Common Sense Media
The Masque of the Red Death
Poe goes high tech with a lesson that asks high schoolers to use the internet and various apps as they read and analyze "The Masque of the Red Death." In addition to responding to comprehension questions in Quizlet, they use Minecraft to...
Pearson
Adjective Clauses
Encourage the knights and princesses in your class to practice adjective clauses and relative pronouns in a fairy tale-themed presentation! Several slides review the structure of sentences with adjective clauses before prompting your...
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
Young Learner's Writing Workshop 2
Students choose a short story or book and a student takes on the role of one of the characters in the story. They complete an interview worksheet and then students question each other further about the character they are playing.
Curated OER
Through the Looking Glass: Eudora Welty's Photography and The Ponder Heart
Learners study the context of The Ponder Heart through Welty's photographs.
They analyze how illustrations and photographs interact with written text and
create their own images to illustrate a well-known Welty short story....
Curated OER
Translation Lesson to help Students Improve Vocabulary and Writing Style
Young scholars translate an entire Internet page from English into a target language. In small groups, they create a short story or document in their native tongue or find an Internet page in their own tongue that they translate into...
Curated OER
Was the Wolf Really Guilty?
Students read plays, short stories, or novels which revolve around trials, and write essays explaining or defending the assigned role in a mock fairy tale trial.
Curated OER
Writing the Mystery with a Purpose
Students present the outline of the mystery story they are writing while working in reciprocal teaching groups. They respond to group members writing before they continue to finish revisions.
Curated OER
Read and Remember - Story Grammar
Young scholars use the Story Grammar strategy to outline the main elements of the story which will help them with free recall and cued recall. The strategy includes: identifying the main characters in the story, recalling where and...
Curated OER
Little Engine That Could Lesson Plan
Students retell the story The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper. In this early childhood lesson plan, students identify the various trains featured in the story, focusing on the descriptive words. Students then create their own...
Curated OER
Thinking About Violence: Child Abuse
Students recognize different forms of child abuse (in story), explain why the government (child welfare) can interfere in family life, and create short "stories" for the other major characters in Ken's Story.
Curated OER
Young Learner's Writing Workshop 2
Students choose a short story and role play one of the characters in the story. They interview each other about the character they are playing to research them.
Curated OER
Outlining Essays (Grades 3-6)
Students brainstorm story idea in preparation of writing an expressive essay. They study how to outline essays to assist them in writing an expressive essay. Each students conclusion should summarize their main idea and restate their...
Curated OER
African Points of Interest
Fifth graders choose from a list of African points of interest and research information on its climate, products activities and more. Students write an outline and then a short story using their research.
Curated OER
Writing A Character Sketch
Students are introduced to how a character sketch is an outline of a character that includes the character's outward appearance, family members, personality, interests, and beliefs. They then think of a character they would like to use...
Curated OER
Peace Brainstorming Activity
Students study the topic of peace and use brainstorming techniques to create a clustering diagram. In this peace brainstorming activity, students organize brainstorming material to complete a writing assignment. Students create their own...
Curated OER
Storytelling
Show young readers how to put some personality and voice into their storytelling with an in-depth assignment. Kids practice saying the same thing, such as counting from one to ten, in different tones and perspectives, and then work on...
Curated OER
Poe ... in the Real World?
Eleventh graders work in groups to choose a project/presentation from a list of approved activities to develop. They select and use appropriate software for organizing and refining their product. Groups produce a short...
Curated OER
The Land and the Water
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
Curated OER
Writing a Children's Book -- Young Authors
Students practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.
Curated OER
Writing a Narrative
Sixth graders read the short story "Eleven". They write a narrative composition focusing on the use of voice. Students use a computer to create a pre-writing graphic organizer and type their final draft.
Curated OER
Plot Structure
Ninth graders review the parts of a plot sequence for a short story. They think of a famous Disney movie and plot the events of the movie in the correct plot sequence. They do the same for a comic strip, labeling the exposition, rising...
Novelinks
The Dark Is Rising: Biopoem
How well do your learners really know the characters in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising? A biopoem activity prompts readers to investigate the characters and their traits. Line by line, writers add the characters' relatives,...
Curated OER
Kolam: A Living Art of South Asia
Students will read the short story "Meenakshi's Magic Hands" by Santhini Govindan and view a slide show of photo images interspersed with the text to learn of the art form of Kolam. Students read and reflect upon a nonfiction essay,...