Carnegie Library
Creative Writing: Middle School Lesson Plan
Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers.
Spartan Guides
Infographics Lesson
An infographic is fantastic way for learners to illustrate their understanding of content, express themselves creatively, and teach others in a manner that is both engaging and informative. While originally designed for a lesson on...
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: The Filmmaking Process
How are films made? As part of their study of film, middle schoolers investigate the pre-production, production, and post-production process and consider the role of the director, the screenwriter, production designer, cinematographer,...
Curated OER
Looking at Life through the Creation of Personal Metaphors
Students focus on the creation of personal metaphors, which are first illustrated in pictures and caricatures and then extended to descriptive/analytical paragraphs. They teach the lesson to others using their own personal metaphors as...
Curated OER
What If?
Second graders read WHAT IF? up to the page that ends "Suddenly, across the field they saw..." and discuss how the animals are feeling. They then discuss their feelings and in pairs discuss a possible ending to the story.
Curated OER
Irony
What are the three types of irony? High schoolers engage in a lesson about the use of irony while reading O.Henry's short story "Gift of the Magi." They'll discuss rising action, climax, and resolution in the text before highlighting the...
Curated OER
B-movies and Plot: Story Elements, Writing, Media
Students use old "B-Movies" as a springboard to discuss and analyze traditional plot structures. They form groups and make their own 'movie' to demonstrate their knowledge.
Curated OER
Nature’s Fury—Myths and Drama
Fifth graders explore the elements of theatre. In this dramatic performances lesson plan, 5th graders discuss the structural elements of theatre and dramatize "The Origins of the Season," an explanation myth.
Curated OER
School Day
Learners participate in a lesson that involves writing a persuasive essay. They use the prompt of "extending the school day". The paper should contain correct elements of sentence structure with clear purpose that is supported with...
Curated OER
A Separate Peace - T Analysis
Reading A Separate Peace? Readers analyze important quotes that appear in John Knowle's classic novel using the provided graphic organizer. Learners record a passage and provide an accompanying analysis for each entry. Consider...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Stressed Out Sally
Life changes may cause stress. Here, scholars identify stressful situations in a peer's life and offer coping skills to make for a better day. A short story, "Stressed Out Sally," provides pupils with a look inside a bad day. After...
EngageNY
Analyzing Plot Development across Flush
The end. Scholars discuss how the end of the text in Flush contributes to the plot development of the story. They then write book reviews to share their thoughts about the story. After finishing their book reviews, learners share them...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Alexander Graham Bell
Study the features of nonfiction text with a set of comprehension and analysis materials. Readers learn about Alexander Graham Bell with questions about the text, writing prompts, and proofreading activities.
Penguin Books
Core Curriculum Lesson Plans for Jefferson's Sons
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...
Missouri Department of Elementary
Sally’s Super Day
After having a bad day, Sally took scholars' suggestions and had a super day. Pupils listen to her newest short story then discuss the events that occurred. They sort each event by what was in her control and what was not. Participants...
Curated OER
Pride and Prejudice: Unsent Letter
What would the characters of Pride and Prejudice say to each other in a letter? Draft unsent correspondence between characters from Jane Austen's novel. A great way to explore characterization and plot structure in a creative lesson.
Curated OER
Reading to Learn
Students complete story maps in this lesson. Students read "The Magic School Bus", and get into groups to choose their story element. Each group shares their information with the class. They then complete a story map for a book read...
Curated OER
Chocolate Chaos
Second graders demonstrate the ability to examine the elements of a story (theme, plot, setting, mood) and characters, by discussing and writing about each. They have fun with chocolate related activities and enjoy reading about some...
Curated OER
Reading the Movies: Another Approach To Teaching Critical Thinking Skills And Writing
Students explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The lesson encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie, critically.
Curated OER
Fairy Tales
Students read and analyze fairy tales. They discuss the story elements of a fairy tale, compare/contrast various fairy tales, complete an Anticipation Guide, and write an essay comparing the structure of a fairy tale to the structure of...
Curated OER
Creating an Original Opera
Students research the lyrical and dramatic structure of opera through Internet sources and audio examples, cooperatively discuss elements of opera stories vs. their own lives and create one-act opera based on their own life experiences.
Curated OER
Create Your Own Ad
Students examine the elements of advertising. They analyze the format and structure of advertisements. They develop awareness of advertising techniques and explain that media messages and products are composed of a series of separate...
Curated OER
Is This a House for Hermit Crab?
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...
Curated OER
Writing Folktales
Students consider the structure of folktales. In this writing skills lesson plan, students list the attributes of folktales that they read in class. Students then complete handouts based on the elements of the tales as well as types of...