Ninth graders read and analyze the William Shakespeare play "Romeo and Juliet" and compare it to the 1996 modern version of the play and the movie "West Side Story." They write an essay comparing and contrasting the three versions.

Five activities encourage scholars to look inside, get in touch with their emotions, and express their feelings appropriately. Stories set the stage for feeling identification and in-depth discussions. Role play and the act of miming...

Eliminate the hard work of creating an entire literature unit with this reading guide for the novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. From background information about the author and her motivation for writing the story to...

As the investigation into the reporting of the events in Ferguson, Missouri, continues, class members consider how bias influences perception, how the tendency is to collect evidence that supports preconceived notions. The big idea...

Middle schoolers engage in study of plot and setting with the reading of many familiar texts. They identify the plot and setting with the help of a worksheet. The teacher works with the class for scaffolding and helps them to recognize...

Stories contain very specific elements; plot, characters, and key events. Learners use pantomime to retell a key event from the beginning, middle, and end of a story. They discuss setting and character as each group discusses and then...

Students explore world literature through completing several varied exercises. In this compare and contrast lesson students compare and contrast stories and how time and culture impacts the stories.

Study historical events by combining the study of historical fiction and non-fiction. Learners read about true past events in historical fiction novels and then research non-fiction accounts of the same events. What are some differences...

Don't part with a resource on partitive division. Continuing along the lines of the previous lesson, pupils create stories for division problems, this time for partitive division problems. Trying out different situations and units allows...

Students learn how slaves communicated with each other.  In this slavery and freedom lesson plan, students learn how slaves used quilts as maps, learn what different quilt patterns meant, draw a picture for their class freedom quilt...

The fifth installment in a writing unit that culminates with a Hyperstudio illustrated group story project, this plan is ripe with ideas for ways to design group writing projects for elementary writers. Use the whole unit as a base from...

Study the chemistry of mining! Through nine lessons in the unit, learners explore different concepts related to mining. Their study ranges from rock and mineral analysis to the environmental impact of dynamite and the chemical reaction...

Start your unit on The Odyssey in a fun and accessible way! Three options help your young readers grasp the concept of brave Odysseus's tale, including making masks of Greek gods and goddesses, and responding to different...

Students are taught an important lesson about how an adult can influence life in a positive or negative way. They are encouraged to accomplish their best at home and school. The students write a personal story about a special person that...

Eighth graders identify six story elements (setting, characters, character traits, plot, resolution, and point of view) and create short stories utilizing all six elements. They are introduced to story elements as the things that make up...

Students identify short story elements. In this story elements lesson plan, students review vocabulary about the elements of a story and then practice finding the elements in the short story links.

Students explore the similarities and differences among their classmates. They are introduced to the Civil Rights Movement-that all people be treated equally and fairly. Students discuss the importance of appreciating individual...

Second graders re-write a story. In this alternate endings lesson plan, 2nd graders read Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, by Leo Lionni, stopping to discuss the events and predict what will happen next. Students work in groups to come up...

Second graders explore setting through improvisations.  For this theatre lesson, 2nd graders perform a variety of improvisations in different settings and chart how they established the setting in the different environments. 

Students identify bias in books. In this character education lesson, students read a text and discuss any gender or racial bias which may be present. Students retell and rewrite the story in a fair way.

Students define fictional story elements. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read Jack and the Beanstalk and view an included SMARTboard lesson. Students use the SMARTboard to match the story element terms with the specific...

Students create their own magical story. In this story writing lesson, students listen to the story The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe b C.S. Lewis to find the basic elements of a story. They come up with their own magical...

Second graders read the story PUSS IN BOOTS identifying main characters, setting, and significant events. They then read the story JAMIL AND THE CLEVER CAT and compare it with the story PUSS IN BOOTS compiling a list of characters,...

Everyone has a story; help your writers develop their own with this prewriting packet. Designed for upstanders to share their story and encourage others to be upstanders, this set of questions helps writers craft and structure a story to...