Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp: Novel Study

For Teachers 4th - 7th Standards
Wild feral hogs and an alligator wrestler are just two interesting aspects of Kathi Appelt's novel The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp. Using the novel study, scholars search the text for examples of the eight parts of...
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Multicultural Fairy Tales

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders explore the elements of a story using fairy tales from all over the world. They compare and contrast story elements, key ideas and concepts found in a variety of texts from around the world.
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The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow aloud, make predictions, compare characters, discuss plot and setting, and rewrite the ending to the story.
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The Librarian from Conneaut School

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders identify the elements of the story "The Librarian from the Black Lagoon." They listen to the story and list the story elements of character, settling, problem, and solution. They then use KidPix to create individual...
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Modern day Folktales: Recasting Folktales in the 21st Century

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners write their own modern day folktale and compare it with "Cathal O'Cruachan and the Cowherd." In addition, they illustrate a character from the original Irish folktale and how the same character would appear today. Students read...
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The Time I Got Lost

For Teachers 3rd
Third graders go through the writing process but substitute paper and pencil with the computer to create a story about "The Time I Got Lost".
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The Keeping Quilt

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
Students discover story analysis by discussing a book the class reads together.  In this reading comprehension lesson plan, students read the book The Keeping Quilt and discuss the different characters and plot points among the...
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Because of Winn Dixie: Water Management Practices

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read the book Because of Winn Dixie and define the characters, setting, and plot. In this Winn Dixie lesson plan, 4th graders also identify quality water management techniques addressed in the story.
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And Tomorrow's Forecast Is...

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Students create original short stories that feature distinctive weather phenomena, such as rainbows, snowstorms, tornadoes, thunder and/or lightning. They use a story map, imbedded in this plane, to help them organize their story.
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The Higher Power of Lucky

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students complete activities using the book The Higher Power of Lucky. In this literature lesson, students read the story and identify the parts of the story. They create a wind chime like that found in the book. 
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Narrative Writing

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Imagine a day in the life of a child who has to work 12-14 hours a day, seven days a week. After viewing images and reading stories of child laborers, class members select an image and write a richly detailed narrative about a typical...
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Storytelling Model

For Teachers Higher Ed
Students examine how to model story telling for their classes. They investigate how to learn, rehearse and share stories.
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A Photo Essay

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students create a photo essay and present it to the class. The students bring photos to use for their essay and develop a story using the photos. The students write captions including characters, setting, and plot for each photo. They...
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Using Inspiration Software to Explore Characters In Stories

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Students identify characters, their qualities, and examples of their qualities and use Inspiration to organize them in a clear and understandable format. After a lecture/demo, students use the program on the next story by themselves.
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Identifying and Describing Story Elements

For Teachers 1st
First graders examine how to identify the different elements of a story and how they fit in a definite sequence. The use of comprehension skills is essential to retell the story as desired within the lesson.
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Creating A Story

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders practice the necessary steps that should be taken in order to create a story from scratch. They brainstorm as a class in order to come up with different ideas. Students write a story that includes a plot, characters, and...
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Wacky Weather Stories

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students observe, identify and creatively express their ideas through literature and dramatize an original story that features a type of weather in the plot.
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Writing the Mystery with a Purpose

For Teachers 11th - 12th
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.
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An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Lesson Plan 5

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students continue to read the story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek". In groups, they define the word foreshadowing. They identify the points in the story that they believe are the rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. They...
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Language Arts: Predicting and Clarifying Techniques

For Teachers 1st
First graders discover predicting and clarifying skills while reading "The Old Woman and Her Pig." During the reading, they check their predictions while evaluating the characters, setting, problems, and solution. On the second day,...
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Main Idea- Fiction

For Teachers 8th
Eighth graders investigate the concept of main idea and supporting details, and how they are used in the genre of fiction. In this literacy lesson, 8th graders listen to a fictional passage and take notes on the characters, setting,...
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Philadelphia Museum of Art

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Students study paintings and use their knowledge of story elements to analyze the art. In this art analysis lesson plan, students review a novel for its elements. Students study the image At the Moulin Rouge: The Dance and discuss the...
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Folktales: Uncle Cricket, the Soothsayer Lesson Ideas

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students read the Nicaraguan folktale, "Uncle Cricket, the Soothsayer," prior to participating in various activities. Among the ideas presented here are completing story maps, analyzing characters, summarizing the plot, writing...
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Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing Fact and Fiction

For Students 3rd - 9th Standards
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members...