Do your youngsters realize that they are constantly making inferences? Expose this inner process by bringing out the book they will be reading. Ask scholars what they think the plan is, and explain that their answers are the product of...

Imagine the surprise when small groups present their Evidence Charts to the class and discover that each group has studied a different version of the Cinderella story. Irish, Ojibwa, Egyptian, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Mexican, and...

Study story elements with your young learners. Read Goldilocks and the Three Bears and discuss the order of events by making a story panel out of butcher paper. Sentences are given as suggestions for the panel, though you may...

Create baseball cards for literary characters with this lesson plan. It introduces learners to baseball cards, their components (stats, picture, etc.), and prompts them to draft and publish their own cards based on figures from...

Learners explore nonfiction text. They identify the cover, title page, and table of contents of a nonfiction book. Pupils work in groups to create a chapter for a nonfiction class book about heroes.

Learn about the events that helped shape the United States of America. Elementary schoolers explore the Civil War with six different activities. Each activity has a different focus: literature connections, primary sources, vocabulary,...

A new baby means a lot of changes for Peter! Ezra Jack Keats presents this common childhood experience in his story Peter's Chair, the context of a detailed vocabulary study. Before you read, introduce the three new words scholars...

Readers of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are directed to complete two projects as a part of their study of Mark Twain’s novel.  Individuals craft an organized notebook containing all their work during the study, and they...

Extend a class reading of the novel The Sign of the Beaver across all subject areas with this literature unit guide. From basic discussion questions and writing prompts, to a research project about tracking animals, this...

Students write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure, grammar,...

Eighth graders investigate the concept of main idea and supporting details, and how they are used in the genre of fiction. For this literacy lesson, 8th graders listen to a fictional passage and take notes on the characters, setting,...

Students write a science fiction story.  For this science fiction lesson, students read selections of science fiction and compare them to supernatural stories from the Bible.  Students identify themes and discuss elements that...

Students examine setting in a work of realistic fiction. In this literature lesson, students read The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and then write an essay that compares real-life settings to the settings in the novel.

Fifth graders write a book review for a nonfiction book. In this response to literature lesson plan, 5th graders read a nonfiction book and write a review that gets others interested in reading the book without giving too much away. The...

Fifth graders write a fiction book review. In this response to literature lesson, 5th graders read a story and share their understanding and opinion of the book. They write what the book is about, what they like about the book, and what...

Students get to know the characters and events that shaped American folktales through writing, drawing and singing activities. Handouts and worksheets are included.

Students explore the traits of writing in this six lessons unit. Poems, fiction, and drama are evaluated to identify writing strategies. Utilization of vocabulary and writing rubrics help students judge the effectiveness of their own...

Students demonstrate their ability to distinguish between fact and fiction. Students identify the features of weather-related adages and proverbs. After reviewing several weather adages, students explain whether they are based in fact.

Young scholars complete a Web Quest on How to Write a Mystery. They listen to or read a short mystery story and discuss its elements. They write an outline of a mystery story using all of the elements.

Students put themselves in the role of a historical person and have to write a short story of dramatic dialogue about an event or person that has NOT been depicted in a work of historical fiction yet. This person is Hannah Dustin. A...

Students engage in the writing of a magazine article. They focus upon the reading of a children's fiction book and create an informative narrative. They create main ideas and supporting details for the article. The supporting of main...

Students study Charles Dickens's Great Expectations to gain insight into a classical piece of fiction and to explain how writers respond to social conditions. They also consider how that response is important today.

Students examine 19th century gender roles. In this gender roles lesson, students read "The Daughter-in-Law" and discuss their impressions of etiquette and gender roles in the 19th century. Students write etiquette guides that address...

Fourth graders read two books  In this compare and contrast lesson, 4th graders read a science fiction or fantasy story and compare it to the story, "Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library." Students also have the option to listen to...