Scholars learn about the Hero's Journey as they read Ray Bradbury's "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh." They analyze the story's structure and narrative techniques. Finally, they write summaries of the text's central idea and use their...

This lesson plan offers a step-by-step procedure for teaching students how to identify story elements and to summarize a story. It explains how to use a "Who Am I" activity, as well as a linkage activity in identifying characters and...

Where did Miss Nelson go? We look at the key details in the text to determine what is happening throughout the story. Learners will locate and record key details about story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution, and theme) in...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Based on Knuffle Bunny by Mo Willems, a lesson in which students learn how to utilize text and picture clues to determine a when and where the story takes place.

Students will use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, and events by working with partners to ask and answer questions about the text.

Contains plans for three lessons that teach a reading comprehension technique called the prediction strategy, where students predict what will happen in a story before reading. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional...

The goal of this activity is for students to learn how to tell a story in order to make a complex topic (such as global warming or ozone holes) easier for a reader to grasp. Students realize that the narrative impulse underlies even...

This lesson is an introduction to a unit on personal narratives including the characteristics of a personal narrative: tells a story, events are in chronological order, and it has characters, setting, and plot. Click next at the bottom...

This is the text of the short story "A Bird in Hand" by George A. Birmingham, a story set in England in the early 1900s.

At this site, families can work together to create a unique family tree. Its special design allows you not only to record names of your family members but also to describe their likes and dislikes, how they used their leisure time, where...

This is the eighth article in a series that focuses on helping the new novel author. This article looks at how the author can avoid creating stumbling blocks that disrupt the flow of the novel.

Read the full text of the short story "A Gentleman Friend" by Anton Chekhov about a penniless woman who visits a man she met in a cafe with the goal of asking to borrow money.

This is the text of the short story "The Bet" by Anton Chekhov. Imprisoned for life or ending life - which is the more humane? The lawyer truly believes in life at any cost so the banker sets a wager.

Students will sequence story events with the teacher and read an emergent reader in a guided setting. The chosen book, "Pilgrims and Wampanoag: Together They Were Better", has high use of sight words and high levels of picture support...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a story about a girl named Melissa and her adventure at a Renaissance Faire and answer questions in comprehension, setting, characterization, main idea, inference, transitions, and more. A...

Text of the short story "The Pimienta Pancakes" by O. Henry, a story set in the Old West. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)

This is the text of the short story "Belhs Cavaliers" by James Branch Cabell, a fantasy tale set in England in 1210.

"Under the Clock" takes place in 'Five Towns' which is the setting for many of Arnold Bennett's stories. It is a pottery manufacturing town in English midlands. Read the full text on this site.

"An Unfair Advantage" takes place in 'Five Towns' which is the setting for many of Arnold Bennett's stories. It is a pottery manufacturing town in English midlands. Read the full text on this site.

This lesson can be completed in a whole group or small group setting. After reading the book "P.W. Cracker Sees the World," the students will complete an inquiry project that connects social studies/geography to what they read in their...

This lesson is part of a week-long unit. It focuses on the pre-reading phase of guided reading. It aims to activate prior knowledge, preview vocabulary, and set a purpose for reading. This book deals with a very sensitive issue that most...

CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each story or article is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see...

Lesson that helps students understand why rules are needed. Students discuss the story Know and Follow Rules by Cheri J. Meiners, compare the rules in the book to rules at home and at school, and develop a list of rules for the classroom.

Read the full text of "Behind the Line: A Story of College Life and Football" by Ralph Henry Barbour. The story is set in the year 1900.