Curated OER
Understanding Fantasy
Explore fantasy as a genre. After working in small groups to identify literary elements in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, class members share their work and then use the presentations to help them prepare to write...
Curated OER
Discovering Language Arts-Intermediate Fiction
Explore the elements of science fiction. Learners investigate the literary elements present in science fiction and write their own science fiction stories.
Curated OER
Genre Lesson: Fantasy
Students study the elements of fantasy in fiction as a whole group by dissecting fiction stories. In this story elements lesson, students work through a handout about fantasy to point out the elements that point to the story being...
Curated OER
Fantasy
How do you know the book you are reading is a fantasy? Explore the characteristics of the fantasy genre as you read the story Zathura with your class. Together you'll create a class chart that identifies the fantasy genre while building...
Curated OER
Identifying Science Fiction
Pupils discuss works of science fiction that they read, highlight aspects that made each a part of science fiction genre, identify formal literary elements, and discuss ways each can be developed through science fiction.
Curated OER
Fantasy Allegory of Air
Students analyze the painting Jan Brueghel and design their own book. For this art and book lesson, students discuss the elements of fantasy from the painting and create their own book. Students illustrate the book and create a painting...
Curated OER
Dusty Locks and the Three Bears
Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture to...
Pace University
Genres in Literature
Enthusiastic readers take part in a book club unit that focuses on genre, particularly historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure. Over the course of 10 days, groups read a variety of stories and choose leveled activities from a learning...
Curated OER
Descriptive Writing-The Hobbit
Young readers write a descriptive paper on the fantasy characters in The Hobbit. They take notes as they read the novel in order to provide descriptions of the character traits of hobbits, dwarfs, trolls, wizards, and goblins. They pay...
Curated OER
Lesson Plans for Fantasy: Allegory of Air
Students use combinations of real and imaginary objects to create illustrations for a book. In this Fantasy in art lesson, students discuss the elements of fantasy in Allegory of Air. Students study the work of Salvador Dali and Mir to...
Curated OER
Comparing Two Fantasies by J.R.R. Tolkien
Students explore fantasy through The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. In this literature lesson, students investigate character analysis through book comparisons. Students read The Hobbit and one other book by J.R.R. Tolkien and write a...
Curated OER
A Weave of Woods
Focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and analysis while reading A Weave of Woods, a colorful picture book by Robert D. San Souci. Young learners use worksheets to preview, predict, practice paraphrasing, and make comparisons. The richly...
Curated OER
Where Do I Fit In?: Mental Mapping Student Neighborhoods
Students examine geography through the themes of place, human/environment interaction, and region. They create a mental map of their own neighborhood, analyze their role in the world, and design a neighborhood that reflects their needs.
Curated OER
Fantasy Book Report
Fourth graders choose a fantasy genre to research and summarize information on in text. They utilize a variety of communication techniques, including oral, visual as well as written/multimedia reports and then present information...
Curated OER
The Librarian from Conneaut School
Second graders identify the elements of the story "The Librarian from the Black Lagoon." They listen to the story and list the story elements of character, settling, problem, and solution. They then use KidPix to create individual...
National First Ladies' Library
We're off to see the Wizard!
Young scholars explore the process of play and movie making from books. They study the basic elements of drama and write and produce a play based on a chosen theme. Students explain the basic elements of a play by looking at "The...
The New York Times
Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Curated OER
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Guide your class on an adventure 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with this Hampton-Brown outline. It provides educators with a guide to increase reading comprehension, critical thinking, literary analysis, and reading strategies. This...
Curated OER
Comparing or Contrasting Two Books
Young scholars compare two pieces of literature. In this literary comparisons instructional activity, students read 2 books that they personally select and then compare and contrast the literary elements of each in a comparative essay.
Curated OER
Diary of Anne Frank: Act 1 Scene 1 & 2
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.
Curated OER
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
Fourth graders read and discuss the book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. They create an original story that follows the Harris Burdick formula, and illustrate the story in the style of Chris VanAllsberg.
Curated OER
Comprehension Skills: Picture, Question and Summarize Using Fiction Stories
Students build a variety of comprehension skills through the nine lessons of this unit. Picturing events, monitoring understanding during reading, forming questions, and summarizing stories form the core of the lessons being taught in...
Curated OER
Fantasy Visualization
Young scholars view and discuss a selection of paintings from Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, and other Surrealist artists. They play a game in which each person in a group writes a sentence and passes it on to the next person without...
Curated OER
Bridging the Centuries: Teaching the Nineteenth Century English Novel Today
Learners compare and contrast the elements used in the 19th century British novel and those novels in American society today. In groups, they brainstorm what it might have been like to be a teenager growing up in England during the 19th...