A unit plan uses short texts to teach literary elements such as theme and characterization. Included are passages by authors such as Walter Dean Myers and Sandra Cisneros. Activities include quick writes, filling in graphic organizers,...

Students use artistic words when writing about an object moving quickly past a character who is standing still. In this writing and art lesson plan, students read the passage Chasing Vermeer and base their writing off of it.

Students explore the elements of film to analyze character, action, and the themes in the movie, "Quiz Show." The lesson encourages students to make personal connections and real life applications as they view the movie, critically.

Students examine descriptive writing. In this writing lesson, students listen to an audio version of the diary of Lt. Polly Hatchard and her expedition to the South Pole. Students explore the components of descriptive writing and...

Second graders analyze descriptive writing. In this writing lesson, 2nd graders read a story with a villain, describe the villain in words, and create a Wanted Poster describing him on paper.

Students explore the concepts of narrative writing. They identify the basic elements in narrative writing such as the setting description, characters, conflict, climax and resolution. Using five adjectives from a previous spelling unit,...

Eighth graders listen to a taped version of the radio play, "The Hitchhiker". They write a conclusion to the play and work with a partner to evaluate it before a final revision.

Students read the book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble. In this character traits lesson, students read the book and identify character traits. Students draw pictures of a character from the book and describe the character traits.

Students examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Students then use the methods of...

Students create a character map of the main characters in The Tale of Despereaux. After reading the text, students create a character chart based on information they gleaned from the story. They use this information to write a letter...

Students explore signs and types of bullying. In this "building character" lesson, students listen to several read alouds based on a bully theme. Four groups are formed to discuss "gossip", "exclusion", "physical bullying", and "verbal...

Students write an autobiographical essay. In this writing instructional activity students read a narrative, Panic in Paris, and review the elements of a narrative as a class discussion. Well-known stories are used as examples for writing...

Fourth graders, using Kidspiration, compare and contrast the two main characters from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. They use a teacher-created template to describe their characters. Students then create their own character analysis.

What's the story? Learners create the first of four storyboards about the invention of the television, incorporating narrative techniques and descriptive details. Next, they offer and receive feedback by participating in a peer critique...

Turning 11 comes with a range of emotions. Explore those emotions by reading the short story "Eleven" by Sandra Cisneros. Readers analyze the main character's reactions to the events of her day. Then, they write an essay describing what...

Teach your class the basics of narrative writing! The resource first describes the Common Core standard for narrative writing in-depth, and then moves into how to apply the standard. Show your class the example essay and quiz them...

Ever wonder if that miracle product in the commercial is really a miracle? Chances are, the only miraculous part is how many people the advertisers are able to convince to buy it! Class members look over short descriptions of techniques...

In this literature circle role descriptions worksheet, young scholars identify the role they play in the literature circle. The different roles include: summarizer, vocabulary finder, questions writer, story mapper. Each role has three...

Young scholars explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.

Good endings are hard to find. And write. This, the final lesson in a six-part series devoted to study of the ingredients of a good story, focuses on crafting endings. Class members draft ideas about what should happen to each of their...

Kids read the book Boston Tea Party by Steven Kroll and use maps to locate various landmarks. They identify the cause and effect of the events related to the Boston Tea Party, then write a descriptive composition.

Students explore And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.  In this characterization instructional activity, students locate passages that contain character descriptions and settings. Students write a descriptive essay on the...

Students write about themselves. In this personal writing lesson, students write their name vertically down a sheet of paper and think of a self descriptive word that matches each letter of their name. Students write a descriptive...

Young historians bring Greek mythology to the twenty-first century with this engaging research project. Hired to create a Barbie doll or action figure modeled after a Greek god or goddess, students gather the information necessary to...