Literature

General

  • FreeBooknotes.com presents Cliff's Notes-like help for many works.

  • Great Books in Time.  This huge (and growing!) site links world literature with a variety of sites.  Some give background to the historical period that produced the works (this is the avowed goal of the site's author) and some give actual text of Great Books.  Set aside some browsing time, and enjoy!

  • You won't believe this site. You can look up any word, you can even make your own glossary. You type in a list of vocabulary words, decide what you would like included and push send. You then get a professional paged glossary of all your words. AND IT IS FREE! (You do have to register first.)  Contributed by Dody.

  • Norton online quizzes - Western Literature

Want to suggest a resource or link? Email Dana.


Unit 1

Week 1:

Week 2:

Week 3:

Week 4:

  • Fun online pages for Beatrix Potter stories

  • Although different from our recommended book, this site tells information about the poem, "In Flanders Fields".

  • Listen to the 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds

  • Biography of H. G. Wells, or try this one.

  • Gorgeous Peter Rabbit Site!  Games and riddles youngers, bios for olders.  A pleasant view for all.

Week 5:

Week 6:

Week 7:

Week 8:

  • The Velveteen Rabbit

  • As you read Balto this week, consider supplementation with this site.  One of our users, Janet, has contributed this great link for learning more about the modern dogsled race in Alaska.  It is full of information and maps about the race, its history, information on dogs and mushers.  The teacher's link also has a board game you can print out. 

  • Spark Notes for Babbit

Week 9:

Want to suggest a resource or online link?  Email Dana.


Unit 2

Week 10:

Week 11:

Week 12:

Week 13:

Week 14:

Week 15:

Week 16: 

  • An alternate for Angels of Mercy:  An interview with a US Navy WWII Nurse 

  • Good biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Click "next" at the bottom of each page to continue.

Week 17:

Week 18:

  • Just for fun:  Hebrew numbers

  • Discussion questions for Homeless Bird

  • Melissa has contributed a link for finding definitions of Yiddish words.  Just type wods in the search area and many resources are available.  Only one word was rather tricky:  piais, or earlocks.  They are defined in the site as side-locks, or pe'ot. 

Want to suggest a resource or online link?  Email DDana.


Unit 3

Week 19:

Week 20:

Week 21:

Week 22:

  • Need "money" to play Who-opoly?  Click here for free Monopoly money to download.

  • Want some fun online activities for Dr. Seuss books?  Click here.

  • Online quiz for Runaway Ralph

  • Use Week 21 links for So Far from the Bamboo Grove and My Side of the Mountain

Week 23:

Week 24:

  • Fun online activities for Little Bear

  • Use link from Week 23 for Cry, the Beloved Country

Week 25:

  • Robert Frost poetry for your Rhetoric students.  Scroll all the way down for links to each poem.

Week 26:

Week 27:

Want to suggest a resource or online link?  Email Dana.


Unit 4

Week 28:

  • Click here for all kinds of activities to use with Curious George books

  • Look in Week 27 for The Innocence of Father Brown and The Hobbit links.

  • More discussion questions for Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther

Week 29:

Week 30: 

  • Online source for activities for teaching If You Made a Million

  • e. e. cummings:   You'll find a biography and poems at this site.  *Parents preview poetry before assigning.

  • Here is an alternative site, also with a biography and poems.

Week 31:

Week 32:

Week 33:

Week 34:

Want to suggest a resource or online link?  Email Dana.


Book/Media Suggestions by our users

Please send this information to Dana.  Please include a minimum of title, ISBN, and publisher.  A sentence or two about why your recommend the book would be helpful to other users.

Week 5:

  • Recommendation by Karen in KS:  I highly recommend adding Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan (ISBN 0064408795) as a literature selection for Y4, week 5. It is a well-written, realistic fictional story set during the events leading up to and including the Russian revolution. It is told from the point of view of a young girl whose mother has been chosen to be an atttendant to the Tsaress. They follow the doomed Tsar's family even into exile when he abdicates.  Although the historical events are not the core theme of the story, they play a large part in the events (October uprising, WWI events, etc.)  This book would be appropriate as a read-aloud for LG-UG, or a reader for UG-D.