Curated OER
The Power of Fiction
Students explore fiction that moves individuals to social action. For this literature lesson, students read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and analyze its literary worth as well as its investigative journalism. Students investigate other...
Curated OER
Nibble, Nibble, Little Mouse
Students complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. In this point of view lesson, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Students choose a character from the story and...
Curated OER
The Perfect City
Young scholars analyze group influences on people, events and culture. They design their own perfect society and report it to the class.
Curated OER
Cluing into Symbols Robert Frost
Learners use the Internet and video to discover how find evidence in poetry in order to discover the theme(s) of the poems. They are able to define poetic devices like simile, metaphor and repetition. Students identify themes in...
Curated OER
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Learners investigate storytelling by analyzing images in a book. In this reading analysis lesson, students read and analyze the book Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Learners observe the illustrations in the...
Curated OER
The Lorax Explorations
Students read and debate the purpose of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax, analyze its story elements, and write their own The Lorax II.
Curated OER
Carousel Brainstorm Book Report
Students participate in a group review activity to analyze and discuss a book they have all read. They write a paragraph summarizing the findings related to one of the topics. Older students might summarize three topics or all the topics.
Curated OER
Cartoons for the Classroom: B.D. Brings the War Home
In this current events worksheet, learners analyze Doonesberry political cartoons and characters. Students respond to 6 talking point questions.
Curated OER
Creative Writing
Students create a story with a beginning, middle and an ending. They also read and analyze another's story.
Curated OER
Narrative Strategies
Sixth graders explore strategies authors use to make characters and setting seem real to readers. They develop characters and describe setting in original narratives. Students read myths and determine common themes found in myths from...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for Day Two Part One of Unit on Bless Me, Ultima
Tenth graders prepare to read Bless Me, Ultima as they study the Southwestern region of the United States. They examine the characters, setting, and culture by using context clues, and participate in a jigsaw activity.
Gulf University
The Elements of Drama
Introduce young actors to the meanings of basic drama literary, technical and performance elements with this colorful presentation.
Curated OER
Around the Room Short Story
Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...
Curated OER
Shakespeare 2000
Young thespians can try their hand at writing a script and acting out a scene, while gaining a deeper understanding of the universal topics presented in Shakespeare's wide array of plays. Begin the lesson by conducting a compare and...
Curated OER
Understanding Character
Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...
Orlando Shakes
West Side Story: Study Guide
Hey, enough frabbajabba about that stool pigeon, Daddy-O! Using the West Side Story study guide, scholars explore the language of the play and read about its historical associations and themes. Pupils also engage in a Spectrum of...
Orlando Shakes
The Taming of the Shrew: Study Guide
William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew combines three things that are sure to capture scholars' attention: love, deception, and clown attire. With the curriculum guide, learners hone their opinion-writing skills and...
Curated OER
W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw" Theme
Pupils identify the theme of "The Monkey's Paw" and relate it to prior knowledge. In this "The Monkey's Paw" lesson, students discuss fate and coincidence and debate which one controls destiny. A test is chosen as the winner...
Curated OER
HyperStudio Book Reports
Fifth graders create a HyperStudio book report after reading a novel. They work in pairs or small groups to design a HyperStudio stack about a previously-read novel. They use a variety of graphic organizers to have Students gather...
Curated OER
Short Stories Through Multimedia Presentations
Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...
Curated OER
Focus on Figurative Language in Prose and Poetry
Students place emphasis on the use of figurative language when analyzing prose and poetry. In this figurative language lesson, students explore the tone of a story and its imagery. Students read and discuss how the author uses imagery in...
Curated OER
Protest Art in Pre-Revolutionary Russia
Students study the social class conflicts that existed during the Russian Revolution by reading the short stories of Anton Chekov and Leo Tolstoy. They analyze the stories to find criticisms of pre-Revolutionary Russia before designing...
Curated OER
Teachers See the Truth but Wait: Teaching Short Stories with Literature Circles
Students use literature circles to analyze four short stories from the Realms of Gold, Volume 3. In this literature circle lesson, students are assigned a role in the literature circle to improve their critical thinking skills for...
Curated OER
Multicultural Fairy Tales
Third graders explore the elements of a story using fairy tales from all over the world. They compare and contrast story elements, key ideas and concepts found in a variety of texts from around the world.