Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...

Young readers use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and story maps, to analyze a variety of folktales and the elements of a story. They use writing, sequencing activities, and creative art to identify the morals learned from a...

Pair this story map with any short story of your choice. The reader studies the characters, setting, conflict, and the story's major events. Or, provide this sheet for your budding writers to create their own stories. A clear graphic...

Explore language arts by reading two similar stories in order to compare and contrast them in class. Young readers read two Aunt Isabel books, by Kate Duke, and discuss the main characters, plot, and setting. They complete a graphic...

Sixth graders analyze plot conflict with science fiction and TV programs. After discussing the conflict, they identify solutions for the programs selected. They examine Only You Can Save Mankind for conflict, and consider ways the...

Have your class read the story "The Magic Lake," retold by Liana Romulo, from Filipino Children's Favorite Stories. Guide them to identify the problem, solution, and universal theme. They compare the theme of this story to the theme of...

Fill-out a story map to help your scholars with pre-writing. They will use a story map template to pre-write. They also organize their ideas into steps which become the foundation for their first draft. Concrete objects are brought in to...

Your class will create a four section flip book and write titles for characters, setting, problem, and solution. They will also draw a picture to show what they wrote about.

Can your class solve the problem presented in the Chinese folktale, "Weighing the Elephant?" Read your class the description before having them attempt to solve the problem. After they've come up with an answer (or attempted to!), finish...

After brainstorming ideas, class members work collaboratively to compose a tale using the Story Pyramid structure. After this guided practice, young writers use the form to compose individual stories.

Sixth graders conduct a plot diagram for a short story. They identify the problem, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. Students are able to sequence events in a story, and identify the parts of the plot...

Help your learners map a story with a graphic organizer provided. Four squares for setting, problem, characters, and solution surround the circle for theme. Use this with any story you may be reading to go over important elements of story.

Help your class identify story elements. They will discuss character, setting, problem, and solution after reading a story. A graphic organizer will help them to identify various elements with guided practice and independent practice...

Young readers view the video "Problem-Soving: Math Episode 2." They discuss the strategies featured in the video. They brainstorm some school-based problems such as, trash on the playground, noise in the hallways, limited handicapped...

Students create a graph and analyze it to see if the data shows there is a problem with wildlife on the roads. In this wildlife collision lesson students write an essay to support their conclusions.

Discover with your class the humorous solution that follows tall tales. Elementary learners will discuss the tall tale Paul Bunyan and give ordinary solutions for the problems in the story. They will read Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind...

First graders read two stories.  For this literary elements lesson, 1st graders read The Hat by Jan Brett, notice patterns of prediction, identify the setting, problem and solution and compare the story to the book The Mitten.

Fifth graders discuss what narrative writing represents. In this language arts lesson, 5th graders review the ten strategies for engaging reader. Students listen to and read good examples of each strategyand write engaging beginnings in...

Students analyze the plot, problem, and resolution of a story. In this story analysis lesson, students read stories and fill out graphic organizers about the plot, story problems, and resolution.

Using Alpha Smarts, 3rd graders write a "Story-in-the-Round". The end result of this project is one story for every student in the class that has been written by the entire class. Students create a PowerPoint presentation with a...

Students watch demonstrations of paper folded designs that do and do not fly and discuss their observations. They identify problems that they, the Wright Brothers, or NASA scientists face when designing an aircraft, and identify...

How do we know how a character was affected by the conflicts they encounter in a story? We use evidence from the text to make assertions about the characters we read about. Third graders practice finding and using evidence in a short...

Every good story has a plot, and every good plot contains a conflict or problem. Third graders familiarize themselves and identify how problems in a story are connected. First as a class and then in small groups or individually, learners...

Story elements: the problem and the solution. Help your youngsters identify these elements by reading Bringing Down the Moon, by Jonathan Emmett. After a class discussion and chart creation discussing problems and solutions from past...