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

A villain is necessary in any great story! As your creative writers begin brainstorming characters, remind them not to skimp on their antagonist. This learning exercise helps guide learners in detailing a villain, and adds some silliness...

The villain is sometimes the best character in a book. They are usually troubled, dynamic, and will do anything to stop the main character. Have your class better understand villainous antagonists by creating one in class. They work...

Whether new to teaching Beowulf or an experience pro, you'll find much to like in a richly detailed unit plan that asks readers to consider how the epic represents the difficulty in defining good and evil but also reflects the changing...

What was the purpose of the Enrollment Act of 1863? Pupils consider the topic while completing the novel study for The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg by Rodman Philbrick. They write original similes and answer reading...

What do wizards smell like? A novel study for Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy walks readers through chapter one to help them answer the question. Scholars also practice vocabulary from the chapter and invent original similes.

Fortunetellers and elephants may not have much in common, but both are prominently featured in Kate DiCamillo's novel The Magician's Elephant. Using the novel study, learners answer questions and complete worksheets on figurative...

Imagine a place where airships are the primary mode of transportation and where some flying creatures spend their entire lives in the air. Scholars become immersed in a fantasy world with the Airborn novel study as they answer questions...

Discuss the character traits of a protagonist with a set of activities focused on literature and informational texts. As your class analyzes the differences between protagonists and antagonists, they determine each character's part in a...

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...

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...

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 sidebar, such as a...

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...

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...

Conflict can be fun! Or at least it can be, if it forms the basis of a novel plot. This resource, part of a NaNoWriMo series of worksheets that prepares middle schoolers to write their own novel, presents the element of conflict. After...

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 an...

Darth Vader, The Wicked Witch of the West, Shere Khan, Moby Dick...these are some of the most famous villains in film and literature. Study the four categories of conflict with your class and have them finish the day by creating a...

Develop a mystery character using clues from a bag. This engaging activity will help learners understand character traits. They develop a list of the items from the bag, discuss and develop the character with a partner, and create a...

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...

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

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...

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...

The Cosby Show in the classroom? Use an episode from a 30-minute TV sitcom to introduce the concept of subplot. Young writers use a sub-plotting worksheet (not included) to record their observations about how the subplot is developed in...

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...