Review the terms denotation, connotation, diction, and mood in paragraph writing. After defining the terms, middle schoolers practice writing examples of both connotation and denotation. They complete a connotation and denotation...

The danger of mob mentality is on display in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Get your class thinking with some challenging quickwrite questions, then assign characters from the play to be read aloud altogether. Links to worksheets...

Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest...

Twelfth graders examine the elements of literature. They each read a chapter of a novel, sequentially list the main ideas, present a summary of the chapter to the class, sequence the events, and review the novel by summarizing the timeline.

Students explain the significance of the Horseshoe Curve.  For this railroad lesson plan students reconstruct elements of a German plot to destroy the Horseshoe Curve. 

Students read a story about fire safety and create their own ending to the story in order to learn about fire escape plans and to demonstrate their writing skills. In this fire safety lesson, students discuss the parts of a story, read...

Tenth graders use the novel To Kill a Mockingbird to analyze relationships in society. In this literature analysis instructional activity, 10th graders participate in a shoe activity where they bring in one shoe belonging to someone they...

A unit plan uses short texts to teach literary elements such as theme and characterization. Included are passages by authors such as Walter Dean Myers and Sandra Cisneros. Activities include quick writes, filling in graphic organizers,...

Young scholars read "Fans Gear Up to Say Goodbye to 'Friends'" from The New York Times and discuss the elements of the sitcom 'Friends' that made it such a success. After brainstorming reasons for 'Friends' popularity, students work in...

Learners view slides from the movie "Hoot" and discuss characters, setting and the caption. They identify where in the rise and fall of the plot this scene takes place. They brainstorm elements needed to create a story from a picture....

First graders identify text that uses sequence or other logical order. They identify and interpret how different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different...

Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. They create a scrapbook of the characters in the book, play a reading comprehension maze game, and participate in an online...

Students demonstrate their knowledge of panthers by writing a play on the subject.  In this animal life instructional activity, students view a slide-show on school computers of a veterinary exam of a panther.  Students...

Tests readers' comprehension of the plot of George Orwell's famous novel 1984. Although most questions only require the test taker to recall information about the novel's plot, some questions ask for analysis. Instant feedback and...

Did you know that November is Novel Writing Month? In the first of a series of lessons, class members are introduced to the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project.

Students examine the story elements of characters, plot, and setting. They identify the story elements from various "ingredients" taken out of a pot, and add their own story element "ingredients" on index cards into the pot.

This comprehensive unit on linear and exponential functions provides numerous clearly-written worksheets. Topics include graphing linear equations, solving systems of equations algebraically and by graphing, identifying the domain and...

Sixth graders read and analyze The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. They study the elements of literature found in the book. Students create an elements of literature flip book that shows the various elements of literature in the novel.

Students distinguish the elements of fiction in a short story. In this fiction elements lesson, students complete nine lessons of activities to learn about the elements of fiction in short stories.

Students read a short story and answer questions.  In this comprehension lesson, students read a short story and complete a worksheet answering comprehension questions and identifying the parts of a story. Students create their own...

Dive into animation creation using Dreamworks® animated films. Compare and contrast characters, wonder and ponder why the plot is so important, and think of background and themes as your creativity unrolls onto paper.

An activity boosts reading comprehension by challenging scholars to answer questions about a narrative tale detailing elements—plot, characters, setting, theme, problem, and solution.