Literature Activities: Middle School

Literature Activities
Item	Description
First Sentence: After Words	If students are curious enough about the first sentence of the novel, they may want to read the book and then complete this worksheet comparing their predictions to the actual book.
Activity: Where the Sidewalk Ends (elem/upper elem)	Suggestions for performances based on poems found in Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends. Looking for a school play where everyone can shine? This may be your answer!
First Sentence: Adams' Watership Down (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Alcott's Little Women (upper elem/middle school)	Our new "first sentence" series asks the question: "You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence?" With these simple worksheets, each containing a different sentence from a classic story, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing. Look for more "first sentence" prompts every week!
First Sentence: Andersen's Little Match Girl (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Austen's Pride and Prejudice (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Barrie's Peter Pan (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Bronte's Wuthering Heights (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Burnett's A Little Princess (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Burnett's The Secret Garden (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Burrough's Tarzan of the Apes (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Carroll's Alice in Wonderland (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
How to Argue... Using Fallacies (part 1) -upper elementary/middle	This thorough unit is packed with information about some of the most common fallacies: how to spot them, and how to avoid them. Subsequent lessons are available on our member site.
Literature Circle Job: Summarizer
Literature Circle Job: Travel Chaser
Literature Circles	What is a literature circle? How does it work? Here are some suggestions for planning literature circles, as well as charts for tracking vocabulary, important questions, and interesting observations.
Literature Circles Job: Connector	This series of seven literature circle jobs was contributed by Julie Lorne
Literature Circles Job: Discussion Director
Literature Circles Job: Illustrator
Ways to Share Books	List of ideas for students to share the books they have read.

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The following documents are available for abcteach members

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Item	Description
Poetry Comprehension: Kipling's "If" (middle/high school)	Read Kipling's poem on adulthood, and fill in the missing verbs. Then match the lines to their modern-day equivalents. Finally, discussion (or essay) questions to address the themes of the poem: adulthood, coming of age, etc. This lesson is adaptable to a variety of levels.
Word Wall: American Writers (1700-1900)	A list of 20 great US authors and a corresponding list of their works. These can be used in a variety of ways including in matching games, for study aids, etc.
Crossword: American Writers (1700-1900)	1 DOWN: Wrote Last of the Mohicans. Match the famous American authors to their works.
First Sentence: Twain's Connecticut Yankee... (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Tolstoy's Anna Karenina (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Stevenson's Kidnapped (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
Reading Log (upper/middle school)	This form enables students to track dates, titles, and authors for the books, stories, and magazine articles they are reading.
Worksheet: Puns (upper elem/ middle)	This lesson uses passages from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll to introduce the concept of puns.
Word Wall: English/Literature Terms	[member-created using abctools] From "alliteration" to "stanza". These vocabulary building word strips are great for word walls.
Unit: Shakespeare - Hamlet (upper elem/middle)	A very full twenty page unit, which can be used as a whole or in parts. Each act of the play is summarized in simple language; the most famous quotes ("Alas, poor Yorick!") are listed and explained; the story is related to its historical setting ("What is the Ptolemaic system?") and to modern times ("Label the map of Europe"); plus comprehension, vocabulary, and essay questions...
Surviving Fiction - supplements (middle school)	Teaching a "survival" unit? Use our suggested mega-unit, or choose your own stories of danger and bravery. These four worksheets (from the larger unit) will help with location, characters, setting, and conflict and resolution comprehension.
Surviving Fiction (middle school)	Four short tales with a survival theme (�Exploring the Titanic�, �Three Skeleton Key�, �Survive the Savage Sea�, and �The Dinner Party�) are thoroughly explored in this mega-unit, covering setting, characters, plots, and other short story devices.
Folktale: How Mouse and Cat Came Into the World	A folktale from Vietnam, with vocabulary, short answer comprehension questions, and a writing prompt.
First Sentence: Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Shelley's Frankenstein (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Saint-Exupery's Little Prince (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Orwell's Animal Farm (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Orwell's 1984 (upper elem/middle)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: London's Call of the Wild (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Kipling's Jungle Book (upper elem/middle)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Kafka's Metamorphosis (upper elem/middle)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: James' Portrait of a Lady (upper elem/middle)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Huxley's A Brave New World (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Fitzgerald's Great Gatsby (upper elem/middle)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: du Marier's Rebecca (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Doyle's Beyond the City (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Dickens' David Copperfield (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Dickens' A Christmas Carol (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Dante's Inferno (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Crane's The Red Badge of Courage (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
First Sentence: Clarke's 2001 Space Odyssey (upper elem/middle school)	You can't judge a book by its cover, but can you judge it by its first sentence? With these simple worksheets, students will exercise their skills of prediction, research, and creative writing.
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