Students investigate Mexican holiday celebrations and compare them to American Christmas holidays. They conduct a Mexican Christmas Scavenger Hunt. The lesson uses a streaming video in order to engage students in the main objectives.

Seventh graders examine words of Greek origin and discuss character development in fiction. They read a list of Greek word parts and create words on a worksheet. Students then read and discuss an informational handout about character...

Fourth graders investigate the style of diary writing as its own genre of literature. They read Harriet The Spy in order to have a text for this literature study. Students use the skill of prediction to preview the story, and then...

Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the literature study of Dragonwings. They write about the story from the perspective of a reader that is well informed towards the last chapters. Students also find target vocabulary and...

Students analyze the storytelling methods in wordless books.  In this visual storytelling lesson, students write a story that correspond to a specific wordless picture book.  Students create their own wordless picture book...

Learners study about the stages of metamorphosis of a butterfly and then listen to and participate in the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The students then listen to the story in French and translate the French food words to English....

Learners examine life in Pennsylvania during and after World War II. Using primary source documents, they compare the unity of the United States during World War II and the Iraq War. They also discover how citizens adapt to the war at home.

Learners complete activities for an independent novel project. In this novel project worksheet, students follow the 13 steps to analyze and complete a comprehensive project about a novel they've read.

Students create and present a short science fiction story. In this Bible studies activity students work in small groups and are assigned characters and a scenario to develop a play about.

Fifth graders are in Literary Circles according to the book they've chosen and choose roles.

Third graders go through the writing process but substitute paper and pencil with the computer to create a story about "The Time I Got Lost".

Students discuss items they may have wanted to bring to school, but were not allowed to. (Example: Blanket). Their responses are listed on chart paper. They listen to the teacher read "Owen" by Kevin Henkes. Students discuss appropriate...

Third graders are introduced to a game in which each card they receive will have half of a book title on it. They find the person who has the other half of the title and they sit down in a circle. Students when whisper what they know...

Students read," The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush" by Tomie dePaola and discuss the way legends are passed down orally. They then create their own legend and illustrate it on a simulated "Buffalo Skin" made from brown paper.

Students read several fictional pieces which examine issues of urbanization and rural cultures. They discuss how the place a person lives affects the kind of person they become.

Seventh graders perform research in order to appreciate stories taken from the genre of myths and fables. The examples of the stories create a context for students to create their own myths.

Fourth graders learn about the genre of science fiction. In this science fiction lesson, 4th graders learn about the characteristics of science fiction as a genre. They write an original piece of science fiction.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to identify problems and solutions in fiction text and to retell a story's problem and solution in sequence. Students learn to identify the plot...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to identify story elements, retell a story using story elements, and see how characters affect the plot. Lessons are based on the books Dog...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of four lesson plans designed to teach students to predict problems and solutions in fiction text and to identify the relationship between problems and character conflicts within a story....

This lesson plan offers a step-by-step procedure for teaching learners how to identify story elements and to summarize a story. It explains how to use a "Who Am I" activity, as well as a linkage activity in identifying characters and...

Contains plans for seven lessons that teach students about the plot structure, character, and setting of the mystery genre. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as...

Students will hear and read different versions of a familiar fairy tale and identify what elements a story must have (character, plot, setting) for the story to be interesting and make sense. Using a Venn diagram, students will then...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A three-activity unit focused on plot. Learners identify and describe the elements of plot in the books Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth and Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt by Deborah Hopkinson. Then they...