Students are asked to watch the 1963 film adaptation of Lord of the Flies and complete a "Movie vs. Book" chart that records similarities and differences for characters, setting, theme, and plot. Students answer journal questions asking which omitted scenes were critical to the novel's major theme and how visuals differed from their mental images. The introduction and notes explain why filmmakers change source material (cutting scenes, adding scenes, altering character emphasis) and the answer key models analysis of how specific changes affect theme and characterization.

Students are asked to research the Magi, the Queen of Sheba, and King Solomon and to write journal sentences explaining the historical significance of these figures and why the author alludes to them. Students must explain how their knowledge of these references contributes to their understanding of "The Gift of the Magi." The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill: "Analyze how an author draws on and transforms outside material in a specific work."

The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly lists "Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work" as a skill students will learn. Students also read and analyze many poems (Activities 1–4), research poet biographies, and examine cultural and historical references in poems, which could provide background useful for comparing sources and adaptations.

The lesson's Skills list explicitly names "Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work," showing the topic as a targeted skill. Choice 3 (Ekphrastic Poem) asks students to study a work of art and compose a poem inspired by it, requiring students to create a new poetic work based on an existing artwork. Choice 7 (Provide Your Opinion) asks students to compare Bob Dylan's lyrics with established literary winners, which prompts comparative consideration of a creator's relation to literary tradition.

Students read an interview with Patricia McCormick and are asked to explain what role McCormick had in writing I Am Malala and whether her involvement changes the book's classification as biography, autobiography, or memoir. The Student Activity Page directs students to examine catalog records, front matter, and back matter and to cite specific evidence about why a title is labeled biography, autobiography, or memoir. Activities ask students to compare themes, viewpoints, and evidence about a book's accuracy across works about real people.

The Parent Plan Skills section explicitly lists: "Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning." Activity 1 Option 2 directs students to re-read the lieutenant's speech and the RUF soldier's conversation, choose a conclusion about the conduct of each side, and provide examples or quotations from the text to support that conclusion. Option 1 has students compare listed war crimes for RUF and government soldiers and record supporting examples/quotations, requiring them to draw evidence and evaluate competing claims.

Students are instructed to gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, assess the usefulness and timeliness of each source (e.g., favoring .edu/.gov and reputable news outlets), and record sources in a K-N-S chart and on activity sheets. They practice integrating outside information using quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing, and are required to provide in-text citations and a Works Cited page. The rubric and activities ask students to synthesize facts and to choose the three most relevant, compelling pieces of information to support a thesis.

Students are prompted to consider whether authority figures are truthful in the "Ideas to Think About" section with the question, "How can you determine whether the things authority figures tell you are true?" The "Questions to Discuss" ask students to evaluate Dink's claim that the buggers have been destroyed and whether Graff may be hiding information, which requires students to weigh competing claims about reality in the text. These prompts invite students to form judgments about characters' assertions and motives.

The lesson includes Activity 2 asking students to explain why Orson Scott Card chose the Latin allusion "Veni, vidi, vici," how it foreshadows plot development, and where else the phrase could appear in the text; students are asked to write one to two journal paragraphs addressing these questions. The Parent Plan Skills explicitly list the skill "Analyze how the author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work," linking the allusion activity to that analytic goal. Students are prompted to consider the phrase's original meaning and contemporary usage and to interpret how Card applies it to Ender's victories and to the larger idea of "conquering" Battle School.

Students watch a video that summarizes Joseph Campbell's 12-step "hero's journey" and record the 12 steps in their journals. Students choose six steps and use the "Hero's Journey" activity sheet to describe clear parallels between those steps and events in Ender's Game. The Parent Plan explicitly lists the skill "Analyze how the author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work," linking the activity to analysis of source material.

Students are asked to reread the Introduction and identify how Gladwell defines "outlier" (e.g., dictionary definitions on p. 3 and a definition on p. 7) and to explain how the Roseto study functions in the Introduction. The activity prompt explicitly directs students to explore how Gladwell uses analogy and other strategies to help the reader understand the term "outlier." The parent/answer key states students should understand the Roseto study as an analogy and note that Gladwell applies its lessons (looking beyond the individual to culture and background) to the study of success.