Curated OER
What is a Make Believe Story?
Explore the concept of make believe stories. For this genres of literature lesson, young scholars discover the difference between realistic fiction and fantasy. They are asked questions during and after the reading of a book to ensure...
Curated OER
A Fantasy Story: Baby Bear's Space Journey
Give this literacy activity to your beginning readers to help them draw out key details and retell in their own words. They read a short fantasy story about a bear in space which includes dialogue, onomatopoeia, and a simple story line....
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Incredible Stories: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 3)
The materials in this 40-page packet are designed for learners who need extra support in order to understand the concepts in a thematic unit on fantasy and realism.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Incredible Stories: Challenge Activities (Theme 3)
Real or fantasy? Dogzilla, the Giant of Barletta, the Garden of Abdul Gassazi. To enrich their understanding of incredible stories, teams create a mouse newspaper and report on the invasion of Dogzilla, craft folktales, and draft a story...
Curated OER
Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Learners write a fantasy story about time traveling back to the time of the Oregon Trail. In this Oregon trail lesson students gather information from their Social Studies textbook about life during the time of the Oregon Trail.
Curated OER
Realism and Fantasy
Second graders listen to the story, Bruno the Baker, where some parts seem real and some seem fake. They must identify the parts of the story as realism or fantasy. An interesting way to teach young readers these two concepts.
Curated OER
A Fantasy Story: Spooky!
This creepy fantasy story needs an ending! Learners use a spooky voice to read a short story ending at an ellipsis...what was in the dark, dark box? They illustrate what they think could have been in there and write a title for the...
The New York Times
Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Curated OER
Palace Adventure
Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...
Curated OER
Dusty Locks and the Three Bears
Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture to...
Curated OER
Fantasy Stories
Students create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson, students write a fantasy where they can use characters that they have read about in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Curated OER
Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Students write a fantasy story about travelling back in time to the period of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research and take notes about the Oregon Trail, and write a first and a final draft of their short story about their visit to...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Home Sweet Home: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 5)
Through grand discussion, picture cards, and poems, enhance language proficiency with a Home Sweet Home themed unit created to support English language development. Each lesson follows a listen, speak, move, and/or look routine that...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
That’s Amazing!: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 3)
Follow a teach, practice, and apply routine to provide extra support with a themed unit created by Houghton Mifflin. Topics include compound words, noting details, action verbs, suffixes, compare, and contrast, verbs, fantasy, realism,...
Curated OER
Fantasies and Myths
Fourth graders examine different types of literature, specifically myths and fantasy. They listen to "The Giving Tree", identify in which genre of literature it belongs, and view several myths on a website. At end of instructional...
Curated OER
Journey Through Wonderland: Real or Fantasy
First graders recognize the difference between fact and fiction, real and fantasy. After listening to Rip Van Winkle, retold by Lara Bergen and a version of Jack and the Beanstalk, 1st graders demonstrates their understanding of fiction...
Curated OER
Genres, Genres Everywhere
Young readers assume the role of Genre Sleuths to investigate the characteristics of folktales, fantasies, and mysteries. For this session you will need to collect a variety of books on a topic you have been studying. Groups then examine...
Curated OER
Techno Author
Here is a great way to explore language arts by completing a computer activity with classmates. Youngsters read a fairy tale in class and analyze where the beginning, middle and end are. They create their own story using clip art and...
Curated OER
Magical Creatures Land
The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...
Curated OER
Understanding Fantasy Fiction
Students investigate storytelling elements by writing their own fiction stories. In this creative writing lesson, students listen as the teacher reads a fictional story. Students analyze the lack of rules in the story and create their...
Curated OER
Fantasy Narrative Writing Lesson Plan CS
Students write narratives based on fantasy. As a class, they discuss the elements of a fantasy story and listen to the teacher's model of a fantasy narrative. After the teacher reveals the expectations of a good essay, students write...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan for The Little Red Hen
Cultivate young performers while teaching them about helping one another with this interactive storytelling lesson. Elementary schoolers read or listen to the story The Little Red Hen by Mike Lockett and then act out the story while...
Curated OER
Responding to Literature: James and the Giant Peach
Fifth grade reader/writers create an alternate ending to an episode in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach in which our protagonist "loses" the chance to magically solve all his problems. Prompts students not only to write creatively...
Curated OER
A Weave of Woods
Focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and analysis while reading A Weave of Woods, a colorful picture book by Robert D. San Souci. Young learners use worksheets to preview, predict, practice paraphrasing, and make comparisons. The richly...