Explore the literary elements of Mildred Taylor's Song of the Trees with this beautiful Prezi presentation. Focusing on the story's characters, setting, and major plot points, young readers are provided with a complete summary of...

Somebody. Wanted. But. Then. Introduce your classes to the structure that supports stories with a lesson that teaches readers how to identify the four basic components writers use to craft their tales. After identifying these elements in...

Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...

Pass the tea! Using the resource, scholars participate in a Tea Party protocol to analyze text and images about inventions that helped meet societal demands. After sharing their observations with each other, they discuss visual elements...

There is more going on under the surface of Ernest Hemingway's work than one can glean in an initial reading. A literature resource compares the themes and structures of several of Hemingway's works before prompting class members to use...

While cities had only a small fraction of the population in colonial America, they played a significant role in pre-revolutionary years, and this was certainly true for the largest city in the North American colonies: Philadelphia. Your...

The firsthand accounts of what it was like to be an enslaved person in the mid-1800s riveted a nation and the issue ultimately led to civil war. Using excerpts from Frederick Douglass's autobiography, budding historians examine what it...

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has delighted readers for generations. An in-depth study guide gives an overview of an adaptation of the classic story for the stage. Along with summaries of the plot and key characters, theater...

Need a hero? Super! Groups create their modern-day marvel and craft a narrative with all the elements required in such a tale.

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

A language arts instructional activity helps young writers identify elements that make up historical fiction. First, it guides them through elements of fictional pieces with vocabulary cards. Then, pupils work collaboratively to...

How do Poe's choices of imagery, rhythm and rhyme scheme, and structure help build the desired single effect of "The Raven"? After listening to a dramatic reading of the poem, class members consider whether Poe's choices do...

Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...

In the Enemy's Country is a painting that depicts several Native Americans dressed and ready for war. Youngsters analyze the artistic and storytelling elements the artist used to convey his idea. They then write a creative piece from the...

How does Gabriel Garcia Marquez make the magical elements of his novel appear so real? That's the challenge facing readers of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Scholars examine the tone and descriptive details Garcia Marquez uses to...

Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...

This isn't your traditional Robin Hood tale! Explore a Middle English ballad with your young historians, and examine the underlying structure and purpose of historical texts.

One must first learn how to analyze art before they can properly respond to it. Here, young analysts examine six abstract pieces in a systematic and formal way. They then respond to one of the pieces in either a poem or an essay. An...

Here, Autumn Poplars is the painting upper graders will analyze. They look at techniques, time period, and the use of impressionism to convey a natural theme. They go outside to make observations of nature and use what they see to write...

In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...

Students closely read " To Build a Fire," to explore the use of narrative point of view and debate the distinction between knowledge and instinct. The elements of literary naturalism and how they relate to Jack London's work is examined...

To prepare for crafting their own memoir, class members examine poetry by Margaret Atwood, Billy Collins, Robert Hayden, and Claude McKay, stories by Richard Rodriquez and Willa Cather, and Barry Levinson's film Avalon. They examine...

If you are teaching Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, you can't afford to miss this source. An extensive list of ideas outlines numerous discussion topics, writing prompts, comprehension questions, oral presentations, and projects. Have class...

Young scholars explore the elements of a narrative for its purpose, type of audience, mood, main character, minor characters, setting, and conflicts in the story. A story outline is developed and a five paragraph essay composed in this...