Elementary readers in literature groups practice summarizing chapter-by-chapter with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Focus on main idea, supporting details, and the 5 Ws. Unfortunately, a clever "peach" graphic organizer to which...

Students examine fairy tales. As an introductory activity, students play the statue game. In groups, they write statements that tell the plot of the story. Using props, and without voices, students retell the story by creating...

Through reading and writing, learners explore common elements found in fairy tales. After discussing traditional fairy tales, class members listen to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by John Scieszka, a hilarious retelling of the...

Fourth graders read the book Because of Winn Dixie and define the characters, setting, and plot. In this Winn Dixie lesson plan, 4th graders also identify quality water management techniques addressed in the story.

Partners create oral presentations about a short story or poem incorporating audiovisual aids. Then they make presentations to their classmates. Linked story map will help guide readers' organization of their presentation;...

Write dear old Peter Rabbit a letter with this lesson. First, youngsters listen to the story Peter Rabbit and analyze the story elements. Then they complete a story map graphic organizer in order to write a letter to Peter...

Learners investigate storytelling by analyzing images in a book.  For this reading analysis lesson, students read and analyze the book Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.  Learners observe the illustrations in...

Students explore and practice the strategy of summarization and scaffolding while mastering how to recap the details from a story and/or singling out what is important to recall from a story. They summarize the book, "How the Grinch...

Students study and perform Aesop's fables. In this Aesop's fables lesson, students read and/or listen to a number of the famous fables. They make masks based on the characters and perform a fable using the masks. They write about the...

Fourth graders listen to key events in John Muir's life and plot locations on a California map. They discover that John Muir was an immigrant to California who encountered environmental problems and found solutions.

Students read the English folktale, "Tattercoats," identify basic literary terms, and respond to writing prompts. They compare and contrast with another Cinderella story version and create a graphic response to the story.

Fourth graders read a Haitian folktale. They study main characters in Haitian folktales and explore multicultural information about Haiti. They clarify understanding by retelling a sentence (paraphrasing) and a passage in their own...

Students investigate Mexican holiday celebrations and compare them to American Christmas holidays. They conduct a Mexican Christmas Scavenger Hunt. The lesson uses a streaming video in order to engage students in the main objectives.

Students examine the role of shadow puppets. They create their own puppet and put on a play.

Students explore surrealism through the artwork of Hieronymus Bosch. For this surrealism lesson, students understand the characteristics of the art of Bosch and create an original artwork and poem to go with it.

Retelling a story shows a student's comprehension. Use this site to test your knowledge of how to retell events that happen in a story.

This site provides a collection of concise folktale plots for student retelling. Teachers can also view and use the links that contain online lesson plans and activities.