Young learners explore the antagonist. They retell Hansel and Gretel and identify the witch and the stepmother as antagonists. They then brainstorm common character traits of an antagonist, and then write a paragraph describing...

How can you tell if a character is a villain? What about a hero? Work on literary analysis with an engaging language arts worksheet. After completing an activity about the four types of conflict, learners fill out a character map about a...

What makes a story interesting? Complex characters! As part of a series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, the exercises included explain the role of the protagonist, the antagonist, and the supporting...

Peter and Molly, characters in Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridly Pearson, are in a different world on a faraway island fighting pirates and thieves. As scholars read about the kids' adventures, they complete...

Appropriate for any short story, this learning exercise asks readers to identify key elements and then analyze the structure of a short story.

Middle schoolers in particular will benefit from this simple presentation. Forty slides cover story elements like the protagonist, antagonist, and setting, and literary devices are also included. Some examples are given, but for the most...

Take your history class through Schindler's List with a learning guide, which offers an introduction to the film and a variety of discussion questions and related assignments. There are several useful resources in the...

You'll be a star at your next grade level meeting with an educational unit on Louis Sachar's Holes. Based on both the novel and film, the lessons include applications to language arts with character studies and movie reviews; social...

Readers of "The Most Dangerous Game" must argue which of Richard Connell's characters is the protagonist or antagonist. The instructional activity begins with scholars reading selected passages from the story and making predictions about...

Assess your new learners' writing abilities and knowledge of literary terms with these diagnostic activities. Part of a back-to-school unit, this is meant to provide the teacher with information about the ability levels of their class....

Characters in a story are more than a name to remember. Use a character builder activity to write out a character's appearance, background, personality, attributes, and story relevance, including whether they are a main or minor...

As part of an lesson involving literature or writing, have your learners watch and discuss this presentation on plot development. In a series of slides, viewers engage in an activity to explore dramatic structure, including plot...

Putting together an interesting story can be hard, but this set of worksheets will guide your writers into the depths of their own creativity as they characterize both their main character and villain. Using humor to keep learners...

The Cleveland Museum of Art presents this interdisciplinary model unit that asks class members to explore how the same themes are presented in the folktales and art of several cultures.

Students create original costumes and make-up for a puppet presentation of a scene from Shakespeare in this week long creative project. Performances of the Shakespeare scenes end this lesson geared towards state and national standards...

Cinderella is a classic love story when Cinderella is the protagonist—but what happens if a stepsister tells the story? Focus on point of view with a lesson plan about fairy tales and story elements. After reading a few familiar fairy...

In this reading and study guide worksheet, students define 5 vocabulary words, define 2 literary terms, and respond to 15 short answer questions pertaining to Act IV of "Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare.

For this reading and study guide worksheet, students define vocabulary and literary terms used in Romeo and Juliet Act IV. Students also answer comprehension questions based on the reading.

The second lesson in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider the characteristics of a good leader. After generating a list of these qualities, they annotate a passage from the novel highlighting the leadership qualities of...

Readers of  Lord of the Flies hunt down direct and indirect examples of how William Golding brings his characters to life. After instructors guide learners through the process of collecting evidence of these two types of...

How authors bring characters to life and make them believable is the focus of a lesson plan on characterization. Readers closely examine passages from To Kill a Mockingbird and Dreamland Burning, noting details that reveal the...

Use this writing prompt and brainstorming page to help your pupils prepare to write their own myths. Individuals must choose a natural event to explain, come up with a protagonist and an antagonist, determine a setting, and think of a...

Arm your writers with an arsenal of literary terms. With definitions of everything from plot structure and figurative language to point-of-view and types of irony, learners will gain an understanding of elements in stories and be able to...