Students explore biology by writing fictitious stories in class. In this insect life lesson, students identify many different types of insects in the animal kingdom and the classifications they fall into. Students collect insects on a...

Learners use the author's writing as a model to achieve vivid description and engaging humor in compositions of their own. They examine the ways a writer can capture and hold a reader's attention and write a short personal narrative...

Students participate in a lesson that involves writing a persuasive essay. They use the prompt of "extending the school day". The paper should contain correct elements of sentence structure with clear purpose that is supported with...

Learners read two stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing plots and themes. In this Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories lesson, students read "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." After a class...

Elementary learners practice reading with expression to understand text better. They identify punctuation marks to see how each sentence is to be expressed with a certain emotion. Then they practice their new skills by working through...

Use artwork to illicit responses in a writing journal, and then present your class with the short list of key terms provided. Can your learners add any of their own key terms? Segue for a second, and read tales such as Peter Pan or...

Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...

Was that supposed to be funny? Scholars analyze The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County to determine if Mark Twain's story is indeed based on humor. Learners work through short response questions, vocabulary, and active reading to make a...

The impressive story of Benjamin Franklin, including his rise from a printer’s apprentice to a statesman, color upper-level scholars’ understanding of the possibilities of life in colonial Philadelphia. But not everyone had the...

Young scholars read and analyze the point of view of a selected classic short story. They take notes while reading the story, select a character, and rewrite the story from a different viewpoint.

Students examine how to write a query letter to a publisher. They plan a short story they would like to write, conduct Internet research about possible publishers, and write a sample query letter.

Second graders write a short story about train track safety and make a train shaped book.

Third graders view a PowerPoint presentation of the images by Maxfield Parrish. They wirte a short story based on one image and create drawings of an imagined character.

Students compose a short piece of creative writing based on a painting depicting a mythological narrative. In this creative writing lesson, students create a short piece of writing and then learn more about the mythological scene in the...

Fifth graders discuss variety of fictional writing genres and connect each to familiar story that has been read, use creative and analytical skills to develop original piece of fictional writing that incorporates math skill, and share...

Students read stories about the Caribbean. They write about the Caribbean lifestyle. Students write their own stories of the Caribbean, using facts and researched information.

Middle schoolers are introduced to the definition of a fable in that it is a story that has a moral for people to apply in their lives. They then read a fable together so they have a better understanding. Next, students write their own...

Students practice summarization by creating a story map. After reading Freckle Juice, students working in groups, create a story map of the main events of the story. Groups use their story maps to summarize a chapter of the story and...

Pupils compose a opening paragraph that sets the scene and foreshadows events. In this writing fiction lesson, students write an opening paragraph about a mugging and describe the scene in a way that foreshadows something bad is...

Students write a biography. In this biography lesson, students discuss what a biography is and how to write one. They research Mark Twain, answer questions, and write a biography about his life. 

Students read an article about teenage pregnancy and the story, "A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories About Love," making notes about how the pregnant teens are characterized. They then compare and contrast the views of pregnant teens in...

Learners edit and revise a news story picked out by the teacher. For this editing lesson plan, young scholars edit in AP style and then revise the story. It should have no errors in the end.

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...

Students 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 when the...