Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to hone their close reading and literary analysis skills. After annotating their copy of the story, writer's craft an essay in which they analyze...

This series of 12 downloadable activities teach students some basics of story writing, using books or videos from the PBS "Arthur" series as a springboard. Activities include creating story maps, asking questions about characters and...

Where did Miss Nelson go? We look at the key details in the text to determine what is happening throughout the story. Students will locate and record key details about story elements (characters, setting, problem, solution, and theme) in...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Five little monkeys sitting on a bed or sitting in a tree? In this close reading lesson plan, students will compare and contrast the actions of the characters in two of Eileen Christelow's beloved...

During this lesson, learners learn to actively engage in reading by becoming more familiar with the elements of a story. Students will be required to think at a higher level and will enhance their understanding of selected passages and...

[Free Registration/Login Required] In this lesson, students will serve as researchers of author/illustrator Kevin Henkes. With prompting, students will read three books by Kevin Henkes. They will recall information from the text to...

After reviewing the elements of the short story, learners develop a script and storyboard from a published or original story. Students then film and edit a video of the story to present during a class film festival.

This accessible explanation features a worksheet to help teach students to use story mapping to identify elements of a narrative.

Students will illustrate and write their own story.

Students will hear and read different versions of a familiar fairy tale and identify what elements a story must have (character, plot, setting) for the story to be interesting and make sense. Using a Venn diagram, students will then...

Complete each definition by typing the plot element into the correct box in this ten-question quiz.

During this unit, students will ask "Why do we do what we do?" They will read different novels to analyze character motivation. Throughout the unit they will debate whether they think characters made smart choices and why. They will also...

Lesson for early elementary and special education students utlizing the book Miss Moo Goes to the Zoo by Kelly Graves and graphic organizers to identify elements in a story (title, author, setting, characters, etc.). Students participate...

A slide show with ten slides about the parts of a plot development: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

In this resource, students will practice identifying and describing the actions of a character. Teachers will model these skills through the use of text and pictures from the story No, David! by David Shannon. Students will then draw a...

What is your favorite Dr. Seuss story? Web English Teacher may be offering you resources to teach it right here! Also contains links to biographical information.

This is an online study guide/notes for the collection of short stories "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" by Flannery O'Connor including author information, literary elements, short story summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.

This is a complete online study guide/notes for the short story collection The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.

This is an online study guide/notes for the children's novel Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis. This novel is...

This is an online study guide/notes for the non-fiction book Hiroshima by John Hersey including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis. The book tells the stories of six...

This is a complete online study guide/notes for the historical novel Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.

This is a complete online study guide/notes for the book The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer including author information, literary elements, tale-by-tale summaries/notes for each of the tales, study questions, and analysis.

This is an online study guide/notes for the novel Bleachers by John Grisham including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.

After reading Duck on a Bike by David Shannon, the writer will plan an original story where an animal (other than a duck) finds itself in a human mode of transportation (other than a bike). Three other animals will react to the unusual...