Start kids thinking about point of view and autobiographies by telling them a short story about your morning (first person), and then asking a volunteer to re-tell the story to you (second person). There are tips to help you tie this...

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, "What is history but a fable agreed upon?" A series of lessons encourages learners to look beyond the basic fable agreed upon related to events in history and consider multiple accounts of the event....

Eyes on the finish line. Serving as the first part of the end of unit assessment, learners answer questions based on a text about how to write a graphic novel. Using what they've learned, they then create a storyboard about the invention...

The effects of rising sea levels on Isle de Jean Charles, located off the coast of Louisiana, are documented in Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee's poignant short video. Viewers are asked to consider not only the plight of residents but also what...

There is power in words. Readers take a close look at three text to determine how language structures affect meaning, including include poems and recipes. Scholars analyze the language authors use by circling important words, underlining...

Learners create movie posters based upon short stories they've recently read.  In this persuasive writing lesson students analyze a poster that  is intended to persuade people to want to see the movie and convince Steven...

Students write a short story illustrating the past and imaging the future in transportation. In this transportation lesson plan, students explore artifacts that have to do with transportation in the past in Chicago.

Students identify key story elements in a fiction text. In this literacy lesson plan, students are introduced to the various elements of fiction such as the setting, plot, and theme. Students read a short story of their choice and...

Students demonstrate their knowledge of the main elements of a story by creating a storyboard.  In this persuasive writing lesson students create storyboards that are intended to persuade a director to make a movie out of the short...

Students listen to a broadcast of War of the Worlds and illustrate what they hear. In this persuasive text instructional activity students prepare for making a movie poster intended to persuade a director to make a film based on a short...

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...

Students become effective writers. They need to practice strategies for working through the writing process. By presenting the students with a creative problem, they must choose a position and support it accordingly.

In this Silver Blaze and Other Stories reading and study guide worksheet, learners respond to 8 multi-step short answer, multiple choice, and graphic organizer questions. The questions are designed to be answered before, while, and after...

Students write a script, planning and recording improvisations based on personal experience and heritage, imagination, literature and history.

Learners read short biographies on Abraham Lincoln from various artists. Using the texts, they identify the subject of the biography and discuss whether or not illustrations contribute to a biography. They research specific information...

Middle schoolers 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.

Students analyze elements of a short story by working together. In this literature lesson, students analyze short stories. They use the TI Navigator Application to write their findings.

Tenth graders use Microsoft Word to create an original short story. The setting must be Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The characters must be animals found at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The story must contain...

Pupils explore "The Minister's Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this short story lesson, students read a summary of the short story and answer prediction questions.  Pupils then read the story and write a short story of their own.

Young scholars explore author's style. In this literature lesson plan, students read and take notes on a short story of their choice. Young scholars write an original short story imitating the author's style.

Students explore "The Rocking Horse Winner" and "The Horse Dealer's Daughter" by D. H. Lawrence. In this literature lesson, students read these short stories. Students write an essay comparing the two stories according to themes,...

Looking for a fresh approach to an end-of-unit project for The Odyssey? Check out a resource that has class members write their own hero's journey short story and then craft an illustration that depicts their tale. Apollonio di...

After watching West of the West's documentary The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island, class members imagine how Juana Maria/Karana may have felt about living alone on the island for 18 years and craft a blackout poem or a narrative in...

Bring literature to life with your SMART board and this literary analysis lesson. While reading "User Friendly" by T. Ernesto Bethancourt (from the Holt Elements of Literature textbook by Kylene Beers), have your class discuss the theme...