Positively Autism
Waiting While Riding in the Car
Traffic and stop lights can be a bother for even the most patient person, but when you have autism, that extra time spent in a hot car can be a real nuisance. Here is a great story that addresses the need to be patient while waiting or...
Film English
The Man Who Planted Trees
Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...
Arts Midwest
The Joy Luck Club: Culture and History
Explore San Francisco's Chinatown in a lesson about the first few chapters of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Kids research Chinatown on the Internet and create a virtual tour of the neighborhood, including the foods, cultural events,...
Curated OER
Publishing Stories: Beginning, Middle, End
First and second graders explore the importance of having a beginning, middle, and end when writing stories. In this story writing lesson, learners write short stories using the story diamond as a guide. They invite their parents to an...
Curated OER
Comprehension: Identify Story Grammar
This fully scripted lesson could be a big help for someone new to teaching Kindergarten. It outlines what you should do and say as you teach grammar and literary elements such as, main character, setting, and events through reading. The...
Curated OER
My Favorite Story
Students discuss their favorite book. In this book discussion lesson, students name the title and tell what makes the book special. Students also review the setting, plot, conflict, and resolution. Students make a book that tells all of...
Curated OER
Story Stew
Learners identify the elements of a story. In this reading and writing lesson, pupils read the book, Tyrone the Horrible by Hans Wihelm and then identify the characters, setting, and plot of the story.This lesson includes adaptations and...
Curated OER
Setting the Story: Techniques for Creating a Realistic Setting
“It was a dark and stormy night.” Thus begins the 1830's novel Paul Clifford and, of course, all of Snoopy’s novels! Encourage young writers to craft settings for their stories that go beyond Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s often-mocked phrase...
Curated OER
Applying Ahimsa to Traditional Stories
Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...
Curated OER
Identifying Setting: Expository Writing
Your class can take turns describing a well know location or setting without giving its name, and the rest of the class can try to identify the location, based on the details given. They chart the elements that helped in the...
Curated OER
Movie Maker: Retelling a Story
Using Movie Maker, sixth graders make an eight frame movie based on a story they have written. They choose music clips, select pictures from PowerPoint, and make their movie. The lesson should take about ten days to complete.
K20 LEARN
"The Interlopers": Are You Ready to Rumble? Conflict, Motivation, and Setting
Capulets and Montagues. Sharks and Jets. Nortenos and Surenos. Gradwitzes and Znaeyms? Hector Hugh Munro's short story "The Interlopers" invites high schoolers to consider the causes of conflicts and reflect on what it takes to resolve...
PB Works
The Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway
There is more going on under the surface of Ernest Hemingway's work than one can glean in an initial reading. A literature resource compares the themes and structures of several of Hemingway's works before prompting class members to use...
Curated OER
"The Story of an Hour" Lesson 1: Teacher's Guide and Notes
Attitudes toward women have changed radically in the last hundred years. The first lesson in a six-part unit that uses Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour" as an anchor text begins with a shared reading of "The Role of Women...
K20 LEARN
Being Mindful Of Sadness In "The Scarlet Ibis": Theme And Characterization
James Hurst's short story "The Scarlet Ibis" provides readers with an opportunity to consider how they can support others who are experiencing distress. Participants learn self-care tips and connect to the short story's characters. They...
Curated OER
Comparing Two Stories
Compare new and old versions of the classic story Alice in Wonderland in this comprehensive worksheet packet. Learners read an excerpt from the original, answering several analysis questions. They do the same for a more modern...
Curated OER
Story Plan Graphic Organizer
In this story planner graphic organizer worksheet, students fill in the genre, characters, setting, plot, complication and resolution before they use the information to write a story. They also list useful words that will be used.
Curated OER
Under Construction
Young readers examine the elements of story structure that are included in all stories. They include these elements in their own written pieces. This phenomenally-designed plan has everything you need to easily implement it in your...
Core Knowledge Foundation
Fables and Stories Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology
A read-aloud anthology focuses on fables. Over three weeks, first graders listen to various stories and then participate in lessons that cover story elements, including plot, characters, setting, and personification and explore...
ReadWriteThink
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Paul Langan's novel The Bully is the core text in a six-session unit plan that engages high schoolers in an in-depth examination of bullying and its effects on bullies, victims, and bystanders. The richly textured and carefully...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
Mummies in the Morning Egyptian pyramids, hieroglyphics
Visit the Magic Treehouse and take your class on a trip through time with a reading of the children's book Mummies in the Morning. Using the story to spark an investigation into Egyptian culture, this literature unit engages...
Curated OER
The Importance of Setting to a Story - Pesky Critters
Students watch a video segment about Florida's wetlands and complete an essay about setting. In this setting lesson, students watch a video about critters in the Florida wetlands. Students complete a setting worksheet and complete an...
Curated OER
The Setting
One of the most important elements of a story is the setting; when and where the story takes place. This presentation gives young writers excellent tips on how to create a setting by using visuals, time, description, and interesting...
Curated OER
Scrambled Stories II
Review story elements with your class. They will use examples from a story to develop critical-thinking questions. Then they use a graphic organizer to describe the setting, character, and plot of the story, focusing on how they...