Use this writing prompt and brainstorming page to help your pupils prepare to write their own myths. Individuals must choose a natural event to explain, come up with a protagonist and an antagonist, determine a setting, and think of a...

Identifying conflict is important, but how do you handle conflict when it comes? Young scholars use a plot mountain to graph two role-play scenarios about interpersonal conflicts.

This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...

Cover Freytag's Triangle and examine Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" in this third lesson plan in a series of fourteen based around short stories. Learners take a quiz and discuss Freytag's triangle. They apply the triangle to "The Bet" and...

Mark Twain's frame story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" provides an opportunity for a study of this story-within-a-story pattern. Using an illustrated template, class members record a plot summary of the frame story...

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.

Fourth graders use a four-square graphic organizer to plan a paragraph writing about a wheelwright. Using gathered research from the previous unit, young writers discover how to organize a plot in preparation for writing a historical...

Ninth graders examine how literature connects to real-life and see how irony aids in the development of theme. They read Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, and discuss elements of foreshadowing and situational irony. Then learners will write...

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

"Friend, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..." Those words begin one of the most persuasive speeches in literature. Explore the elements of persuasion in a series of lessons related to William Shakespeare's Julius...

Whether it's dark, delightful, or somber, set the mood with William Golding's Lord of the Flies. High-schoolers practice descriptive writing by creating the appropriate mood for an original scene, starring one of the book's main...

A writer has the responsibility to defend the less fortunate members of society. At least that was the view of Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables. The novel is the subject of a study guide from Orlando Shakespeare Theater....

Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...

If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward worksheet to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title, character, plot, point...

Young scientists use a worksheet to help them perform a lab on the decay of a radioactive element. The worksheet serves as both a task guide and a lab sheet for pairs of learners. This activity requires a calculator and has excellent...

Tenth graders analyze the use of literary elements in W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw." Literary analysis is accomplished by a review of the plot and order of events in the story. Learners work in pairs to match the events from the story...

Reading a dialect can be difficult; show readers that it can also reveal fascinating details! They read two extracts from Jane Gardam's The Hollow Land, which is written in a British dialect. Readers answer comprehension questions,...

Students read a book, noting the characters, setting, plot, and events. They gather, synthesize, and then select the most important data from their book to prepare a book report by decorating a charm bracelet with pertinent information...

In this Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End activity and progress test activity, students respond to a total of 15 short answer, multiple choice, matching, and fill in the blank questions pertaining to Pirates of the Caribbean - At...

Three great graphic organizers guide readers to see how the elements of plot and main idea can be charted to reveal the theme of a story. Model the process on the provided Direct Teaching Teacher Graphic Organizer using Aesop’s The...

Good questions can help focus readers' attention on the elements writers use to add depth to their stories. The questions on this worksheet do just that and encourage readers to think critically about a story and author's purpose.

Develop novice script-writers. Small groups sift through a sample script, noting any script-writing conventions to share with the whole class. Using these conventions and plot structures, these groups compose a script for a 10-minute...

Ten drama lessons are the perfect addition to your language arts or theater class. With a focus on script elements, plot development, and parts of a dramatic story, the lessons guide young playwrights through the steps of telling a story...

Plays are meant to be seen and so are these 12 elements that give plays the dramatic effect. Introduce young actors to these key terms and their explanations