ pics/ page.

In these 5 debate activities, students consider key, debatable questions regarding the Beowulf text such as whether or not Beowulf is a success or failure as an epic hero. Students are to compile evidence for BOTH sides of the argument in preparation for a class debate and then write an analytical/ argumentative paragraph after each debate. Included in this packet you will find: 1. Teacher Page with instructions 2. Debate Rubric to use for grading the debate 3. 5 reproducible debate sheets, each containing a separate debate question about Beowulf This is an excellent way to target both speaking and writing skills while practicing argumentation and rhetoric.

This pack contains 11 different forms to use in conjunction with a Personal Narrative Unit. It includes mini-lessons on personal narrative skills such as: Show Not Tell Avoiding Cliches and Common Descriptions Writing Attention-Grabbing Hooks Crafting Memorable Conclusions Writer's Voice It also includes a self-revision form and three peer revision activities. This pack will help students write personal narrative essays that leave a lasting impression in the reader's mind.

This series of mini-lessons can also be found in our Mega Literary Analysis Essay Bundle, sold separately. The introduction paragraph is arguably one of the most important paragraphs in any essay. It makes the first impression and establishes the focused purpose for the essay. These mini-lessons show students how to go from the attention-grabber (or lead) to the focused thesis statement in an effective way using student examples. No unit on the literary analysis essay is complete without these mini-lessons that will help students set the purpose and direction for a piece of writing on interpreting a work of art.

While my students read a piece of literature, I give them "Reading Checks" to hold them accountable for the reading. These questions are not designed to be "tricky" or difficult. They exist only as a means to check whether or not students read the assigned pages; therefore, they are 100% plot questions. I use these questions to make sure students are on the same page (literally) and are ready to move beyond plot into analysis during class activities. As a side note, reading check grades are an excellent way to communicate to parents why a student may be struggling in your class because they will reflect whether or not a student is doing the assigned reading. In this document, I have attached reading checks for a novel study on Fahrenheit 451-- there are 5 reading checks in all (two for Part One, one for Part Two, and two for Part Three). Answer keys are included for EACH reading check!

In this PowerPoint presentation, there are examples of literary elements such as theme, motif, plot structure, characterization, etc. from Beowulf as well as examples of literary techniques such as metaphor, irony, hyperbole, etc. Most examples contain direct quotations from the text, and I use this presentation as a means for discussing examples my students have brainstormed themselves. This is an effective summative activity to use as a review before an exam or as a brainstorming guide before beginning the writing process.

Included here are three popular creative writing assignments to accompany a unit on Beowulf. Beowulf Kenning Activity a. In this activity, students try their hand at creating modern-day kennings to share with the class. Students have fun being creative with kennings! Anglo-Saxon Boast Writing Assignment a. This assignment asks students to create a poetic boast modeled after that of Beowulf in the epic poem. Students must integrate devices such as hyperbole, alliteration, and kennings into a boast about their accomplishments. Then, students are to write a paragraph explanation of the role boasting plays in the poem using at least two quotations from the text. Students have great fun sharing their boasts and also comparing/ contrasting theirs to that of Beowulf's. This is a great activity to get students involved in the poem in an interactive way! Beowulf Comic Book Project a. This Beowulf project uses the structure of the comic book to assess student understanding of the literary elements in Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon culture, and reading/writing/collaboration skills. Included here is the project assignment along with a Common Core aligned rubric. This is a great project to tap into student motivation in a fun, collaborative, engaging way that will simultaneously target reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. All three creative writing tasks are included in my MEGA BEOWULF BUNDLE (25 activities and lessons with answer keys included!) You can find the ENTIRE bundle in our store, sold separately. BUNDLE AND SAVE!

Task: To analyze Shakespeare’s work in terms of Aristotle’s literary theories from Poetics Objectives: To develop criteria for analyzing literary elements To support analysis with textual evidence To use rhetorical skills for constructing and supporting oral and written arguments To construct an effective argument supported with logical reasoning and textual evidence To apply literary theories to other texts To close read a text for main ideas Common Core Standards: R1, 3, 6, 11/ W1, 2, 4, 10/ SL 1, 3, 4, 6/ L1-3 Instructions: Aristotle’s literary theories have helped to set the precedent for what determines “high quality” literature. Writers either follow his methods, or they rebel against them. While it is not known if Shakespeare read or studied Aristotle’s Poetics, it is a fascinating study to apply Aristotle’s theories to Shakespeare’s work in order to observe how Shakespeare innovated new concepts for drama. In this unit, students will: Complete the pre-reading strategy in order to define key terms found in Aristotle’s Poetics. Close read excerpts from Poetics and answer comprehension/discussion questions for each section. Note that students may answer the questions in terms of one, single Shakespearean tragedy but may reference any other plays they may have read. Map out the plot of at least one Shakespearean Tragedy and identify examples of key terms from Aristotle’s Poetics. Debate whether or not Shakespeare follows Aristotle’s literary theories. Synthesize their conclusions in a post-debate writeup. This unit contains SIX excerpts from Aristotle’s Poetics for students to close read. Each excerpt contains a few close reading/ discussion questions in order to both comprehend Aristotle’s main ideas as well as apply them to Shakespeare’s works. There are a few different ways to use these excerpts in your classes: 1. Have students read all six excerpts and discuss the questions included in each one. 2. Divide students into groups and assign each group 1-2 excerpts to close read. 3. Students can then present their findings to the class, and the whole class can discuss the application questions included. 4. Use the “Overview of Aristotle’s Poetics” handout included here and have students close read only a couple of the excerpts instead of all six. For the remaining activities, students can focus on a single Shakespearean tragedy of your choice, or allow students to use evidence from multiple plays as best fits your curriculum reading list, their reading experiences, and level of course difficulty. This is an excellent addition to any Shakespeare unit and will deepen the complexity of students' interaction with tragedy.

No study of Beowulf is complete without also studying the life and times of the Anglo-Saxons. This listing includes Anglo-Saxon history notes and a quiz with the answer key included! Anglo-Saxon History Notes a. This handout contains an outline of key historical notes about the Anglo-Saxons and the epic poem Beowulf. You can use these notes as a class handout or as notes for a lecture. Also, consider having students select a topic from this handout to research and present to the class. Anglo-Saxon History Quiz a. This quiz checks students’ knowledge of Anglo-Saxon history. You can use it as a means to hold students accountable for the notes and/or use it as a group activity in which students have to research the answers in order to learn about Anglo-Saxon life and times. Answer key included! These two handouts are included in my MEGA Beowulf Bundle with 25 lessons and activities to take your Beowulf unit to the next level! You can find the entire bundle in our store, sold separately. BUNDLE AND SAVE!

This reproducible sheet contains all of the Common Core College Readiness Standards for ELA for grades 9-12. This sheet is designed to give to students as a handout and put the power of the Common Core into their hands. The sheet contains two reflection questions at the bottom for students to answer. They are to identify the standards for a given assignment and then reflect upon their performance on those standards. This will help make the Common Core a "common" language in your classroom and enable students to track their own progress throughout the year. And, not to mention-- this sheet is a HUGE TIME SAVER for teachers because it makes students responsible for identifying and tracking standards. Give it a try!