Middle schoolers create a story based upon their interpretation of a work of art. The story displays students' knowledge of writing conventions, elements of a short story, literary conflict and use of descriptive text.

Students read two classic short stories by Kate Chopin and write a comparison of the stories. For this short story comparison lesson, students read 'Desiree's Baby' and 'The Story of an Hour' and analyze the foreshadowing and irony....

Students investigate writing techniques by analyzing 2 stories written by Edgar Allen Poe.  In this language arts instructional activity, students choose two Edgar Allen Poe short stories to read and take notes on the setting,...

Students read "The Problem of Cell 13" by Jacques Futrelle and explore the mystery genre. In this mystery genre lesson plan, students read the short story and discuss the author's inclusion of locked room settings. Students then write...

Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...

Cover Freytag's Triangle and examine Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" in this third lesson plan in a series of fourteen based around short stories. Learners take a quiz and discuss Freytag's triangle. They apply the triangle to "The Bet" and...

This activity may have writers evaluate short compositions, but their subjects are quite tall: great Americans. Pupils read one another's compositions and closely examine how specific phrases and diction contribute to shaping American...

Sixth graders learn to plan a story by using a story map. They analyze a detailed sample story map and answer 5 questions about it. Then, plan their own story using a story map template.

Examine how addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division relate to and are separate from each other. As they listen to the book, The Doorbell Rang, they demonstrate the math described in the story by cutting up paper cookies...

Tone and Mood are not synonymous! Introduce young readers to these literary devices with a series of exercises that not only point out the significant differences between the terms but also shows them how to identify both the tone and...

In this reading worksheet, students read a short story about a boy and what he likes. Students answer 4 questions, then write a story about themselves.

Relate the structure of the essay to the structure of a building. The class compares an essay to a building, with the writer being the architect, the introduction being the foundation, and so on. They use the visual representation of a...

Have you ever wanted to tell a character what you really thought of him or her? Use a lesson plan based on Kyoko Mori's Shizuko's Daughter to encourage learners to write a letter in response to a character's actions. 

Learning how to craft a cogent argument based on a solid claim, supported with evidence and solid reasoning, is an important life skill. Teach middle schoolers about argumentative writing with a lesson asking them to analyze the claims,...

A fun way to grow a class of creative thinkers, is to add creative projects to your weekly line up. Kids pretend they are small insects or spiders crawling up the side of a huge building. They use vivid imagery, rich detail, and their...

As learners continue to examine a short story of their choice, they take some time to look at analysis completed by others on the same story. In the eleventh lesson in a series of fourteen, pupils explore various sites for literary...

First and second graders explore the importance of having a beginning, middle, and end when writing stories. In this story writing lesson, students write short stories using the story diamond as a guide. They invite their parents to an...

Young scholars write a short story illustrating the past and imaging the future in transportation. For this transportation lesson plan, students explore artifacts that have to do with transportation in the past in Chicago.

Students create a writing journal. In this journal writing lesson, students discuss what to write in a journal and why it is fun to keep a journal. Students start their journal by writing about a pet and use the entry to write a short...

Young scholars use their art materials to go outside and draw a picture of a scene. They can also write down specific notes in a small spiral notebook about the scene they want to remember so they can write their stories. They complete...

Examine homelessness through a series of writing and discussion activities and a short film. Learners first come up with their own stories based on images of characters in the film. They then watch the film and respond to a series of...

What does empathy look like? Encourage your pupils to put themselves in another person's shoes with several writing and discussion activities that relate to a featured short film. Over the course of the lesson, individuals collaborate...

Analyze point of view and how it affects a literary work with this lesson. Middle schoolers create a written piece that focuses on point of view. They review the literary term "point of view," and explore examples of the term in text....

Students identify the elements of a story. In this reading and writing instructional activity, pupils read the book, Tyrone the Horrible by Hans Wihelm and then identify the characters, setting, and plot of the story.This instructional...