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Frame Story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Mark Twain's frame story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" provides an opportunity for a study of this story-within-a-story pattern. Using an illustrated template, class members record a plot summary of the frame story...
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Short Story Lesson Plan
Students read and discuss the short story, "The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm," by Mark Twain. They assume the role of the main characters in the story and write a humorous letter of complaint using a business letter format. They...
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Keep It Short!
Students examine the process of summarizing text. They participate in a class discussion, and read an assigned passage from their textbook, highlighting the main points of the text. Students then write a short summary of their...
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Personal Adventure Stories
Pupils examine the characteristics of an adventure story. Students write an adventure story of their own based on a true personal experience. After drafting their story, pupils use a word processor to write, edit, and revise their work.
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Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
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Genre Lesson: Autobiography
Start kids thinking about point of view and autobiographies by telling them a short story about your morning (first person), and then asking a volunteer to re-tell the story to you (second person). There are tips to help you tie this...
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The Tell-Tale Heart
Readers listen and critically read fictional prose to answer prediction questions at designated stopping points, and then they give a summary of the short story. This lesson is ideal for English language learners developing English...
Teach It Primary
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Six tasks make up a lesson plan designed to reinforce comprehension and language skills using the poem "The Pied Piper" by Robert Browing. Scholars discuss and define unknown words, identify adjectives and onomatopoeia, review complex...
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Sato and the Elephants
Young scholars write a persuasive letter to the government of an African country that has elephants as a resource. Students research and debate the pros and cons of ivory use. Young scholars identify the value of ivory products versus...
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What Happened Next?
Fifth graders read one short story on their own. After reading, they are given a series of sentences and events from the short story and put them into the correct sequence. To end the lesson, they draw pictures from the story and...
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A Way with Words or Say What?
Learners examine Shakespearean language. In this word study activity, students investigate the meaning of words that Shakespeare invented. Learners draw and pantomime with the words prior to writing short stories that feature...
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Greek Mythology: Cultures and Art
Students examine literary arts. In this Greek mythology lessons, students read Greek myths and select characters from the myths to study. Students create watercolor illustrations of the characters, write short stories about the...
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Fun with Summarizing
Students practice summarization by creating a story map. After reading Freckle Juice, students working in groups, create a story map of the main events of the story. Groups use their story maps to summarize a chapter of the story and...
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Multimedia Book Reports
Pupils read a chapter book of 100-200 pages in length. They create a story map and multimedia book report. Pupils review the elements of a story map such as: characters, setting, problem, important events, solution, etc.) Students...
Recorded Books
Teacher's Guide: The Pinballs
Dive your class into the novel The Pinballs by Betsy Byars with the support of this reading guide. Including short answer questions, a multiple choice comprehension quiz, and extension activities, a variety of materials are provided for...
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Compare and Contrast Creation Stories
Young scholars compare and contrast creation stories. In this Bible studies lesson, students work in groups to read and summarize creation myths and share with their peers. The class goes on to create a chart to compare and contrast...
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Mayan Myths/Folktales
Middle schoolers work on summarizing a story, and they determine if it is a legend, a myth, or a fable. Working in groups to read and summarize stories, they then list evidence whether the tale is a myth, fable, or legend. They present...
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Look Who's Summarizing!
Students summarize an article in this lesson. Students observe the teacher summarizing a short paragraph. They then look at a National Geographic KIDS and read an article. They use a highlighter to highlight important facts to be...
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Cuentos
Students revise Spanish mystery stories. They sequence the events from a group's mystery story and suggest revisions for the setting. They revise their stories using the suggestions from classmates and describe characters in folktales....
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Read and Get Smart
Use the class textbook to read a full story about Martin Luther King, Jr. The class writes facts about him and outlines his life, then they read the author and illustrator summaries at the end of the story. They compare and contrast the...
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Hatchet
Young scholars write about a time when they were in a situation where nature frightened them. They write about how Brian solved the problem of how to start a fire in the story. Students complete a short research paper on one of the...
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Using Color as a Pre-Writing Tool
To better understand how to compose a clear and well-organized paper, learners read short passages, write summaries, and make colored graphic organizers. This is a fully developed three-day lesson with suggested assessments.
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Protecting Our Native Forests
Students explore environmental awareness by utilizing computer technology. In this ecosystem conservation lesson plan, students read assigned text which describes the current ecological conditions of Hawaii. Students collaborate in...
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A Novel Ending/ Closure Activity
Students summarize a story, identify the plot structure, and create a symbol that represents the essence of the story.