Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...

Make reading more enjoyable and interactive with literature circles! Here you'll find detailed lessons to begin the literature circle process. Ten lessons introduce each role learners take on. Literature circle roles include...

A collection of reading passages is packed with various skills to enhance fourth graders reading comprehension. From distinguishing between fact and opinion to describing character's feelings and recognizing elements of plot, the...

If your language arts learners have a hard time determining the universal theme of a written work, use a straightforward worksheet to help them find it. After reviewing a list of common themes, kids note the title, character, plot, point...

Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record interesting...

The metaphor of a pot of soup and a series of colorful templates remind young writers of the elements that make for a rich story. Pepper the plot with carrot/character, potato/point of view, corn/conflict, tomato/theme, and season with...

How can a scene from a novel be different when represented on film? After creating a timeline from the plot of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, kids watch the first or last fifteen minutes of the film version, produced...

Map the most important events and turning points from The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. After a group discussion from the previous lesson's homework assignment, kids create a timeline to chart the important events from the novel with...

Explore San Francisco's Chinatown in a lesson plan about the first few chapters of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Kids research Chinatown on the Internet and create a virtual tour of the neighborhood, including the foods, cultural events,...

Readers learn about sharecropping in the South in a unit about Ernest J. Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying. Focusing on the period after Civil War Reconstruction but before the Civil Rights Movement, a set of handouts help to establish the...

Track the plot of Ernest J. Gaines's A Lesson Before Dying with a class discussion and timeline. Readers examine the ways the story has developed for Jefferson and for Grant, as well as how their stories have come together. Next, they...

Use this mystery novel worksheet to have learners answer several specific questions about details in the book, the atmosphere of the book, and the main characters in the book. This impressive, four-page worksheet will serve as an...

Study characterization, plot, setting, and symbols in William Golding's Lord of the Flies with a thorough reading guide. It provides reading comprehension questions for each chapter, as well literary devices, symbols, and character...

What happens next? Introduce your readers to the literary element of plot with a colorful, funny, and engaging presentation that includes two great story models. Viewers will especially enjoy the retelling of the story of the three pigs.

Equipped with all the necessary components of a literary response, including a summary page, vocabulary list, a space for questions and answers, a story flow chart, and a character map, this resource is a superior way for students to...

Two narrative excerpts tell the same story from different points of view. In the first excerpt (first person), sequencing words and phrases are bolded and learners write down what the bold type does. The second excerpt is in third...

Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select another...

Analyze conflict and plot in literature. To begin, review the terms conflict, plot, exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution with the class. Working in groups and using TI-83 Plus (because the activity is...

As your authors prepare to write a hypothetical novel, they need all the inspiration they can find! Using a book they have already read (and enjoyed), learners complete a literary analysis by filling in eight short-answer questions....

First graders explore the concepts of what setting is and how it's determined in a story. They play the KidWorks program to help facilitate the setting in a story. They use resources such as a picture dictionary or word wall to find and...

How better to get your writers painting a picture with words than to actually have them paint a picture? Well, drawing works just fine in this case, but the idea here is to get budding authors illustrating settings from their novel to...

This activity spans five days and culminates in a role-play where judges consider the arguments of each learners to determine the top five villains or heroes of all time. Learners discuss characterization of heroes and villains, theme,...

Prepare for a wild ride on the plot roller coaster! Budding authors outline their novel plots through this set of visual and entertaining worksheets. They follow the story of Boris the Unicorn, which demonstrates the various stages of a...