MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Book Review Writing: a Guide for Young Reviewers
Encourage scholars to share their love of reading with informative and engaging book reviews. Here, you'll find a series of guides that walk learners through the review writing process. Included in the collection is information about...
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Adventure Story
It's always fun to make up something together as a class. This fine lesson has children make up and illustrate a collaborative adventure story. The essential elements of a good story (setting, characters, plot, help, conclusion) are all...
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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...
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Introduce Vocabulary: The Surprise Garden
Students explore English by reading children stories in class. In this tier two vocabulary lesson, students read the book The Surprise Garden and identify the settings, plot and characters. Students define a list of vocabulary words from...
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Picturing a Story
Students view slides from the movie "Hoot" and discuss characters, setting and the caption. They identify where in the rise and fall of the plot this scene takes place. They brainstorm elements needed to create a story from a picture....
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And the Moral of the Story is...
Students retell a story using computer software. In this story elements lesson, students retell the story giving the plot, setting, characters and moral using Pixie software.
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Shakespeare Club
Students explore literature dramatization. In this Shakespeare lesson, students discuss the characters from the play A Midsummer Night's Dream and construct costumes and a set.
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Character Scrapbook Teacher's Guide
Students analyze a book's characters and create a scrapbook to print and save. In this on line interactive characterization lesson plan, students identify character traits and gain a deeper understanding of a book's characters.
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Who? What? Where? When? - Story Elements
Second graders see how to identify and describe character, setting, and plot in various stories from picture books and story videos. They use picture books and story videos to practice identifying and describing the story elements.
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Literature Analysis
Young scholars examine the attributes of stories. In this literary elements instructional activity, students discuss the characters, plots, and settings of books they read in class.
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"Theseus and the Minotaur"
Students analyze the features of myths and legends. They read the myths "Theseus and the Minotaur" and "Orpheus and Eurydice," identify the myth story elements, evaluate each story for the overall theme, describe the characters, and...
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Charlotte's Web
Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White. They create a comic strip based on the characters, setting, and plot of the story, and examine the author's writing process. In small groups...
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Wordless Picture Books
Students use wordless picture books to examine elements regarding a story, the plot, and characters. In this wordless picture books lesson, students select a book to creatively discuss. Students then listen to the teacher read the story...
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Jason and the Golden Fleece
Young scholars read and analyze the classic Greek tale of "Jason and the Golden Fleece." They compare/contrast the story with modern works of literature and films, answer discussion questions, and retell the story in a modern-day setting.
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Details and Observations IQ or the Eyes Have it
Fourth graders study Chaucer as a master of details. Then, they create a short story linking unrelated details into a logical plot with a clear setting and established characters. This lesson has some excellent worksheets attached!
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Dateline: 442 BC Antigone
Learners create and videotape a newscast about the events that take place in the play, Antigone. They perform scenes describing the main events, the main characters and their conflicts.
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Exploring the Mystery Genre
Students determine the story elements of typical mystery stories including characters and plot structure. They look at vocabulary that is common to mystery stories before reading and responding to mystery chapter books. Working in guided...
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Because of Winn-Dixie
Students complete a variety of activities related to the book "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo. They create a scrapbook of the characters in the book, play a reading comprehension maze game, and participate in an online...
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Once Upon a Time
Students use Inspiration to Identify the defining characteristics of Fairy Tales, They create a literary web, study the basic structure of plot, and recognize that themes reoccur across literary works. They complete Once Upon a Time...
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Into the Wild
Students study about how sequels are created by using a well-known fairy tale to create their own. They choose a fairy tale, make a list of all the characters in the story, and generate 3 ideas (minimum) per character. They each select...
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Same Old Story
Students relate their favorite childhood stories to their lives today. Through personal interviews, students discover the connections between their favorite stories and their own choices and characters, as well as connections to the...
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THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER by Mark Twain
Students read in class the novel The Adventures of Tom Sayer by Mark Twain. They can choose to find song lyrics from any artist that they feel define one of the characters in the book, illustrate a scene from the book or create their own...
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The Clock Tower on Grand Avenue: A Cultural Reading Adventure
Sixth graders read three novels to practice their reading and comprehension skills. Using each novel, they create a list of the characteristics of each culture represented. In groups, they also identify the setting, characters and plot...
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Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Fifth graders enjoy learning more about animals and their habitats as they explore the Internet sites in these Student Activities based on the main characters in Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of NIMH.