Genre Jeopardy

Guide learners through a discussion about Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting with a helpful graphic organizer. As they read through the novel, individuals note their reactions to statements about the book's themes, and fill out a chart...

Creating story quilts is a great way to combine art, social studies and literature. Kids select a story, a published one or one of their own, to illustrate, paint on a canvas square, embellish, and mount on a felt backing.

Use short stories to teach English? Yes! Designed as a professional development opportunity for English language teachers, the ideas in this booklet can easily be adapted to advanced ESL/ELL classes.

A packet full of old-fashioned short stories could be a review activity for a reading comprehension lesson. Learners read 14 stories before answering multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blank sentences, and vocabulary exercises.

Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...

A word splash activity introduces scholars to the lesson's theme—cultural characteristics. First, in examining Little Red Riding Hood by The Brothers Grimm, learners highlight the cultural characteristics and then spot the differences in...

Hook kids into a study on poetry elements by asking them to bring in the lyrics to their favorite song. Discuss the elements in one or two songs (preferably that demonstrate rhyme, figurative language, or a repeating phrase). Groups do...

Read and incorporate a variety of Aesop's Fables into a fable genre study with an eBook produced by the Library of Congress. The interactive eBook contains 146 fables written by Aesop and includes colorful interactive illustrations by...

Do you have a lot of different reading levels in your class? Pair kids up by level and have them choose a book to read independently. They will make predictions, ask questions, make connections, etc. Consider creating a general reading...

Introduce your class to characterization. Familiar story characters are sorted into "good" and "bad" categories based on the characters' personalites and actions in the story. The class discusses and describes characters they have read...