A whale of a lesson is sure to intrigue your elementary oceanographers! Learn about the mammals of the sea with a series of activities about whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Kids complete worksheets about the anatomy of a whale, create a...

For this writing worksheet, learners discover how a story can change depending on the point of view the writer has chosen. Students read several excerpts from stories and respond in writing to how they are different.

Students identify fictional story elements. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read the book Goodnight Goon, which is a parody of Goodnight Moon, and discuss the story elements. Students use an included worksheet to record...

Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...

Louisa May Alcott's Little Women is a literary masterpiece as well as a timestamp of the formative mid-nineteenth century in America. Using a primary source set of photographs, letters, and portraits, readers discuss the ways...

Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...

Young readers travel back to the time of the dinosaurs in this literature unit based on the story Dinosaurs Before Dark. Intended for use with upper-elementary special education learners, this resource provides reading...

Almost every ancient culture observed the stars and saw pictures in the patterns. Studying stars allowed them to guide travelers, determine when to plant crops, when to harvest food, and the stories surrounding the images include some of...

At first glance Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street seems to be a charming collection of vignettes about a young Latina's observations about the people in her Chicago neighborhood. Developing questions that prompt readers to think...

Students discover writing strategies authors use to enhance characters.  In this character writing activity, students are read the Knuffle Bunny books by Mo Willems and analyze the story, characters and settings as they listen....

Students write fictional stories about the search for a runaway slave. Their tales are based on the search by William Harris from South Carolina for his slave, George, in Detroit. Students include the answers to teacher-provided...

Students write their memoir. In this memoir lesson, students study the differences between an autobiography and a memoir. Students construct an outline as the basis for their memoir.

Eighth graders explore manners by writing short stories. In this chivalry code lesson, 8th graders identify the traits of chivalry and explore the history of chivalry in England. Students complete a chivalry worksheet and write a...

Seventh graders brainstorm a list of criteria that makes a webpage useful for research and not useful for research. They complete the activity, "Real or Hoax," and discuss fiction and non fiction stories and determine which websites are...

For this revision activities worksheet, students plot the development of tension throughout the book, answer seven questions about plot, analyze characters and theme, and discuss the writing style of the author. Students answer ten...

Extend a class reading of the novel The Sign of the Beaver across all subject areas with this literature unit guide. From basic discussion questions and writing prompts, to a research project about tracking animals, this...

Practice makes perfect. A practice test designed for the ELA MCAS Assessment gives seventh grade learners the opportunity to answer reading comprehension questions and respond to essay prompts. Questions involve general fiction and...

Students study stories. For this writing lesson, students discuss the three aspects of a story, read stories focusing on the characters, write a story as a class about a character made up by the class, and write a story with an exciting...

Middle schoolers write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure,...

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 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.

Time for a story! Learners of all ages enjoy listening to stories, so read them some common fables and have them work cooperatively to create a fable.  Differentiate for varying ability levels by providing sentence frames, graphic...