November is National Novel Writing Month, so if your young authors are embarking on this journey, be sure they understand plot elements. This collaborative lesson fits into the context of the larger NaNoWriMo project; however, the ideas...

A reading of Panic in Paris launches a review of the elements of narrative writing. Class members work in groups to find narrative devices in the book and record their findings on a provided worksheet. Using the completed pages,...

It's time to start journaling. Scholars look at examples of science field journals. They work in pairs to examine and complete a note catcher about a field journal. They then add to an anchor chart by discussing the different features...

Need a hero? Super! Groups create their modern-day marvel and craft a narrative with all the elements required in such a tale.

Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...

There is more going on under the surface of Ernest Hemingway's work than one can glean in an initial reading. A literature resource compares the themes and structures of several of Hemingway's works before prompting class members to use...

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...

How do Poe's choices of imagery, rhythm and rhyme scheme, and structure help build the desired single effect of "The Raven"? After listening to a dramatic reading of the poem, class members consider whether Poe's choices do...

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...

How does Gabriel Garcia Marquez make the magical elements of his novel appear so real? That's the challenge facing readers of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Scholars examine the tone and descriptive details Garcia Marquez uses to...

Engage your class in the elements of poetry with a series of lessons and activities. The plans cover simile, metaphor, personification, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and imagery. Learners come up their their own metaphors, identify poetic...

Youngsters write and construct their own autobiographies based on The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. They engage in pre-writing steps, narrative writing, and peer editing. This is the second part of a two-part project lesson.

Do your young authors suffer from writer's block when they try to write short stories? Access their natural creativity with C-Gor, the writing monster! The instructional activity takes aspiring authors through a new writing process...

The firsthand accounts of what it was like to be an enslaved person in the mid-1800s riveted a nation and the issue ultimately led to civil war. Using excerpts from Frederick Douglass's autobiography, budding historians examine what it...

One must first learn how to analyze art before they can properly respond to it. Here, young analysts examine six abstract pieces in a systematic and formal way. They then respond to one of the pieces in either a poem or an essay. An...

Here, Autumn Poplars is the painting upper graders will analyze. They look at techniques, time period, and the use of impressionism to convey a natural theme. They go outside to make observations of nature and use what they see to write...

A language arts instructional activity helps young writers identify elements that make up historical fiction. First, it guides them through elements of fictional pieces with vocabulary cards. Then, pupils work collaboratively to...

Excerpts from ten texts (There's something for everyone from Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath to Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, and more!) provide the springboard for an examination of point of view. For each short...

Somebody. Wanted. But. Then. Introduce your classes to the structure that supports stories with a lesson that teaches readers how to identify the four basic components writers use to craft their tales. After identifying these elements in...

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

Students explore the concepts of narrative writing. They identify the basic elements in narrative writing such as the setting description, characters, conflict, climax and resolution. Using five adjectives from a previous spelling unit,...

A solid description of one way to teach narrative writing, this resource outlines the writing process from concept to completion. Class members create concept maps of moments in their lives and follow the writing process to publish their...

Through a series of activities, learners are exposed to how artists use symbolic imagery to create the narrative of a subject’s life. They study The Birth of Alexander and some manuscripts kept at J. Paul Getty Museum. They then draft...

Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.