Over four weeks, fourth graders study King Arthur and the Round Table, retold by Alice M. Hadfield. Fifteen lessons take pupils through each chapter, complete word work, and the writing process to draft paragraphs, sentences, dialogue,...

Young readers continue to strengthen their fluency skills with a text of their choosing. The teacher first engages the class with an audio recording or read-aloud of a short poem, modeling for children how to read fluently. Next it's...

Ready to integrate technology into your ELL instruction? Check out this reading lesson that has language learners using the Internet and apps, joining online book clubs, and creating blogs. A fine model of what can be done.

Learning how to deliver good literacy instruction is key to becoming a successful teacher. This resource isn't so much a lesson plan as it is a guide to leading children in an interactive read-aloud session to increase fluency,...

Writers consider what makes a story powerful as they listen to a short story about Frederick Douglass. Once finished, small groups complete a worksheet to analyze what makes the story so enduring.

Good readers make connections between texts. The SAT regularly assesses the ability to make those connections using paired reading passages, a topic discussed in an official SAT practice lesson plan on synthesis. During the lesson,...

In this elements of a short story worksheet, students are given definitions and must choose the element being defined.  Students are also given a selection to read and answer questions about.

Young scholars are introduced to the types of characters found in short stories. They read a short story in class and produce sketches of the protagonist and antagonist. Finally, they create their own characters and write about them in...

Students, in groups, read and analyze the short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O'Connor. They present their findings tot he rest of the class and then connect the various themes discussed to outside material, events...

Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Learners learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...

After reading Bel Kaufman's "Sunday in the Park," give your class the opportunity to react to the short story through writing. First they write a brief summary paragraph, and then they react to any events or characters' actions in a...

Sixth graders conduct a plot diagram for a short story. They identify the problem, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. Students are able to sequence events in a story, and identify the parts of the plot...

The first verse of A.A. Milne’s poem, Beetle, is the basis for a model of how to summarize a text. The two-page worksheet also includes a short story for guided practice, as well as summarizing questions, a story sharing activity, and an...

Students read two classic short stories by Kate Chopin and write a comparison of the stories. For this short story comparison instructional activity, students read 'Desiree's Baby' and 'The Story of an Hour' and analyze the foreshadowing...

Students read "The Problem of Cell 13" by Jacques Futrelle and explore the mystery genre. In this mystery genre lesson, students read the short story and discuss the author's inclusion of locked room settings. Students then write their...

Students investigate writing techniques by analyzing 2 stories written by Edgar Allen Poe.  In this language arts lesson plan, students choose two Edgar Allen Poe short stories to read and take notes on the setting, theme,...

Sometimes it's necessary to view the whole picture before making a judgment about a small part. Read a short story about five blind men who try to identify an elephant by feeling different parts and coming to their own conclusions....

Learn about the kindness and strength of Abraham Lincoln with a reading comprehension activity. After third and fourth graders read a short story about Lincoln saving a family of robins, they answer four questions about the plot and...

This creepy fantasy story needs an ending! Learners use a spooky voice to read a short story ending at an ellipsis...what was in the dark, dark box? They illustrate what they think could have been in there and write a title for the...

James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis" provides eighth graders with an opportunity to sharpen their literary analysis skills. After a close reading of the text, class members highlight and annotate parts of the dialogue and...

Imagine a beautiful rainbow-colored dragon flying free in the air. With powerful imagery and sensory language, a reading passage prompts learners to follow the plot of a short story and answer five comprehension questions.

What are the effects of one's life experiences? Class members view a slam poetry reading, a speech by President Obama, and read a short story by John Steinbeck about responding to tragedies. They summarize these events and then craft a...

It's not easy to ask for help. Learn why a boy on a ship struggles with accepting help in "The Glass of Milk," a short story by Manuel Rojas. Six discussion questions prompt class members to make inferences from the text about character...

An in-class reading of Shel Silverstein's The Missing Piece Meets the Big O introduces class members to the journey motif that forms the basis of The Hobbit.