Scholastic
Hillary Conquers Everest
If a field trip to the summit of Mount Everest isn't in your school budget, make the trek virtually! An interactive instructional activity allows class members to follow Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's trail up the mountain, and...
Novelinks
The Giver: Vocabulary Bingo!
Bingo! Combine the thrill of bingo with Lois Lowry's The Giver in a fun vocabulary lesson. Kids write selected vocabulary words from the novel onto a bingo chart, and then listen for the correct definitions in order to mark off...
Curated OER
Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Stories
Students read literature by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing the main characters in the two stories. In this character analysis lesson, students read the stories Young Goodman Brown and The Minister's Black Veil. Students...
Curated OER
Analogies, Synonyms, Antonyms, Stories and Writing!
Students use analogies to compare synonyms and antonyms. In this writing skills lesson, students use the provided synonyms and antonyms to create short stories that they present as plays to their classmates.
Curated OER
Language Arts: Word Recognition and Mental Images
Students read short stories containing Dolch sight words and describe the scenes and answer comprehension questions. After relating the stories to their own experiences or observations, they draw pictures illustrating a scene from the...
Curated OER
Cook-A-Doodle Doo! Lesson Plan
Students enjoy the excitement in the short story, Cook-A-Doodle-Doo! In this Cook-A-Doodle Doo! lesson plan, students work to tell the difference between fact and fiction, learn vocabulary, and compare and contrast different stories.
Curated OER
Comparison and Contrast - Two Short Stories
Students choose two short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. They then write a paper comparing and contrasting the two short stories that Edgar Allan Poe wrote using appropriate conventions.
Curated OER
Elements of a Short Story
Students analyze elements of a short story by working together. In this literature lesson plan, students analyze short stories. They use the TI Navigator Application to write their findings.
Curated OER
Adding Sound to a Story
Middle schoolers read a short story about the rain forest. They listen to a recording of rain forest sounds and break into several smaller groups to create a soundtrack to the rainforest story.
Curated OER
Tall Tales
Students examine the characteristics of tall tales and how exaggerations are used. They create a character that is larger than life, they brainstorm attributes for their character, before writing a Tall Tale. They plan out their story,...
Curated OER
Using a Story: Miko the Monkey
Students discuss prior knowledge about monkeys with teacher and take a "Monkey Facts" quiz. In this language arts lesson, students make flash cards of vocabulary words and listen as teacher read Miko the Monkey. Students complete a...
Curated OER
Fantasy Stories
Students 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.
Curated OER
Monster Senses
Second graders listen to a story that contains many sensory words to describe an object. They listen a second time using a signal to indicate when they hear a sensory word. They write a short story about a monster using appropriate...
Curated OER
Story Elements
Eighth graders identify six story elements (setting, characters, character traits, plot, resolution, and point of view) and create short stories utilizing all six elements. They are introduced to story elements as the things that make up...
Curated OER
Presentations Come Alive!
Partners create oral presentations about a short story or poem incorporating audiovisual aids. Then they make presentations to their classmates. Linked story map will help guide readers' organization of their presentation;...
Curated OER
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
What are the pros and cons of prolonging life? Incorporate real-world issues into the study of literature using Dr. Heidegger's Experiment. Through the exploration of pre-determined websites, scholars consider several related...
Curated OER
"The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson
Middle schoolers who are about to read the chilling tale, The Lottery, do some writing beforehand. They are asked to write how their lives would change if they won a huge lottery jackpot. Then, they read the short story, and will be...
Curated OER
Pass the Painting
After reading a story or informational text describing an animal, your class gets creative and collaborative with paint. In groups, they brainstorm all the parts of an animal, they then take turns painting those parts. One child starts...
Curated OER
Out of the Dust: Questioning Strategies
Bloom's Taxonomy is a great way to address the many levels of comprehension. With explanations and examples of each level, you can create questions that focus on knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Curated OER
Reading Bugs
Review the phonemic sounds of the alphabet letters before examining how to blend letter sounds to make a word. During this teacher-modeled lesson, learners make word bugs out of three phonemes that blend together. As an assessment, read...
Curated OER
Writing in Different Viewpoints
Learners explore different viewpoints through short stories. For this literature lesson, students read a classic short story. Learners then write a short story from a different point of view.
Curated OER
Imitating An Author's Style
Pupils explore author's style. In this literature lesson plan, students read and take notes on a short story of their choice. Pupils write an original short story imitating the author's style.
Curated OER
Comparison and Contrast - D.H. Lawrence
Students explore "The Rocking Horse Winner" and "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" by D. H. Lawrence. In this literature instructional activity, students read these short stories. Students write an essay comparing the two stories according to...
Curated OER
So Much Depends Upon...Sixteen-Word Imagery Poems Inspired by Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
After reading Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (and possibly shedding a few tears), middle schoolers work on their own sixteen-word poems with a Six Trait writing activity. They focus on word choice in this activity to capture an...