Need an extra challenge for your best readers? Check out a unit that uses Hannah Webster Foster’s epistolary novel, The Coquette, published in 1797, as the anchor text. The resource is packed with project ideas; each with its...

Students analyze elements of fiction while reading.  In this reading analysis instructional activity, students read specific texts and retell the information they remember.  Students discover how sequential storytelling works.

Students complete a literature analysis of fiction texts to study elements of fiction. In this fiction analysis lesson, students read various fiction texts and examine them to learn about fiction elements. Students learn to draw...

Students compare two pieces of literature. In this literary comparisons lesson, students read 2 books that they personally select and then compare and contrast the literary elements of each in a comparative essay.

Students complete a multi-lesson plan unit using research to create their own book about an animal of their choice. After discussing the elements of non-fiction texts, they use internet research to explore an animal of interest to them....

Students read both fiction and nonfiction books with desert themes. Then they write desert stories and reports, reviewing texts for information to include in writing. Students also design desert scenes with details and setting elements...

This useful approach to determining themes based on specific details from a book is aimed at readers of Jerry Spinelli's Maniac Magee. It could also easily be adapted for use with other books or readings. The class identifies recurring...

Young learners explore the antagonist. They retell Hansel and Gretel and identify the witch and the stepmother as antagonists. They then brainstorm common character traits of an antagonist, and then write a paragraph describing...

Thomas Jefferson lived a controversial life. A series of lesson plans shares information about Jefferson's Sons, a novel about the infamous founding father. Discussion questions and other tasks explore different points of view and cover...

Support your instruction of The Cay by Theodore Taylor with this extensive unit of materials. Provided here are prereading activities, worksheets and discussion questions for the entire book, and reading quizzes that you can use to check...

Jack London's adventurous novel White Fang may seem removed from students' everyday lives, but with an engaging set of reading activities, learners can relate to the story's themes. A three-page assignment delves into the...

In this story worksheet, students read about different story elements such as setting, characters, plot, and theme. Each element is illustrator by a cartoon.

Students read a short fiction book and demostrate comprehension by identifying the main characters, setting, conflict, theme, and summarizing the main points. They organize the information in Inspiration and create a powerpoint to show...

Students study techniques used to give an oral book report. They read their book, plan their thoughts, and write their report. Students present their book report to the class.

Students explore a "table of contents." In this book researching lesson, students identify common elements of a "table of "contents" and complete a worksheet with questions about this topic.

Fifth graders create a multimedia book report using a tree map to classify the elements fo fiction books.

How do you know the book you are reading is a fantasy? Explore the characteristics of the fantasy genre as you read the story Zathura with your class. Together you'll create a class chart that identifies the fantasy genre while building...

Learners acknowledge the difference between science and science fiction through a compare/contrast activity. They discuss their reading materials together. Students identify characteristics specific to science fiction.

Students discuss what setting represents. In this language arts lesson, students review the three elements of setting: where the story takes place, when does the story take place, and is it past, present, or future? Students create a...

Mark Twain, the famous American author, is often studied in the school system. Use "The Prince and the Pauper" to analyze the differences between the text and its video version.  This lesson includes several culminating project...

Get ready to read The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963 with a lesson about historical fiction. Spanning several centuries, the resource prompts learners to guess the historical era of a story based on a word or phrase...

Students write a science fiction story.  In this science fiction lesson, students read selections of science fiction and compare them to supernatural stories from the Bible.  Students identify themes and discuss elements that...

Students examine setting in a work of realistic fiction. In this literature lesson, students read The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and then write an essay that compares real-life settings to the settings in the novel.

Students compare and contrast fiction and non-fiction selections. In this writing skills lesson, students use different forms of graphic organizers to compare "The Three Little Pigs," to Wiesel's Night.