Curated OER
Elements of a Short Story (SMARTboard)
TV for homework? Your pupils' dreams have come true! After reading Sandra Cisneros's "Eleven," they analyze the elements of the story, particularly the plot and and climax. The lesson could work with any short story that you are using to...
Shakespeare in American Life
Tom Hanks and Caliban: Survivor Superstars
Here’s a clever way to combine language arts and social studies. Shakespeare’s The Tempest is believed to have been inspired by the wreck of the Sea Venture on Bermuda in 1609. The class views a brief scene from Castaway in which Tom...
EngageNY
Analyzing How Shakespeare’s Play Draws upon Greek Mythology: Part 2
Pupils explore the narrative structure of a piece of literary text, mapping out the plot structure of the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they use their completed graphic organizers to write story summaries.
Curated OER
Story Map
In this Language Arts worksheet, students create a story map. Students include information about the setting, major and minor characters, plot, three events, and outcome.
Beacon Learning Center
What Goes Up Must Come Down
After your class has completed The Cay by Theodore Taylor, assess understanding of the plot. First, model how to fill out a plot line for your class. Next, have class members fill in the plot of The Cay on the provided story map. Invite...
Digital Education Resource Archive
Narrative Writing Unit
Each one of the learners in your class has a story to tell, so help them learn the most efficient and organized way to tell their tale. A thorough unit on narrative writing addresses the writing process, grammar, story structure,...
Curated OER
Plot Mobiles
Students read folktales and identify the plot of the story by making a mobile. In this inventive and colorful lesson, students listen to a variety of famous folktales, and practice identifying the plot. Then, they work together to create...
Curated OER
Post Assessment: Plot Elements and Characterization
Learners use the provided worksheet to identify plot elements and then fill in these elements on a plot diagram. Also included is a template for a character map that asks readers to choose a character, identify two traits, and supply...
Curated OER
Story Map for Bud, Not Buddy
Why should your class complete a story map? After reading Bud, Not Buddy, divide your class into pairs or small groups to complete the included worksheet. They list the main characters, the conflict, main plot events, the resolution, and...
Curated OER
Story Map for Crime and Punishment Part I, Chapters 1-5
While reading chapters one through five of Crime and Punishment, focus your readers with this guide. Eight questions are given here, encouraging the reader to study the protagonist and the struggles that ensue with the surrounding...
Curated OER
Story Mapping A Favorite Book
First graders create a diagram of a story by using the computer program Kidspiration. In this diagramming lesson plan, 1st graders will pick a book to write about. They then will plug in story elements of the book into the computer...
Curated OER
Map of Ship Trap Island
Learners read the short story "The Most Dangerous Game," and create maps of Ship Trap Island and justify why items are placed on their map in certain locations.
Curated OER
Reading Study Guide: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Meant for use with Maya Angelou's first autobiographical volume I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the materials here are designed for a homeschool setting, but they'd suit any classroom or text. Graphic organizers, chapter summary guides,...
Curated OER
Tortoise and Hare Races
Practice basic map skills with the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. After listening to the story, class members create a map that indicates the starting line, the path the animals took, where they stopped to rest, and the finish line....
Curated OER
Different Strokes For Different Folktales
Young readers use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and story maps, to analyze a variety of folktales and the elements of a story. They use writing, sequencing activities, and creative art to identify the morals learned from a...
Curated OER
Through the Forest and Home Again: Maps Help Us Find Our Ways
Learners read Little Red Riding Hood, focusing on her path home to Grandma's house. In this language arts and geography lesson, students perform a reader's theater, re-creating the walk home and possible routes that could have been...
Curated OER
Writing/Setting/The Adventures of Tom Sawyer--Map Your Childhood Project
Students write using a strong sense of place. In this Adventures of Tom Sawyer lesson, students discuss the importance of setting to the novel. Students brainstorm five specific locations that contribute to their personal history....
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...
Curated OER
Introduction Lesson to the Book Where the Red Fern Grows
An excellent lesson plan on the classic book, Where the Red Fern Grows. Learners view the W. Wilson Rawls website and engage in a series of activities generated by the website. They write in their reflective journals, watch a video, and...
Curated OER
Story map
In this story map worksheet, students fill in a story map that contains the elements of conflict in a story. Students answer the questions of who, what, and why.
Curated OER
Non-Fiction Text Features
Distinguish between textual features of non-fiction in the book The Lewis and Clark Expedition and in the non-fiction story "Ta-Na-e-Ka." Third graders create posters and participate in group discussions to show their understanding of...
Curated OER
Pioneer Values in Willa Cather's My Antonia
Included in this resource are a variety of activities to do while reading Willa Cather's My Antonia. The activities, which range from mapping out Nebraska to writing activities about pioneer living, are all designed with one guiding...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Surprise!: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 2)
Surprise! is the theme of a unit covering such topics as consonants, blending, short vowels sounds, high frequency words, and number words. The unit's lessons also include teachable moments covering story structure, illustrations,...
Cassandra Reigel Whetstone
Farmer McPeepers and His Missing Milk Cows
Pair your reading of Farmer McPeepers and His Missing Milk Cows with the questions and activities provided here. Learners answer questions about the text, create story maps, put together brochures, relate math to the story, practice some...