General Literature Resources, page 2

‘Me Fail English? That’s Unpossible’: Studying Literature with The Simpsons
In this lesson, students analyze an episode of The Simpsons that is a take-off on a literary classic by comparing it to the original work. They then pitch a new Simpsons episode based on a text they are currently studying in class.

Medieval Sourcebook: Introduction
Divided into three main parts: Selected Sources, Full Text Sources, and Lives of the Saints. A wealth of information.

Mississippi Writers
Nancy Jacobs' students at Starkville High School in Mississippi have put together a terrific resource on writers from that state. The site has lots of biographical information, bibliography, and criticism. It is a work in progress.

MysteryNet's Learning with Mysteries
A variety of useful ideas from vocabulary to acting a mystery.

Native American Authors
Search the site by author, title, or tribe.

NetSERF: The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources
Drama, literature, philosophy, art, architecture -- if it's related to Europe's Medieval Age, it's here.

No More Moldy Oldies: Appreciating Classic Texts
How can teachers help students push past boredom or disinterest and find value in literary classics? In this lesson, students reflect on their reading experiences and generate strategies to promote understanding, appreciation and enjoyment. This lesson uses Where the Wild Things Are as a starting point and incorporates a related article from the New York Times. It's aimed at grades 6-12.

Nobel Prize Winners in Literature
Can be searched by author name or scroll down the page to find recipients listed by year.

On the Road with the Beats
A digital exhibit including, among other treasures, a slide show of the scroll manuscript of On the Road .

The Online Books Page
Links to online texts, searchable by author, title, and subject.

Open Library
Borrow ebooks to read on your device, read books online, or listen to them, depending on what's available for your title. More than a million titles available.

Our Computers, Ourselves: Imagining the Digital Lives of Authors and Characters
Students imagine and simulate the computer desktop, files and Internet habits of a writer or literary character in order to better understand his or her life and/or works.

The Perseus Project
A searchable collection of classical literature, this site includes e-texts and secondary sources. An outstanding site.

Perspectives in American Literature
An excellent resource for an overview of American literature and author-specific information.

Political Analysis Through Satire
In this extensive unit students begin by defining satire. Then they identify, analyze, and explain examples of political satire; consider its purpose; and create satire of their own.

Project Bartleby
Locate specific quotations easily.

Project Gutenberg
Locate e-texts and audio files in multiple formats easily.

The Pulitzer Prizes
Using the timeline at the top, visitors can browse this database of winners and finalists. Follow other links to information about the history of the award, and the guidelines and procedure for nomination.

Short Stories
A collection of short works (fiction and nonfiction) divided by genre or searchable. Includes works for children, traditional and contemporary works.

Slave Narratives
Links to collections of narratives and to lesson plans for using them.

Story of the Week
From the Library of America, a different story every week, available in PDF format.

Suggestions for Pairing Contemporary Music and Canonical Literature
A list of songs that were inspired by reading literature. Organized by the last name of the author (e.g. Chinua Achebe, William Butler Yeats), the list includes song title, performer, year of release, and more.

Teaching the Horror Genre
Online texts, lesson plans, WebQuests, and suggestions for writing horror. From Goosebumps to Poe and Stephen King — it's all here.

The Tell-Tale Hearts of Writers: Exploring the Lives of Authors Through Their Literature
Students use a piece of literature by and an article about Edgar Allan Poe to investigate the relationship between word choice and the reader’s mood and interpretation of a piece of writing. Each student then creates a visual display that examines a favorite writer through biographical information, analysis of quotations about the author and his or her works, and interpretation of a piece of the author’s writing.

Themes and Essential Questions
Criteria for writing essential questions and models, divided by grade level and/or theme.

Traci's Lists of Ten
This valuable, eclectic set of lists includes the following: 10 ways to teach dramatic foils, 10 prompts to prepare for standardized testing, 10 ways to teach style, 10 ways to use old magazines, 10 classroom activities for Red Ribbon Week, 10 tips for incoporating computer technology. This list is still growing.

A Word is Worth a Thousand Pictures: Finding Meaning in Patterns of Repeated Words in Literary and Historical Texts
Students examine patterns in the repeated words in a literary or historical text and consider their significance. Includes related newspaper article and printable handout.

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