Curated OER
Frame Story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Mark Twain's frame story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" provides an opportunity for a study of this story-within-a-story pattern. Using an illustrated template, class members record a plot summary of the frame story...
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Creating an Original Opera
This may be a lot to ask of a high schooler, but then again, who knows? Pupils work in groups to explore, write, and then perform an original opera. They view versions of The Magic Flute and La Traviata, then compose a plot, characters,...
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Create a Playbill!
Seventh graders explore the various elements found in the advertisement of a dramatic experience. Playbills are created that reflect the plot without revealing the climax of the play. Costumes, set construction, and character description...
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Map It Out
Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...
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Made for the Movies
Students create a movie flyer to advertise the novel that the class has just finished reading in small groups. They search the Internet, format their flyer, select a slogan for their film, write a brief plot summary, without giving away...
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Paper Bag Book Report
Students read books and write a unique kind of book report. In this literature instructional activity, students use paper bags to construct projects about the books they read. Students present their projects to the class.
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Observing To Make Meaning
Students infer meaning while viewing a scene of Pinocchio without sound. They write a plot summary of the excerpt of Pinocchio, watch the same scene with sound, and compare their assumptions with the actual performance.
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A Novel Ending/ Closure Activity
Students summarize a story, identify the plot structure, and create a symbol that represents the essence of the story.
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What a Character!
Young scholars look at the role of characters in a story. In this character lesson, students discuss how different types of characters change the plot of the story. They see how storytellers use their body, face, and voice to tell stories.
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Animation Pre-Production
Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...
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Information Problem Solving--Lesson 3 of 5
Students examine a selected story/book and practice identifying the setting, characterization, and plot. As a class, they identify problems in the story, turning points and the climax. They use a rubric to evaluate the story, as well.
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Design a Book Cover
Class members take on the role of graphic designer and craft a cover for a book they are reading. Individuals formulate a proposal outlining the images they will use to not only grab the interest of readers, but hint at the mood and...
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Awesome Allegories
Studenets are told that Peter Paul Rubens was born on June 28, 1577, in Siegen, Germany. They create their own allegorical painting, think of a favorite story. Students write a summary of one scene in that story, using Crayola Erasable...
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"The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson
Middle schoolers who are about to read the chilling tale, The Lottery, do some writing beforehand. They are asked to write how their lives would change if they won a huge lottery jackpot. Then, they read the short story, and will be...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
ABA Form in Music
Patterns happen everywhere, in music, math, and language! Fourth graders listen to the "William Tell Overture" visualizing the patterns that they hear. They then discuss and write an ABA poem that matches the ABA form found in the music...
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Verdi
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....
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The Play's the Thing
Students study the life and works of William Shakespeare. They investigate the art of playwriting and write a play of their own.
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Heroes, Legends and Folktales
Fourth graders read classic stories including "The Magic Brocade" and "St. George and the Dragon". They complete a series of lessons in which they compare stories and produce original narrative legends.
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Theatre
Students identify and create flashcards of important key terms as related to theatre. Students observe and write a 1-page summary of events seen at the High School Musical production using at least 8 vocabulary words in your summary....
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Analyzing Story Structure
Young scholars 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...
John F. Kennedy Center
Acting Up, A Melodrama: Performing Like Jo March and Her Sisters in Little Women
Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples for drama...
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www.Me.Com
Create a graphic autobiography integrating images and text. Working within the structure of the programs Comic Life and Photoshop, pupils integrate the Principles of Design. They focus on balance, rhythm, proportion, and text structure....
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Adapting a Musical
High schoolers transform literature into musical productions. For this integrated arts lesson, students discuss how musicals are written and produced. High schoolers then select literature they are familiar with to adapt into musical...
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Pinky and Rex and the Just Right Pet
Pupils engage in reading comprehension activities for the story "Pinky and Rex and the Just Right Pet". In this reading comprehension lesson, students make prediction drawings before reading the story, create new illustrations for their...