Curated OER
Plot of a Short Story (SMART Board)
Help your pupils track the plot of a short story with this SMART Board activity. Using the short story "The Dinner Party" by Mona Gardner (though the lesson would work with any other short story), they define the exposition, rising...
Curated OER
Analyzing Literature via Literature Circles
Introduce literature circles with Roland Smith's novels. Your seventh graders will see the activity modeled as you read The Three Little Pigs together and apply the format to a Roland Smith novel of their choice. The lesson includes...
Curated OER
Story Retelling
Students explore storytelling by participating in an image analysis activity. In this story structure lesson, students read the book Cookie's Week by Tomie dePaola and retell the story to their teacher in sequential order. Students...
Curated OER
Organizing and Understanding Data - Independent Practice
Provide your first graders with an opportunity for independent practice organizing and understanding data. The ten story prompts on this three-page activity asks learners to solve problems involving concepts of the total number of...
Curated OER
Breaking Down Books
Learners practice their reading comprehension by analyzing and discussing books with their classmates. They record their responses to comprehension, evaluation, and interpretation questions provided on a worksheet that is referenced but...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan 7: The Elements of Story
Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...
Curated OER
Spooky Analysis
Focus on building suspense as well as evaluating web sites through creative writing. After introducing the idea of suspense and holding a discussion, class members complete a WebQuest, during which they find inspiration for their own...
Curated OER
The Mitten
Explore the Ukraine through a reading of The Mitten. Readers will determine the sequence of events, cause and effect, make predictions, and find the main idea of the story. They also use math skills to make charts and graphs. Finally,...
Curated OER
Social Studies: The Book of Exodus
Intended for a Christian audience, bible study, or home-school setting, this lesson has learners analyzing the significance of the ten commandments in today's world. They consider the commandments themselves, discuss their historical and...
Curated OER
James and the Giant Peach Plot Analysis
It's all about the plot, main events, and story mapping with this lesson. As the class reads the novel James and the Giant Peach, they create an excitement graph that actually charts key events and moments of excitement. After creating...
Curated OER
James and the Giant Peach Character Study
Every book has a few great characters, but James and the Giant Peach is the only one whose characters travel in a piece of fruit. The class creates T-charts for the main characters of the novel, while reading the book. They write actions...
English Enhanced Scope and Sequence
Media Literacy with Focus of Strategies for Collaboration
Introduce your class to literary analysis with a series of activities that has them examine book and movie reviews. Groups then draft their own review of a text, select a digital medium, and craft a presentation.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Character in Place: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” for the Common Core
How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty uses...
National Gallery of Canada
Being a Photojournalist
Tell a story with images. Learners view several photojournalistic photos before agreeing on a message to convey with their own photo stories. In small groups, they take and select photos to include in their final project.
Prindle Institute for Ethics
My Dream of Martin Luther King
Conduct a book study of the story, My Dream of Martin Luther King by Faith Ringgold. Followng a read-aloud, scholars take part in philosophical discussions covering the topics of freedom, equality, race, and heroes.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Practical Criticism
As an introduction to literary criticism, class members recreate I.A. Richards' close reading experiment. Individuals select a poem, paraphrase the story, focus on the imagery used, consider what the imagery adds to the tale, and...
Curated OER
Practice Book O
Whether you need resources for reading comprehension, literary analysis, phonics, vocabulary, or text features, an extensive packet of worksheets is sure to fit your needs. Based on a fifth-grade curriculum but applicable to any level of...
Curated OER
Picturing a Story: Photo Essay About a Community, Event, or Issue
Students research Dorothea Lange's documentary projects and create their own photo essay about a subject. In this photo essay lesson, students analyze examples of social-documentary photographs of Lange. Students define a social...
Curated OER
Immigration: Stories of Yesterday and Today
Young scholars use Web technology to access immigration history and develop an understanding of the concept of immigration. Then they develop oral history writing skills, including note-taking and conducting an interview and read for...
Curated OER
What's the Real Story?
Second graders investigate tall tales. In this literature lesson plan, 2nd graders complete a story element worksheet based upon the tall tale of Paul Bunyan. Students create a PowerPoint presentation about a tall tale.
Curated OER
Literature Analysis
Students examine the attributes of stories. In this literary elements lesson, students discuss the characters, plots, and settings of books they read in class.
Novelinks
The Book Thief: Concept Analysis
Designed for teachers who plan on using Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, this packet includes background information about the author, themes addressed in and issues raised by the novel, a list of research and project ideas, and links to...
Novelinks
The Color of Water: Concept Analysis
Considering using James McBride's autobiography/memoir The Color of Water with your class? Check out this seven-page informational packet that includes background information on McBride, the organization pattern of the book, and issues...
Curated OER
The Martian Chronicles: Concept Analysis
If you're planning on including Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in your science fiction unit, use a concept analysis guide to frame your instruction. It covers literary elements such as setting, narrative voice, and theme, as well...