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Build a Tasty Sandwich
The subject doesn't sound to interesting, but with a child's imagination even a trip to the store can be an adventure. The class writes a narrative story about a trip to the store. They organize their stories to include an introductory...
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Around the Room Short Story
Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...
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Storytelling: Writers' Workshop Learning Center
Evaluating a variety of narrative texts can help build strong writers. Pupils identify plot elements and their relation to personal experience, then apply what they gleaned from the class discussion to create their own narratives.
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Writing Scripts
Create a classroom full of writers using this innovative technique. The presentation walks learners through the process of writing a script, including identifying the setting, characters, and major events in the story. After reviewing...
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Story Elements
Review story elements with your class using this resource. Learners can take a story they have read as a class and identify story elements. They focus on characters, setting, the introduction, and plot. Then, they use graphic organizers...
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Holes: Setting and Inferences
Learners read the book Holes, and draw a picture of the setting and answer questions about inferences regarding the book. They answer two questions and draw one setting.
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The Setting of Any Fairy Tale
Focus on setting using this instructional activity. Learners read a fairy tale and identify the setting for the story. They also list adjectives to describe it. In addition, they draw a picture describing the setting.
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Character Development - Flora
Watch video clips that illustrate a character's development. Your class can watch video's about a character and her development through a life decision. They then complete a timeline activity for the story.
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Elements of a Story - Plot, Characters, and Setting
Use this SMART board activity with any short story in your unit plan. The SMART board file contains a step-by-step guide to plot diagrams, including an interactive practice page and an assignment. This resource is beneficial for language...
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Plot of a Short Story (SMART Board)
Help your pupils track the plot of a short story with this SMART Board activity. Using the short story "The Dinner Party" by Mona Gardner (though the instructional activity would work with any other short story), they define the...
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Movies and Entertainment
Test your students' knowledge of literary and cinematic genres with this matching instructional activity. Twenty-one terms, such as "thriller," "western," "novel," and "horror," can be matched with their definition. Use this activity as...
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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...
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Plot Development
Students identify the elements of plot and write a script with a strong plot. In this plot lesson, students identify elements of plot in examples by completing a chart and a graphic organizer. Students then create plots from...
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Identifying Plot Conflicts
Fifth graders identify plot conflicts in the text. For this plot conflict lesson, 5th graders read Dogs Don't Tell Jokes and recognize examples of character vs. self and character vs. character.
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The Similarities and Differences of Setting
Sixth graders identify components of the setting in science fiction text. In this compare and contrast settings lesson, 6th graders read Only You Can Save Mankind and identify similarities and differences between science fiction...
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Compare and Contrast Settings
Third graders compare different lifestyles. In this settings lesson, 3rd graders read Colonial Life, determine similarities and differences between today and life in Colonial times and write a passage about these similarities and...
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Setting's Effect on a Character's Actions
Do the actions of a character in a story change based on the setting the writer provides? Learners explore the concept of character action in relation to story setting by investigating the setting and events in the story Science...
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Changing the Point of View
Fourth graders identify the point of view. In this point of view lesson students compare and contrast the point of view from third person omniscient and first person. Students rewrite a paragraph in an alternative point of view.
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Lesson 2: Using Setting to Make Predictions about Characters
Fourth graders look at the importance of setting in a story. In this setting lesson, 4th graders see how the setting of a story affects the actions of the characters and how you can predict these actions based on the setting. They read...
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The Effects of Character Decisions
Fifth graders analyze the effect of character choices. In this lesson students read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Students explore the affect of decisions on the plot of the story.
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Implicit Setting
Students draw the setting of a story. In this setting and context clues lesson, students learn how to use textual clues to determine and visualize the setting of stories. Students discuss the context clues they use to...
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Identifying Problems and Solutions in the Story
Students explore story structure. In this Groundhog's Day story structure literacy lesson, students listen to the story Groundhog Stays Up Late by Margery Cuyler, then pause half way through the story to identify the problem and...
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What a Character!
Students look at the role of characters in a story. In this character lesson, students discuss how different types of characters change the plot of the story. They see how storytellers use their body, face, and voice to tell stories.
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Diary of Anne Frank: Act 1 Scene 1 & 2
Eighth graders read act 1 scenes 1 & 2 of the play Diary of Anne Frank. In this Diary of Anne Frank lesson plan, 8th graders discuss how the setting of the play affects the mood of the story and answer short answer questions.