“Everything is so linear, but this makes me think diagonally!” ~ a student describing Byrdseed.TV

Arizona ELA Standard: 7.RL.6

Analyze how an author develops and contrasts the points of view of different characters or narrators in a text.

Comparing Characters

Comparing Characters

Your young students will compare how two characters have changed in a story.

Comparing Characters’ Bedrooms

Comparing Characters’ Bedrooms

What item’s in a character’s bedroom would reflect their deepest desires? And what if they toured a similar character’s room?

A Character’s Playlist

A Character’s Playlist

What playlist of songs best goes with a character’s change over time?

Think Like An Author: Hemingway vs Dickens

Think Like An Author: Hemingway vs Dickens

What if your students rewrote Dickens in the style of Hemingway and vice versa?

Analyze Characters Using Philosophy

Analyze Characters Using Philosophy

What is the Brick Pig’s philosophy? How would he apply it to the characters in Harry Potter?

Paradox: Rebuilding A Ship

Paradox: Rebuilding A Ship

What if we completely rebuild something slowly? What if we completely rebuild it all at once? Is it still the same thing?

Art Lesson: One-Point Perspective

Art Lesson: One-Point Perspective

Let’s give our students an art history lesson while teaching them how to enhance their drawings using one-point perspective.

Think Like A Philosopher

Think Like A Philosopher

What would Socrates have thought if he watched Frozen?

Characters Dressed as Other Characters for Halloween

Characters Dressed as Other Characters for Halloween

What if one character dressed up as another for Halloween? Would the Cat in the Hat pick Captain Jack Sparrow, because they’re both chaotic yet good-natured people? Would Elsa dress up as The Ice King since they are both lonely?

Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

A passage from “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher

Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher

A passage from “The Fall of the House of Usher” to use as a mentor text, discussion starter, or writing prompt.

Do Narrators Have Too Much Power?

Do Narrators Have Too Much Power?

Imagine being a character in a story. Are you worried that your story’s narrator may inaccurately describe you? What if they reveal something you wanted to be kept secret? Do narrators have too much power!?

Describing Author’s Voice

Describing Author’s Voice

What if… Edgar Allen Poe wrote Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

Depth and Complexity: ⚖️ Ethics

Depth and Complexity: ⚖️ Ethics

Want to add drama to any topic? Use the Ethics prompt!

Depth and Complexity: 👓 Multiple Perspectives

Depth and Complexity: 👓 Multiple Perspectives

Every topic looks different depending on who’s looking. This prompt teaches students to see through someone else’s eyes.

Literary Technique: Juxtaposition

Literary Technique: Juxtaposition

Put a grumpy character next to a joyful one and they make each other stand out even more. Opposites are powerful!

Motivation and Moral Development

Motivation and Moral Development

Can someone do the right thing, but for the wrong reason?

Twelfth Night Summary

Twelfth Night Summary

An animated summary of Shakespeare’s utterly ridiculous “Twelfth Night.”

Better Stories Part 3: Literary Themes

Better Stories Part 3: Literary Themes

A typical student narrative includes plot and characters but lacks a larger idea to hold it all together. This is where a lesson on themes comes in…

Better Stories Part 4: Character Archetypes

Better Stories Part 4: Character Archetypes

Are students’ characters a bit flat? Archetypes give them a strong foundation on which to build their own characters as well as a tool to analyze existing stories.