In this lesson, students are given a description of tribal sovereignty and federal recognition specific to the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation. They will also be introduced to characteristics of a trickster tale and then write a short story to activate their prior knowledge of specific words. The whole class will then read "Coyote and Mouse Make Snow," a trickster tale shared by the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation. Students will identify the characters, problems, and solutions within the story by filling out a handout. Possible extensions tie in with the Science Core.

The Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (UIT) tale, “Coyote and the Buffalo” is read and used to enhance comprehension skills, provide an introduction to the importance of the bison to Native people and gives examples of how choices impact consequences. An activity to explore how Indigenous peoples used different parts of the bison helps students to recognize the ingenuity and creativity of Native Americans.The Ute people tell stories about Coyote and other animals to their children. Based on Coyote’s mistakes, the elders teach children about proper behavior and positive attitudes. The lessons learned help them avoid making the same mistakes Coyote did and suffering the consequences in their own lives. According to Ute tradition, Coyote stories should only be told during the winter time. 

Coyote tales are part of the Paiute oral tradition used to teach proper behavior and values from an early age. These stories are only told during the winter time. The Coyote illustrates the mischievous nature in all of us. This lesson helps students compare and contrast characters in the story, Coyote and the Geese. Students are asked to reflect on how characters respond to challenges and events by filling out a worksheet and engaging in discussions about the book. Students also learn more about Native American storytelling and its importance in Native cultures. The background information with resources listed helps each teacher become more familiar with the Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah (PITU) and their perspective on petroglyphs, pictographs and how long the Paiute people have lived in Southern Utah.

Heavily influenced by social and scientific theories, including those of Darwin, writers of naturalism described"”usually from a detached or journalistic perspective"”the influence of society and surroundings on the development of the individual. In the following lesson plan, students will learn the key characteristics that comprise American literary naturalism as they explore London's "To Build a Fire" and Crane's "The Open Boat."

"How Wood Tick Became Flat" is a tale from the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation. This tale helps students become familiar with cultural storytelling and its importance in Native cultures. Students will have a brief introduction to the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation and thier location in Utah. This lesson include an experience eliciting discussion and literacy activities. Students will create a diamante poem using a Native American tale. 

This lesson plan asks students to create a new, original film or podcast that is based on a specific element from a text (either a film, written text, or podcast). Students will analyze their chosen text, focusing specifically on character, theme, narrative style, use of sound, or setting analysis. This project will be taught asynchronously over the course of 5-6 class periods. 

This is a lesson to help students practice retelling a story about a person they have read about in a biography.  They will practice retelling a story in sequential order, with at least 3 details about that person.  They will learn to use a digital resource for creating their story and will practice other technology skills (searching for images online, typing, describing their chosen person in a clear way).  I have not used it yet; it will most likely require some adjusting after I've worked through it with students.

Using books by Ezra Jack Keats as inspiration, students explore problems and solutions through read-alouds, discussion, and an interactive bulletin board.

This is a story from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. The purpose of Native American stories is not only to entertain, their primary purpose is to educate. Our story teaches a lesson about what happens to Coyote when he chooses to be irresponsible. Coyote is a trickster. He tries to trick the people, but they already know what he is capable of doing and how far he will go to get his way. He has a bag full of tricks. This story and all other Coyote Stories should only be told during the winter months.

Huckleberry Finn opens with a warning from its author that misinterpreting readers will be shot. Despite the danger, readers have been approaching the novel from such diverse critical perspectives for 120 years that it is both commonly taught and frequently banned, for a variety of reasons. Studying both the novel and its critics with an emphasis on cultural context will help students develop analytical tools essential for navigating this work and other American controversies. This lesson asks students to combine internet historical research with critical reading. Then students will produce several writing assignments exploring what readers see in Huckleberry Finn and why they see it that way.

The Folger Shakespeare Library provides the full searchable text of "Cymbeline" to read online or download as a PDF. All of the lines are numbered sequentially to make it easier and more convenient to find any line.

This lesson plan reviews direct and indirect characterizations, which students can use to aid them in writing a character analysis short essay.  Students will be introduced to the S.T.E.A.L. method, which they will use to identify a character's traits, motives, and physiological makeup.  This resource has been created for secondary levels. This lesson plan can be used to supplement any Literary Element Unit.

This feature outlines the context of The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 which produced the "Declaration of Sentiments," a CCSS exemplar for grades 11 CCR. This document made a bold argument, modeled on the language and logic of the Declaration of Independence that American women should be given civil and political rights equal to those of American men, including the right to vote.

This lesson plan utilizes the Describe App to solidify student speech sound productions.  While the plan is tied to all grade Speaking and Listening by responding to questions using a clearly stated response which is found across all the grade language arts standards, it can be adapted to meet any Speaking and Listening standard at any grade level, particularly in upper elementary, school based on the amount of support given by the clinician to support the sound producitons, clarify clues given, and the contextual clues discussed to support the student's ability to respond clearly.S(This resource's preview image was created by the author of this lesson plan.)

Utilizing their school-issued iPad or personal phone, students will capture their own images to represent literary elements from their personal reading book. This assignment is designed to blend principles from digital photography, design, and reading literature standards to demonstrate deeper understanding and critical thinking skills.  This lesson plan was created by Andrea Settle. "The Flying Book Collage" by Antonio TwizShiz Edward is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

This is a lesson that jump starts the development of digital portfolios in the classroom.  

In this lesson, students will be asked to read a grade level appropriate story and make a digital storyboard that includes the basic elements of the story. These elements are: characters, setting, beginning, middle and end.  They will illustrate the key elements of the story and use Apple Keynote to create and present a digital slideshow retelling of the story. 

This is an activity you can do with older students as a way to encourage digital story telling.

Students create a digital story about their life or a relative's life. This is done while reading a memoir.