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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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eBook
Library of Congress

A Selection of Stories from The Æsop for Children

For Students K - 8th Standards
Read and incorporate a variety of Aesop's Fables into a fable genre study with an eBook produced by the Library of Congress. The interactive eBook contains 146 fables written by Aesop and includes colorful interactive illustrations by...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Defining Conflict Using "The Interlopers"

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts activity on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing their own short...
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Organizer
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Writing Educators Symposium

Asking the Right Questions

For Teachers 7th - 12th Standards
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and active...
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PPT
All-in-One High School

Elements of Plot

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Cinderella wants to go to the ball and marry the prince. At the end of the story, she does! But how does the plot move from the exposition to the resolution? Teach language arts learners and fairy tale fans about the basics of plot...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

Magical Musical Tour: Using Music Lyrics to Teach Literary Elements

For Teachers 8th - 11th Standards
While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...
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Unit Plan
Syracuse City School District

Reading Comprehension Unit Plan

For Teachers 8th Standards
A unit plan uses short texts to teach literary elements such as theme and characterization. Included are passages by authors such as Walter Dean Myers and Sandra Cisneros. Activities include quick writes, filling in graphic organizers,...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Rituals, Scapegoats, and Mobs...Oh My!

For Teachers 7th - 9th
One way to teach "The Lottery," a suspenseful and rich short story by Shirley Jackson.
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Lesson Plan
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Washoe County School District

Three Skeleton Key

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Conduct a close reading of George G. Toudouze's well-known horror story "Three Skeleton Key." This plan breaks up the reading into several steps and provides text-dependent questions to ask along the way. Learners will have the chance to...
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Study Guide
Reed Novel Studies

Moon Over Manifest: Novel Study

For Teachers 5th - 8th Standards
Manifest, Kansas is a town where anything is possible. Scholars explore the fictional setting using an engaging novel study on Clare Vanderpool's Moon Over Manifest. After answering questions about the text and complete a vocabulary...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Creative Ways To Teach Characterization Lessons

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Teaching characterization can be a creative, engaging experience for students.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Migrant Struggle

For Teachers 6th - 12th
The American Dream is a goal that many pursue, but is it truly attainable for all people? An in-depth lesson explores the plight of migrants in twentieth-century America. The resource includes a video and author biographies and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Character

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Readers practice character analysis by reviewing Gary Soto's short story "La Bamba" with the whole class (anything you've read together will work). They design t-shirts that feature traits and story elements to reveal the nature of a...
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Identifying Types of Irony Using "The Gift of the Magi"

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Tell-Tale Hearts of Writers

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking lesson focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate  the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Understanding Character

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are introduced to literary elements and definitions in the worksheet Understanding Character but reading through each of the elements and definitions aloud. They read the story, "La Bamba" and identify examples of the literary...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Shape of Home

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students define home and understand that home is not the same to everyone. In this homes lesson plan, students participate individually and in groups to create a classroom definition of home. Students discuss the events in the story the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Storytelling

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students compose a story and tell it to the class.  In this storytelling instructional activity, students work in small groups to create an illustrated story.  Students are given a checklist of elements to include in the...
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Lesson Plan
British Council

Shakespeare’s Idioms

For Teachers 7th - 10th
Lie low. Break the ice. He's a night owl. Idioms, in this case idioms created by Shakespeare, are the focus of resource that includes a PowerPoint presentation, an activity, and a brief instructional activity, all intended to give kids a...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

American Literature Unit Four

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students prepare for and respond to literature selections. This package includes twelve lessons from the American Literature, Regionalism and Realism: 1865-1910 series, each covering a different reading selection. Pre-reading and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Writing a Tall Tale

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Learners study the various aspects of tall tales. They read various tall tales and discuss the characteristics and literature aspects of tall tales. Students write their own unique tall tales.