Curated OER
Literary Analysis of Theme
Remember reading "The Lottery" and "The Possibility of Evil" by Shirley Jackson? Learners can experience and analyze the tension, themes, and human experience found in these pieces through reading and class discussion. They use...
Syracuse City School District
Reading Comprehension Unit Plan
A unit plan uses short texts to teach literary elements such as theme and characterization. Included are passages by authors such as Walter Dean Myers and Sandra Cisneros. Activities include quick writes, filling in graphic organizers,...
Curated OER
Conflict
Though the lesson plan format is simplistic, it's got some good ideas for addressing internal and external conflict in your literary analysis unit. Using "Little Red Riding Hood" and other fairy tales, young readers identify the...
Curated OER
Cops and Robbers
Second graders observe the teacher model writing a letter to the author of the book, COPS AND ROBBERS. They then compare the story structure of the book to those of FUNNYBONES and identify the setting, characters and theme.
Curated OER
The Setting of Any Fairy Tale
Focus on setting using this activity. Learners read a fairy tale and identify the setting for the story. They also list adjectives to describe it. In addition, they draw a picture describing the setting.
Curated OER
Characterization of Mice and Men
Using a SMART board presentation (provided), your class discusses the characterization of Lenny, George, Curley, Curley's wife, and the farmhands in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The presentation includes a list of traits for...
Curated OER
The Tell-Tale Heart
Bring Edgar Allan Poe's spooky story to life! After reading the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," middle and high schoolers identify the theme, character traits, irony, and other story concepts. During pre-reading, they take notes,...
Curated OER
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
What are the pros and cons of prolonging life? Incorporate real-world issues into the study of literature using Dr. Heidegger's Experiment. Through the exploration of pre-determined websites, scholars consider several related...
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: Film Language And Elements Of Style
In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...
Hood River County School District
Text Structure: Features and Organization
Teach learners how to interact with both fiction and non-fiction text with a packet of activities and worksheets. After looking over text structure and the difference in text features between different types of writing,...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Morphemic Elements, Sentence Match
Ask your class to puzzle out the meaning of various affixes. Learners read sentences and develop a new word with an affix to replace the underlined words. They write down the words and help to categorize them by affix.
Sandra Effinger
Bulletin Board Project
Imagine a project that informs and entertains. Replace book reports with a bulletin board that highlights all the important elements of a novel. Readers research the author, create a timeline of events in the story, write a...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1: Unit 3, Lesson 18
Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...
Curated OER
Narrative Writing Planning Sheet
"Tell me a story!" Young storytellers use this planning sheet to block out their narrative, identifying the main idea, characters, setting, events, and ending they will incorporate into their tale.
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
“Tell Me a Story”: Moving from Reading to Writing
Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...
Curated OER
Let's Build a Trucking Story
Students study the occupation of truck driving and transportation. In this transportation activity, students identify an item that was transported to the classroom. Students identify key elements in the transportation process and listen...
Curated OER
"Three Cool Kids"
First graders discuss literary elements: characters, setting, problem and solution, after reading Three Cool Kids by Rebecca Emberley. The teacher records what students say using Inspiration, making a web that shows the different...
Curated OER
Text Under the Microscope
Students explore plot, setting, point of view, and theme. In this literary elements instructional activity, students read "The Cask of Amontillado," by Poe and the War of the World script by H.G. Wells. Students identify...
Curated OER
Connecting Families through Folk Stories and Fairy Tales
Students engage their families to write down a folk story from their primary language. In this family literacy lesson plan, students rewrite the story or fairy tales in English. Parents and students are invited to present the stories in...
Curated OER
Figurative Language and Symbolism
Young scholars identify figurative language and symbolism in poetry as well as prose. In this literary elements activity, students read and discuss the role of symbolism in Yellow Man by Moonlight, A Christmas Carl, The House of Wings,...
Curated OER
Reviewing Main Events in Fiction
Young scholars analyze elements of fiction while reading. In this reading analysis lesson, students read specific texts and retell the information they remember. Young scholars discover how sequential storytelling works.
Curated OER
The Great American Fire Drill
Students read a story about fire safety and create their own ending to the story in order to learn about fire escape plans and to demonstrate their writing skills. In this fire safety lesson, students discuss the parts of a story, read...
Curated OER
Symbolism in Poetry and Fiction
Students examine the use of symbolism in literature. In this literary elements instructional activity, students discuss the attributes of symbolism. Students then read selected Cinderella stories and "The Fall of the House of Usher," and...
Curated OER
Story Parts
Third graders identify the three major parts of a story. After reading the book "Stellaluna," students discuss the beginning, middle and end of the story. They write a short story depicting the events that would happen if the story...