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Imagining Your Science Fiction Short Story
Twelfth graders brainstorm ideas for their own science fiction story. Using worksheets, they sketch the plot and setting for their story. They create appropriate characters and develop their interactions among each other. They share...
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Humorous Story Featuring Clowns
Middle schoolers write stories that feature funny clowns. In this creative writing instructional activity, students follow the outline for a story in order to write their own humorous story set at a circus.
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HyperStudio Book Reports
Fifth graders create a HyperStudio book report after reading a novel. They work in pairs or small groups to design a HyperStudio stack about a previously-read novel. They use a variety of graphic organizers to have Students gather...
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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...
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Story Writing
Young scholars work in groups to create a story that will be presented to the class. In this story writing activity, students complete a project planning sheet, work together to create a story that includes a hero and at least two...
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Game Plans
Students consider the online game Neopets as a springboard to developing the characters, settings and plots for online fantasy games. They draft technical plans that describe how their games be presented and played on the We
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Creative Writing: Halloween Theme
Second graders are read a book about different authors. They identify the parts of a story such as plot and setting. They brainstorm topics for their own paper and begin the writing process. They create a final copy of their story about...
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Short Stories Through Multimedia Presentations
Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...
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Enrichment Activities - "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH"
Fifth graders read the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." They discuss the various characters in the book, and the different types of conflict that take place within the book. They also research owls and rats to make comparisons...
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Outline of a Legend/Folk Tale
Students create outlines of folk tales and legends. They read a folk tale or legend in the target language. They complete an outline of the key events of the story including the main characters, plot, story elements and theme or moral.
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Create An Ending
Students create a new ending for a familiar story that stand alone with a clear beginning, middle and end. As a class, students review a familiar text focusing on plot and character development. In small groups, students work...
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Fantasy Stories
High schoolers create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson, students write a fantasy where they can use characters that they have read about in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw" Theme
Pupils identify the theme of "The Monkey's Paw" and relate it to prior knowledge. In this "The Monkey's Paw" lesson, students discuss fate and coincidence and debate which one controls destiny. A test is chosen as the winner...
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Beginning, Middle, and End
First graders identify the beginning, middle, and ending of a story and describe the plot, setting, and the characters. As a class they read a picture story and identify the beginning, middle, and end. Students then draw a picture of...
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Completing a Christmas Story
Students discuss with teacher how to complete a short story and the elements necessary: characters, settings, themes, and plots. They then use the worksheet to complete the short story.
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Retelling Nursery Rhymes
Fourth graders explore language arts by reciting a famous nursery rhyme to their classroom. In this oral storytelling lesson, 4th graders read the story "The Three Little Pigs" and identify the characters, setting and story. Students...
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Native American Legends
Second graders will engage in an in-depth study of Michigan Native American culture comparing and contrasting the culture of today with that of the past. They will also read a variety of Native American literature focusing on the story...
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Building a Literature Pyramid
Learners create a literature pyramid. They review and discuss their assessment task and rubric and select the literature for their pyramid. They read the literary selection and complete a pyramid sheet for one of the four literary...
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Fractured Fairy Tales
Learners use familiar characters, plots, and settings from traditional fairy tales to create "fractured" versions, while experimenting with satire, irony and parody. A fractured fairy tale is designed to be humorous by changing the story...
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Literary Response and Analysis: Romeo and Juliet's
Tenth graders complete characterization analysis for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this characterization instructional activity, 10th graders work in learning tiers to analyze the characters and plot in the play. Students...
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What About Films?
Learners watch and analyze a film of an Appalachian folktale. They define trickster and anti-hero, view and discuss the film, complete a handout, compose an original film review, and debate each character's behavior.
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Who Am I?
Pupils read a story together then choose a favorite character to portray. In this inference lesson, students pretend to be one of the characters in the story, they prepare drawings or actions then present them to the class. Pupils...
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Folktales
Fourth graders read a Haitian folktale. They study main characters in Haitian folktales and explore multicultural information about Haiti. They clarify understanding by retelling a sentence (paraphrasing) and a passage in their own...
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The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs
First graders compare two versions of The 3 Little Pigs. They identify the main characters in the two stories, identify the plot of the two stories and explain the climax and the endings of the two stories. They use a Venn Diagram to...