Allegories are similar to metaphors: in both the author uses one subject to represent another, seemingly unrelated, subject. However, unlike metaphors, which are generally short and contained within a few lines, an allegory extends its representation over the course of an entire story, novel, or poem. This lesson plan will introduce students to the concept of allegory by using George Orwell’s widely read novella, Animal Farm, which is available on Project Gutenberg.

In this reader's guide to Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, students will learn the background of the book as well as the author, and deepen their understanding of the text through indepth discussion questions.

A teachers guide for Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid, including questions for each chapter to increase understanding, topics for class discussion, and assignment ideas to deepen understanding of themes and context

In this lesson on St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, students will learn annotation skills and work in small groups to explore how the author develops the pack as a character in itself.

In this reader's guide to John O'Hara's Appointment in Samarra, students will learn the background of the book as well as the author, and deepen their understanding of the text through indepth discussion questions.

This Random House for High School Teachers reader's guide includes an introduction, discussion questions, suggested reading list, and author biography intended to enhance student discussion of Articles of War, Nick Arvin’s harrowing novel about one’s soldier’s confrontation with his own fear during World War II.

This video from Shakespeare Uncovered explore artifacts from Shakespeare’s time that many scholars believe Shakespeare himself may have referenced when researching for his plays. As you view the videos and complete the activities in this collection, examine the evidence presented to support this claim.

This resource is a collection of discussion questions to supplement The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

Students will evaulate a nonfiction or realistic text for its cultural relevance to themselves and as a group. Then they analyze the cultural relevance of a selected text using an online tool. After, students search for additional relevant texts; each chooses one and writes a review of the text that they choose.

In this end of unit assessment, students will write a multi-paragraph response to show their understanding and analysis of St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves."

In this End of Unit Assessment, students will craft a formal essay exploring and identifying the development of similar ideas in Letters to a Young Poet and Black Swan Green.

This Random House for High School Teachers reader's guide includes an introduction, discussion questions, suggestions for further reading, and author biography designed to enhance student discussion of Ian McEwan’s international bestseller Atonement.

In this Random House for High School Teachers reader's guide, the questions are designed to enhance student discussion of At the Bottom of Everything, a stunning novel of friendship, guilt, and madness: two friends, torn apart by a terrible secret, and the dark adventure that neither of them could have ever conceived.

This guide to The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne includes analysis of the story, an extensive selection of study and discussion questions, key vocabulary terms, and a follow-up assignment.

This resource contains discussion topics and postreading activities for Barefoot Heart by Elva Treviño Hart.

This page discusses two works by William Faulkner: Barn Burning and A Rose for Emily. This resource includes teaching strategies, an overview of themes and connections, and discussion questions.

This resource is a collection of discussion questions to supplement The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver.

In this Common Core aligned teacher's guide to Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel, students will explore the idea that that there is more than one way of seeing and more than one way of communicating. This guide provides suggested topics for discussions, terms for consideration, supplemental reading, and activities.

In this lesson based on Emily Dickinson's famous poem, students will explore how a poem can infer tone and analyze connotative, allegorical, and metaphoric meaning.

A teachers guide for Before My Eyes by Caroline Bock, including in-depth insight to the setting, characters, and author's inspiration, questions for class discussion, and activities to provoke deeper understanding of issues