Pennsylvania Department of Education
Comparing Key Ideas and Details in Fiction and Nonfiction
Students recognize the differences between fiction and nonfiction texts. In this genre study lesson plan, students discuss what nonfiction means and write the definition. Students listen to a read aloud and vote whether the text is...
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At the Crossroads
Third graders explore where South Africa is and then research details about the country to fully assess the background to the book, "At the Crossroads." They receive a map of Africa and color in the country of South Africa and list five...
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Fantasies and Myths
Fourth graders listen to the book, THE GIVING TREE and discuss what genre category they believe the story fits into and why. They read of of the myths on the website on the computers and then come back together as a group and discuss...
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Philanthropy in Literature
Students research philanthropy in three genres: a play, a fable, and a parable. Students read an Aesop fable and answer questions in groups. Students complete steps in two worksheets from 'The Good San Franciscan' and 'Someone Should.'...
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Kid Lit Crit
Students explore different types of student literature; they then write their own fiction pieces, in either fantasy/adventure or memoir/realism style.
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Cinematic Poetry
Eighth graders explore the genre of poetry through the creation of a multimedia presentation. Students write a poem and create an Avid presentation of their poem for the class. The poems and presentations are peer-reviewed.
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Frog Principal Lesson Plan
Students read the fractured fairy tale, The Frog Principal by Stephanie Calmenson and compare it to the original version in order to gain deeper understanding of the fairy tale genre. In this fairy tale lesson, students identify and...
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Legends and Lore
Students begin the instructional activity by responding in their journals regarding questions about their favorite fairy tales. They listen to a folk tale and answer questions based on the folk tale genre and then brainstorm aphorisms...
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VH1 Ultimate Albums Bob Marley - Legend Episode #3
Students compare Reggae to other musical genres and identify rhythms. They study the history and musical significance of Reggae as a musical genre.
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Night by Elie Weisel
Students read "No News from Auschwitz" and answer the study questions as an introduction to the novel. They record reactions to the essay and compare with reactions after reading "Night".
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Literature of the Islands and the Sea
Students read an age-appropriate novel in which an island setting plays an important role from a provided list. This will help them understand life on an island. They will analyze the plot, theme, characterization, setting, and style...
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Babar's Travels
Pupils read the story The Story of Babar and have a class discussion about his travels, discuss their families, design a map, pick music, and more. In this cross curricular musical lesson plan, students create a music map for each of the...
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Using Literary Elements to Compare Fiction Texts
Students explore language arts by reading and reflecting on literary examples. In this fiction writing lesson, students read several different cultural versions of the story "Cinderella" and discuss their interaction with the story and...
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Poetry
Students apply reading comprehension skills to poetry and synthesize the information to create a new piece of work.
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Identifying Science Fiction
Students 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.
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Crane, London, and Literary Naturalism
Students identify the key characteristics that comprise American literary naturalism in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" and Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat." In this naturalism analysis lesson, students identify characteristics of the...
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Comparison of Multicultural Literature
Students read and compare/contrast three different cultural versions of "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Using handheld computers, they read eBook versions of each version, complete a BooksLog, and write and illustrate a modern version...
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Amazing Autobiographies
Young scholars read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience. They apply knowledge of language structure,...
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Write a Myth
Students explore myths in ancient times. In this mythology lesson, students read or view a video production of a myth to determine specific characteristics of myths. Students work in groups to write a myth that explains an...
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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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A Question of Style: Exploring the Nature of Shakespeare's Comedy
Young scholars present scenes from As You Like It and critique presentations of their peers. For this As You Like It lesson, students stage the opening scene, experimenting with different approaches to find the tone and style they...
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Folktale Unit Outline
Seventh graders analyze grammatical structures and identify literary elements in a variety of texts. Through the genre of folktales, ancient or indigenous cultures are studied.
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How Tragic!
Students study and interpret a classical tragedy and role play a character from the play. In this tragedy lesson, students discuss a specific work to discover the form, structure, and characteristics of the genre and interpret the...
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Cinderella Stories From Around the World
Fifth graders review the basic story of the Cinderella fairy tale. In groups, they read various stories of Cinderella from different cultures. They use a compare and contrast chart to examine the differences between the American...