Write and work with authors on the Scholastic Website to promote the recognition of various genres.  Young writers will participate in activities based on the type of writing such as biography, descriptive, folktales, mystery, news,...

Have your class explore the art of storytelling through this lesson plan on fairy tales and folktales. Learners interact with a variety of fairy tales and folktales. They practice telling stories out loud as well as writing their own....

Introduce the concept of myths to your class. Using the link to "Myths Around the World," read a story aloud and have learners list characteristics of a myth. Readers then choose their own myths from the site and work in groups to answer...

Have your young television viewers discuss popular shows among their peers. After choosing one show to analyze, middle and high schoolers read about the 2007-2008 network television lineup with the New York Times article "Gauging...

Students explain the value of different genres of art. In this art lesson, students describe the differences in various genres of art and make comparisons between them. Students choose an art genre and create an original work of art...

Students play a Jeopardy game in which the questions are about different genres. They can use this activity as a review before a test.

The Bard, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def? “Sonnet 18,” Ego Tripping,” and “Black on Both Sides”? Sure! It’s the poetics. Class members compare the lyrics, rhythm, and rhyme in classic poetry to hip-hop in a richly detailed resource that...

Upper graders explore musical film and the Bohemian lifestyle common in Europe during the turn of the century through the musical Moulin Rouge. After listening to (or viewing) songs from the movie, they discuss the Bohemian era and how...

Students examine the basic characteristics of jazz, and its relationship to African-American culture and history. They listen to examples of jazz, conduct research, and create a 20th century timeline of music and historical events.

Pupils discuss the characteristics of several different writing genres. They are given a prompt to and work in groups to continue writing in the style of a humorous, fantasy or suspense story. They share their stories with the class.

Develop fluency with a variety of works. Help kindergartners use multiple strategies to understand text and decoding. They will create an alphabet poem book on Kid Works 2 to illustrate and write their own poem. In the end, they will...

Students explore characteristics of the myth genre.  In this myth lesson, students become familiar with various myths and the cultures they were derived from. Students compare in a graphic organizer. Students write...

Students explore characteristics of Indian Tales/ Parables. In this literature lesson, students compare contemporary society to western culture through analysis. Students create their own tales using this genre.

Second graders complete a KWL chart about libraries. They create a book using writing patterns of a particular author. Students decide criteria for awarding the Second Grade Librarian Award to books in the classroom library, and use a...

Learners examine genre painting. They explore the Illinois State Museum website, identify how genre paintings were composed, analyze the activities of an Illinois farm in the 1850s, and create a genre painting of current everyday...

Spice up your writing! Your amateur writers will benefit from concentrating on understanding and improving verb use in writing. An introductory activity addresses weak verbs. A second exercise helps them see the importance of strong...

Students describe some of the distinguishing characteristics background rhythms used in R&B. They perform typical R&B accompaniment patterns and develop their own horn section to play background rhythms.

Class members use e-mail and the merry-go-round story format to create a science fiction story. Each writer begins by selecting one of three prompts, crafting the introductory paragraph and sending the paragraph to the next person on the...

Students read and analyze the story. In this language arts instructional activity, students read Come on, Rain! and examine how mood and tone are created, the use of figurative language and the characteristics of the genre. Students...

Students discuss the style and characteristics of the Classical era and the genre of opera. They compare and contrast modern day popular icons to musical icons throughout history. They write original librettos to modern entertainment.

Students use Inspiration to Identify the defining characteristics of Fairy Tales, They create a literary web, study the basic structure of plot, and recognize that themes reoccur across literary works. They complete Once Upon a Time...

Students explain elements of relief sculpture. They create a sculpture from foam. They identify characteristics of the art of Clayton Pond and Pop Art. They develop skills in working with color.

Students identify the characteristics of trickster tales. In this literary genres lesson, students read trickster tales from Africa and create a clay model of a trickster character. Students design a "wanted" poster with a...

One of the most fun characteristics of a poem is rhythm! Little ones will clap along as you read a poem, to determine the rhythm of the piece. The book In the Swim is used throughout the lesson; it contains fish themed poems that kids...