Students examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Students then use the methods of...

Seventh graders identify the elements that characterize culture in literature. Students analyze the representation of Chinese minority peoples through textbooks. Students identify and interpret the differences among the people of China.

Learners examine the elements of mystery stories and read Rage in Harlem. In reciprocal teaching groups, they discuss the author's development of the story, and complete dialectical journals.

Students edit and improve their short stories by examining character description, dialogue, and plot elements. In peer editing groups they correct gramatical and spelling errors. they read aloud their new story drafts.

What makes a story seem real? Have your pupils record the realistic elements of the story Dogs Don't Tell Jokes in order to find out. They can focus elements of the characters, setting, and plot. Learners are asked to use textual...

Explore the world of fairy tales using this lesson focusing on higher- order thinking skills. Learners compare and contrast an Asian Cinderella story to other versions. It is a great way to review the characteristics of the genre and...

How did jazz influence Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man? Class members read some of Ellison's non-fiction writings about blues and jazz, listen to records, watch videos, and engage in student-centered discussions. They then produce podcasts...

Read and discuss "The Yellow Wall-Paper" and the gender issues that the story brings up. Use articles from the time period to analyze, complete with specific discussion questions. After two days, scholars write an essay based on topics...

Eighth graders read act 1 scenes 1 & 2 of the play Diary of Anne Frank. In this Diary of Anne Frank lesson plan, 8th graders discuss how the setting of the play affects the mood of the story and answer short answer questions.

Students write a story. In this writing lesson plan, students are given a series of prompts to promote them in writing a story. The prompts include writing a free write, writing about characters, writing about a setting, writing about...

Students read about Scheherazade and Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp. In this literature/writing lesson, students understand the excitement of foreign places as the setting for a story. Students rewrite their own version of Scheherazade.

Middle schoolers work on summarizing a story, and they determine if it is a legend, a myth, or a fable. Working in groups to read and summarize stories, they then list evidence whether the tale is a myth, fable, or...

Middle schoolers identify elements of myths, fables, and legends as they read an example of each.  After reading an example of each type of story, they list elements from each.  They compare and contrast these features by...

Identifying themes in literature is the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. Learners read short pieces of fiction and practice the skill of identifying the themes present in each one. The bulk of the lesson consists of...

Students will create a fictional narrative based on the cover of a picture book provided by the teacher. In this narrative writing lesson students incorporate all story elements and use strategies to engage the reader.

Students research the English Renaissance era. In this research lesson, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in groups to research...

Students explore lighthouses in literature. For this reading lesson, students read Keep the Lights Burning, Annie as well as Birdie's Lighthouse. Students participate in pair/share activities regarding plot and literary devices. Student...

Students analyze, synthesize, and use the elements of various US cultural folk tales to describe the elements of fiction in general and in folk tales specifically.

Students read Ray Bradbury's "The Fog Horn" and complete reading and vocabulary activities. In this reading and vocabulary instructional activity, students review the vocabulary for the story and take turns reading the story. Students...

Students study the tale of Robin Hood to further their knowledge of character traits, improve their vocabularies, and increase their knowledge of the Medieval Ages. In this Robin Hood lesson, students complete 14 lessons that help them...

Students read and prepare a new oral version of a selected fairy tale. They read and compare/contrast two fairy tales and identify the main story elements. In small groups they create a new oral version of one they fairy tales 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.

Who are we and what shapes our identities? Seventh graders work to answer this question as they learn how to write a memoir. Full of non-print resources and supplemental texts that range from fiction to non-fiction, scholars write their...

In these English lesson plans, students use video, the Internet and non-fiction essays to research the history of the English language. They write a short research paper and design a PowerPoint presentation showcasing their findings.