Curated OER
Lesson Plan 2: Good Novel, Bad Novel
What are the characteristics of a good piece of writing? What makes a story interesting? Give your pupils a chance to define the qualities of good novels and what they see as the qualities of bad novels. Class members record these...
Novelinks
The Little Prince: Biopoem Strategy
Learn about character traits with a biopoem activity. Based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, the activity prompts learners to fill in the blanks of a poem form to describe themselves.
Novelinks
The House on Mango Street: Biopoem
Young poets demonstrate their understanding of a character from Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street by crafting a biopoem that captures the essence of this person.
Idaho Coalition
The Hunger Games: Gender Empowerment
The odds are in your favor that your pupils will love this lesson that uses The Hunger Games to launch a study of gender empowerment, as well as the influence of social constructs of gender. Groups discuss how Katniss Everdeen and Peeta...
Novelinks
Oedipus the King: Biopoem
The biopoem is a great way for instructors to get to know class members, classmates to get to know each other, and readers to flesh out their understanding of a character. Why not create a biopoem for a character from Oedipus the...
Curated OER
Read and Remember - Story Grammar
Students use the Story Grammar strategy to outline the main elements of the story which will help them with free recall and cued recall. The strategy includes: identifying the main characters in the story, recalling where and when the...
Curated OER
Do You Know What You Just Read?
Students answer reading comprehension questions using the "story grammar" technique. They listen to a story and then answer questions using the technique: main character, setting, main events, and resolution. Students complete an...
Curated OER
Remembering What We Read
Students discover strategies to help them better understand the stories they read. As a familiar story is read to the class, individuals practice answering basic questions about the main characters, settings, problems, etc. while...
Curated OER
Anger, Aggression and Adolescents
Students examine the relationship between anger, aggression and teenagers. As a class, they share a difficult situation in their own lives and review the techniques to properly deal with it. In groups, they discuss how they feel about...
Curated OER
Identify the Mood
In this reading worksheet, students identify the mood of a book, story, song, movie, TV show, or play. Students record words and phrases about the characters, setting, and plot. Students also describe their resulting feelings and thoughts.
Curated OER
Books Have Feelings Too
Second gradersincrease their reading fluency and expressiveness through the use of various strategies. After reviewing decoding and rereading, 2nd graders complete an initial read of a novel text without expression. Each student reads a...
Curated OER
Management of Grief and Loss
Fifth graders learn of coping behaviors related to grief and loss. They recognize the tasks associated with the grief and loss process. They also have an opportunity to identify common ways literary characters cope with loss.
Curated OER
Reach for the Stars
Fifth graders select Greek Mythological characters to research. They gather research and keep notes on Inspiration. Students are to answer the question, "Which mythological character do you feel is the most worthy of being a...
Curated OER
When Randolph Turned Rotten
Pupils explore friendship by reading a book with their classmates. For this human relationship lesson, students read the story When Randolph Turned Rotten, and discuss the main character's relationships as well as the overall arc of the...
Curated OER
A Weekend With Wendell
Students complete activities with the story A Weekend With Wendell by Kevin Henkes. In this literature lesson, students listen to the story and answer comprehension questions. They compare this story and its characters to other ones...
Curated OER
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Students read Sarah, Plain and Tall, and they write a journal entry for each chapter. They can write about anything that come to mind as you read the story. Students are able to draw in the journal. They write down key words or...
Curated OER
JANE AND THE DRAGON
Third graders act out a play called Jane and the Dragon. Students develop vocabulary through dialogue. They delve into the feelings of others through learning about the characters. They also identify the characteristics of various types...
Curated OER
Friendship and Death
Fourth graders share their thoughts and feelings about friendship and death and connect them with those of the characters in the book, The Bridge to Teribithia. They complete a friendship picture book and write a letter as one of the...
Curated OER
Native American Legends
Second graders will engage in an in-depth study of Michigan Native American culture comparing and contrasting the culture of today with that of the past. They will also read a variety of Native American literature focusing on the story...
Curated OER
Because of Winn-Dixie
Students make connections with the book Because of Winn-Dixie through writing. In this writing lesson, students pretend to be the main character and write a letter to her mother, using very descriptive language. Students also...
Curated OER
Lonely Fish
Students read the book The Rainbow Fish. In this citizenship activity, students discuss how the characters in the story resolved conflicts. Students create a rainbow fish from foil and cotton.
Curated OER
Coming to America
Students present tableaus showing scenes from The Memory Coat, a book about immigration. For this tableau lesson, students examine the cover of the book and make predictions about what is happening and who the people are. They...
Curated OER
Poetry Through the Eyes of An Actor
Students examine the ways poetry has been used by actors. After reading a poem, they discuss the characters and the differences in how the male and female students view them. In groups, they read a few of Shakespeare's sonnets and write...
Curated OER
Alice in Wonderland
Students explore the contrasting movement characteristics of Alice, the White Rabbit and the Queen of Hearts. In a circle students follow the teacher who introduces movement for the characters of the Alice, the White Rabbit and the Queen...