Students summarize a story, identify the plot structure, and create a symbol that represents the essence of the story.

Who was Vincent van Gogh? Most of the questions can be answered in two or three sentences; however, there is at least one essay prompt and one personal response question that require longer answers. Questions call for a good mix of...

Like reading, music stimulates multiple parts of the brain. After reading the story, Parents in a Pigpen, Pigs in a Bathtub, learners will practice story retelling by singing this song. These lyrics are intended to accompany the story...

This scripted lesson plan suggests using the journalist’s five W’s (who, what, when, where, why) to teach readers how to summarize a story and to how to distinguish between significant and supporting details. A template and rubric are...

Stories contain very specific elements; plot, characters, and key events. Learners use pantomime to retell a key event from the beginning, middle, and end of a story. They discuss setting and character as each group discusses and then...

Students create a classroom story quilt. In this literacy lesson, students recall events from a text and illustrate their favorite part of the story on a quilt piece. The quilt is sewn together to form a classroom quilt.

Students explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the classic tale "The Three Little Pigs" and discuss the main characters, conflict and setting. Students complete a...

Youngsters practice summarizing and retelling the story of The Three Little Pigsin their own words as well as the original version of the book. They color the pictures and cut out a similiar house on their own as well.

Students recognize the elements needed to create a comic strip. In this comic strip instructional activity, student understand that comic strips need words and pictures. Students find differences and similarities in comic strips....

Who is Mo Willems? Explore the author with your class. Learners read books written by Willems, compare and contrast the characters therein, and make predictions about what will happen. Finish off this author study by having small groups...

How do you represent a tragic event? Are stories of tragic events better left untold? After reading chapter two of Maus and studying other representations of the Holocaust (suggestions are included), class members create a representation...

Students explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make it an effective...

Learners practice their reading comprehension by reading a story in their class. In this story map lesson, students read the Marc Brown book Arthur's Tooth and discuss the story, characters and setting. Learners create a story map based...

Plot, setting, characters, and conflict are common to both drama and narrative stories. Kids create narrated tableaus that show their understanding of the plot, setting, and conflict of a story they've recently read. The lesson...

A thorough lesson introduces learners to Hans Christian Andersen, the nineteenth-century author who created wonderful tales. They read the original texts of several of his stories, including "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid,"...

Tell a story visually using this resource. Learners design a storybook theater by creating a book and painting watercolor pictures describing scenes from the story. This is a creative means to have your class practice summarizing skills.

Students summarize the important parts of a story, identify the characters, and decide how to picture several scenes that describe the setting and action. They graphically represent the important elements of the story on a fabric book...

Young scholars read slave narratives and retell the stories to the class, identifying sensory details. In this slavery lesson, students discuss the importance of sensory details, then read the slave narratives looking for specific...

Explore the idea of democratic poetry. Upper graders read Walt Whitman, examining daguerreotypes, and compare Whitman to Langston Hughes. They describe aspects of Whitman's I Hear America Singing to Langston Hughes' Let America Be...

Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.

Students research a notable painter and use his or her work as inspiration to create a functional light switch plate.  In this art lesson, students find an artist whose work is appealing to them to research and critique. ...

Third graders explore language arts by answering study questions about a book they read. In this reading summary lesson, 3rd graders read the book Verdi by Janell Cannon and identify the plot, characters and sequence of the story....

Students read Ruthanne Lum McCunn's Thousand Pieces of Gold and as a class, discuss the Chinese practice of foot binding. They work in groups to read further about how women of different cultures attempt to conform. They write about...

Students view a video and summarize the information. They research a person or musical associated with the video and present their findings to the class. They write a story using metaphors and personification.