Let the Games Begin

A short story is only as strong as its characters, development, and conflicts. Encourage the young authors in your class to plan their stories based on the elements of narrative writing, all provided in brainstorming graphic organizers.

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...

Grow an understanding of short story with a well-sequenced plan built around an Academy Award-winning short film. Class members explore the elements of an effective short story, and practice writing their own. They also watch the short...

How should pupils read short stories? Set them up for this unit with an introductory lesson that goes over the main characteristics of a short story and starts learners off reading their first short story of the unit. In order to get a...

Whether or not it is an Olympic year, young athletes will be inspired by this brief, animated history of the Olympics and the Olympic motto, "Citius, Altius, Fortius." 

Do your young authors suffer from writer's block when they try to write short stories? Access their natural creativity with C-Gor, the writing monster! The instructional activity takes aspiring authors through a new writing process...

During an Olympics year, the world joins together to celebrate athleticism, patriotism, and history. Learn about the Olympiads of the 20th century with a research project in which groups research one year's Olympic Games. They note the...

Review story elements with your class. They will use examples from a story to develop critical-thinking questions. Then they use a graphic organizer to describe the setting, character, and plot of the story, focusing on how they...

Students read short story selections, and work with classmates to produce commercials using digital video equipment.

Students react to statements about the 2006 Winter Olympics, then read a news article about the Olympic torch's journey through Italy. For this current events lesson (written prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics), the teacher introduces the...