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Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Unit 5: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

For Teachers 5th Standards
Fifth graders analyze William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, paying close attention to character development, plot, and dialogue. With daily reading and thoughtful discussion, scholars take pen to paper to respond to journal...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...
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Printables
Curated OER

Elements of Fiction

For Teachers 1st - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Arts Midwest

The Joy Luck Club: Culture and History

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Explore San Francisco's Chinatown in a lesson 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, and...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Picture-Perfect Story Settings

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Using common picture books, teachers can help learners develop the setting for their next creative writing projects.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: An Exploration of Places and Spaces Part I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The concept behind this activity is fantastic. Learners explore how different locations and situations affect them as individuals, focusing heavily on the impact of the urban environment. They question how location can make them change...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Book Report--Mystery

For Students 5th - 7th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Tension Between Conflict and Compromise

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Learners prepare for and participate in a debate and mock trial regarding laws broken during the Boston Tea Party. Several primary documents and a homework chart are included.
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Writing
Curated OER

Marking Time

For Students 2nd - 3rd Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Help your class find their writing voices with this activity 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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Let's Get Linear

For Teachers 8th - 10th
Math whizzes utilize spreadsheets to examine linear modeling. They roll marbles down a ramp from three different heights and measure how far they roll. They use Excel to record their data and create a plot of their data.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Poetry Shopping Spree

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Scholars demonstrate the ability to evaluate authors' use of literary elements such as metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, and onomatopoeia. They are provided with a checklist and must shop for poems that contain the poetry terms...
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Lesson Plan
3
3
Curated OER

Twisted Tales

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
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...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Makes a Novel a Novel?

For Students 4th - 8th
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....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is the Setting of a Story?

For Teachers 1st
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Learning Network: Re-envisioning Classic Stories

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The "Write" Stuff: Strategies and Conventions for Imaginative Writing

For Teachers 6th
A comprehensive and immersive series of lessons that examines various aspects of story development leads learners into writing a narrative of their own. Writers develop an understanding of the writing process as they use the learning...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Workshop

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Kids take a critical look at each other's work in order to understand the editing process while providing constructive suggestions. This handout really sets learners up to successfully offer constructive critique to their peers. Helpful...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan 11: Beginnings

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places their story...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson Plan 17: Novel, Take 2

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
It's all about using peer resources in this writing process lesson, which includes a fantastic novel revision worksheet packet. Learners have read a partner's story draft the night before, and groups have a "lightning round of praise"...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leading into Good Writing

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
Discuss the importance of a lead in writing with your upper graders. They examine several examples of leads from literature and practice writing leads for pieces of artwork. They then select a topic from a list and write an introductory...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book: Comprehension Skills

For Students 2nd - 4th
Your learners are just starting to read books on their own, so this resource is perfect! Cut out the bookmark-size slips of paper for learners to utilize while reading Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book. Each of the five bookmark pages...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

A Tale to Tell!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
A creative spin occurs when one pupil acts as author Ann M. Martin. Using a Q & A at the back of her book A Dog's Life, other classmates ask the "author" questions. They discuss the reasons why they know the book is from a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Noisy Nora, Studious Students: Story Elements

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...