Story Totems

Encourage narrative writing with a clever exercise. Class members watch episodes from movies and describe what happened to a character, including details about the setting, plot, and characters. Writers then craft a narrative about a...

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...

Finding the central idea is the focus of this instructional activity. Middle schoolers write descriptions of different animals using details and descriptive language. They watch a video of kids using descriptive language, and then use...

Encourage your class to consider a beautiful short film about a boy named Theo who happens to be visually impaired. Over the course of the lesson, pupils work in pairs, discuss their ideas and the film as a class, view the film, take...

Viewers get some tips on how to create suspense in their writing from a short video that draws on examples from Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart," Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and even Oedipus Rex.  Remember: It's not what happens but what...

An informative worksheet invites learners to compose essays about animals. Some excellent writing prompts are included in this innovative worksheet. Use these ideas with a variety of grade levels.

Learners combine creativity with the rigor of careful editing by adding music to their story. It forces them to focus on how they communicate the meaning of their story to the listener.

Does your class love reading cartoons? Use their talents and interests to examine the process of writing a story they wish to tell through a cartoon. They develop the beginning, middle, and end of a story based on their original...

Students compare two paintings, depicting urban life in America in the 1940's, answering a series of questions, then create a short story about the paintings' characters. They compare 'Nighthawks' and 'Nightlife.'

Introduce your class members to allegory and propaganda with a series of activities designed to accompany a study of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Readers examine the text as an allegory, consider the parallels to collective farms and the...