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Interactive
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PBS

Setting in To Kill a Mockingbird

For Students 7th - 12th Standards
Can you understand more about how a person acts by learning about how that person lives? An interactive resource explores the setting of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird with several slides discussing the location, social conditions,...
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Unit Plan
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Core Knowledge Foundation

Stories Tell It Again!™ Read-Aloud Anthology

For Teachers K Standards
An anthology created for kindergarteners explores classic stories that have been told for generations. Young scholars listen to 10 read-alouds, answer reading comprehension questions, and practice a skill related to the text. Stories...
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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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Study Guide
Scholastic

A Reading Guide to A Wrinkle in Time

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
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...
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Worksheet
1
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Curated OER

Illustrating the Elements of a Story

For Students 6th - 8th
Explore the elements of a story with this two-page graphic organizer. Readers write and draw descriptions of each element, including setting, plot, conflict, rising action, climax, dialogue, and narration.
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Organizer
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Southwest Career and Technical Academy

Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story - Compare and Contrast

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
West Side Story, the modern retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, won ten Academy Awards for its rousing depiction of the tale of star-crossed lovers. But how closely does the plot align to its source material? Compare and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Applying Ahimsa to Traditional Stories

For Teachers 2nd - 8th Standards
Investigate the life of Mahatma Gandhi by researching non-violent lifestyles. Learners define the word ahimsa and discuss the personal characteristics that made Gandhi a peaceful warrior. They also create a poster about the story "The...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Curated OER

"The Story of an Hour" Lesson 1: Teacher's Guide and Notes

For Teachers 8th Standards
Attitudes toward women have changed radically in the last hundred years. The first lesson in a six-part unit that uses Kate Chopin's short story "The Story of an Hour" as an anchor text begins with a shared reading of "The Role of Women...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The News Behind the Story

For Teachers 6th - 12th
What a fun way to analyze plot, setting, and character. Learners review story elements, read a short fictional story, then turn the events of that story into a headlining news paper article. Not only does this lesson engage critical...
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Organizer
Pearson

Reading Comprehension Sequence Chain

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Follow any story and record each step on the graphic organizer provided here. There are lines to record the title, author, and illustrator, boxes where pupils can fill in character and setting, and six boxes in which learners can note...
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Unit Plan
ReadWriteThink

Beyond the Story: A Dickens of a Party

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Setting Details in Of Mice and Men

For Students 7th - 9th Standards
After completing John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, groups are assigned a chapter to reread. Members list major conflicts and events and quote setting details. They then make observations about how the setting prepares the reader for the...
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Lesson Plan
Literacy Design Collaborative

Irony in Short Stories

For Teachers 8th Standards
Scholars read three texts and analyze the dialogue of the characters to find examples of humor and irony that contribute to their characterization. They then walk through the writing process to create a final essay.
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

A Wrinkle in Time: The Board Game

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Tackle some big questions about A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle with a board game project. As learners brainstorm for and complete their board games, they consider what helps and hinders Meg on her journey and why she succeeds in...
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Lesson Plan
Federal Reserve Bank

Sheep in a Shop

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
What do you think sheep might be able to barter when they don't have quite enough to buy a gift? Your pupils can find out this and much more during this lesson about Sheep in a Shop, spending, saving, and bartering.
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Writing
Curated OER

Story Impressions-Gary Paulsen's Canyons

For Students 6th - 8th
What is a story impression? Learn about the strategy with the first page of this two-page resource. Before reaching chapters 21-24 in Canyons, readers use a list of words (taken from these chapters) to predict what is going to happen....
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Unit Plan
British Council

Learning English through Short Stories

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Use short stories to teach English? Yes! Designed as a professional development opportunity for English language teachers, the ideas in this booklet can easily be adapted to advanced ESL/ELL classes.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Walk Two Moons: Hook and Concept of a Frame Story

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
As an introduction to Sharon Creexh's Walk Two Moons, a volunteer dons a pair of boots and walks about the classroom.Observers then ponder the axiom, Don't judge a man until you've walked two moons in his moccasins. Their collaborative...
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Interactive
Curated OER

Hemingway's Short Stories - Essay Questions

For Students 8th - 12th
Ernest Hemingway is one of America's great writers. After reading one (or several) of his short stories, visit this list of 24 questions relating to at least 10 of his short stories. Some of the questions are basic recall questions, and...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Gone Crazy in Alabama: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Life isn't always sweet in Alabama. A study guide for the novel Gone Crazy in Alabama introduces readers to life in the rural South and explores one character's experiences there. In addition to answering basic reading comprehension...
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PPT
Curated OER

Story Elements

For Teachers 7th - 9th
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...
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Activity
PBS

The Little Red Hen: A Tale of Cooperation

For Teachers K - 2nd
Ensure that your kids don't even consider saying "Not me!" when it comes time to read by engaging them in this set of lesson plans based around "The Little Red Hen." The class reads the story together before starting in on additional...
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Activity
PBS

Primary Source Set: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
What did Jo write her stories with? How did the March sisters dress? A primary source set designed for Louisa May Alcott's Little Women prompts learners to look over images of household items and clothes from the 1860s before engaging in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Introduce Vocabulary: Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride (Priceman)

For Teachers K - 3rd
What a fun way to explore new vocabulary words! Marjorie Priceman's book Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride offers plenty of new words for scholars to learn in context: amateur, assembled, demonstration,...