Curated OER
Sum It Up
Students write summaries of books to exemplify comprehension of the stories. They create a story web to outline the important details of the story. In groups, students make story webs for separate chapters for the book. After the webs...
Curated OER
Writing a Children's Book -- Young Authors
High schoolers practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.
Curated OER
Most Wanted Villians
Students review the characteristics of various characters in fairytales. As a class, they review the story details and create a concept map using a software program. They create their own wanted poster of the villians in the fairytale to...
Curated OER
The Land and the Water
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
Curated OER
Nursery Rhymes
Students recall details of nursery rhyme read by teacher, identify main characters, and demonstrate knowledge of poem by creating concept map about story that includes title, clip art, and changes in font and color.
Curated OER
Design a Book Cover
Class members take on the role of graphic designer and craft a cover for a book they are reading. Individuals formulate a proposal outlining the images they will use to not only grab the interest of readers, but hint at the mood and...
Curated OER
Celebrate Your Heritage
Students investigate what countries their ancestors originally came from and locate them on a world map. They use a map to plot the ancestral path that has led to their hometown. They create a travel log outlining facts/data about...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Family Ties
Students discuss the qualities needed for a strong family and marriage and identify and compare the strengths of various ethnic families. After viewing a Powerpoint presentation on family and marriage strengths and needs, they take a...
Tech Coach Corner
Narrative Writing
A comprehensive presentation on narrative writing, this should be shown to a class before the writing process begins. There are not activities listed, so pupils can take notes on the elements of narrative writing and figurative language....
Curated OER
Voice and James Joyce
After reading a text written by James Joyce, middle and high schoolers find examples of passive voice. They share their findings with the class. Use this activity to emphasize the effect of passive voice in writing.
Curated OER
Get Everyone Reading and Talking About Books
You can promote the love of reading with creative projects.
Curated OER
Tectonic Plates, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes
Challenge geography classes to locate the major volcanoes and earthquake faults on a world map. In groups, they identify the pattern made and examine the relationship between the locations of the faults and volcanoes and tectonic...
Curated OER
Heading West
Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students describe...
Curated OER
Writing for Advanced ESL Learners
Students complete many creative writing assignments in their advanced ESL class. In this creative writing lesson plan, students complete book reports, folktales, biographies, historical journal entries, and more.
Curated OER
Stuff Gods Are Made Of
Students examine different myths of various cultures around the world. Using artwork, they discuss the artistic designs and develop hypothesize about their importance. They use the internet to research myths they are aware of and share...
Curated OER
Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech
Students read the book Chasing Redbird by Sharon Creech on their own. They answer a variety of questions each day over certain pages of the book that were required for that days completion.
Curated OER
African Art is Alive: Drum, Dance, Storytelling....
Students investigate and experience African culture through various art forms. Students explore the physical and political geographies of Africa through mapping activities. Students, in groups, prepare presentations about different...
Curated OER
The Cyrano Project
Students participate in a variety of activities in a thorough study of the play, Cyrano De Bergerac. They discuss the themes of the play and how they relate to their own lives. They produce and perform their own interpretation of the...
Curated OER
Subsidence/ Erosion
Students utilize prior knowledge about the Pontchartrain Basin. In this subsidence/erosion lesson, students study the chart on land subsidence and must them identify and find solution for problems caused by erosion.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Analyze Development of Plot Through Characters in Literary Text
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Often characters are a driving force behind the plot. In this lesson, students will learn how complex, multilayered characters contribute to the development of a story's plot...
Sophia Learning
Sophia: Outlining Plot
This video tutorial focuses on outlining plot; it explains that we outline plot as a way to analyze it; to analyze plot, focus on main events and interaction involving main characters. It offers three methods for outlining plot:...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Elements of Literature: Plot Outline [Pdf]
A graphic organizer for students, laying out the basic outline of a story's plot and allowing students to fill in the necessary details.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Writing a Short Story With Well Developed Conflict and Resolution
A learning module that teaches students about writing a short story in six mini-lessons: Introduction, Understanding the Essence, Getting an Idea, Structuring Plot, Building Conflict, and Outlining Your Own Story.
Other
Elements of Fiction
Simple discussion of the elements of fiction with a specific section devoted to Freytag's Pyramid (aka "basic plot structure"). A good place to start for gathering information on the structure of narrative.