Do your young readers have difficulty visualizing what they read? Although the activity described here is for The Call of the Wild, the strategy could be used with any narrative. At the conclusion of each chapter of Jack London’s novel,...

Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

Students complete a character study using a database to compile information from a novel. They design a five slide presentation highlighting the character's reaction to different situations in the book. They write an acrostic poem using...

Claudia Kincaid decides to run away to bring some excitement to her life, but she never expects the adventure she finds. A helpful study guide takes readers through the novel From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler....

As the culminating activity in a unit study of science fiction, young writers demonstrate their understanding of the genre by producing their own graphic novel. After deciding on the main elements of their story, individuals use a comic...

While reading A River Runs Through It, have your high schoolers work on their final project, a multi-genre research paper. There are 10 clear steps for completion but not much additional help. For early high schoolers (or...

Integrate history, math, and art into a study of The Grapes of Wrath with a series of activities that ask learners to investigate the social, political, economic, and environmental factors at play during the 1930s. Designed to be used...

Create a picture dictionary for one of William Shakespeare's most famous plays. After readers finish The Tempest, they assign each letter of the alphabet to a concept or character, and add a description and evidence from...

Students complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book Love To Langston. In this reading lesson plan, students complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions,...

Pupils, working in groups create a newspaper based on the events that take place in a novel. Groups complete sections of the newsletter based on criteria and publish it using newsletter publishing software.

Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples...

Students read a chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and define new words for their dictionaries. In this vocabulary lesson students choose two or three assignment from a list of projects and complete it using...

Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...

Ideas like this are highly effective for helping build better reading comprehension. The class listens to an excerpt from a grade-appropriate text, and they discuss what clues or words helped them visualize the scene. They then read a...

Mirroring Jerry Spinelli's style in Wringer, chapter 5, pupils use the "counting up/down technique" to recall an important moment in their lives. In the book, the character is being punched, and between blows he remembers details...

How can you interest your reader? Here is a great lesson on reading and discussing the characteristics of a narrative. Elementary schoolers explore writing techniques to hook the reader. They identify their hook and share their...

Young scholars explore podcast design.  In this literacy and technology lesson plan, students read a novel during book club and design a promotional podcast to recommend the book to their peers.  Necessary technology expertise...

Students explore characterization in Little Women. In this literature lesson, students participate in written analysis and research in order to explore Alcott's characterization in the novel.

Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...

Are you working on an Outsiders unit? Use this list of activities to deepen your middle schoolers' understanding of the novel. After reading S.E. Hinton's novel, young readers work on three required activities, including participating in...

Students review the literary elements of plot and conflict. In this plot and conflict lesson, students read a story and answer questions about the plot and conflict within. Students create a concept map for the novel to identify the...

Did you know that the world's first novel was written by a woman? Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji, was published in 1021. Class members research Eastern and Western cultures in the 10th and 11th centuries, view modern adaptations of...

Young readers plan and draft a book report focusing on the five key components of a novel: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. After completing a story board, pupils then prepare a PowerPoint book report that is shown to the...

Fifth graders review two or three chapters of a novel. In this literature lesson, 5th graders list new words, write the definition of the word on the bottom of the paper and choose a picture in a magazine that represents that word.