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...

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...

Students define the characteristics of a hero by creating their own fictional superhero.  In this film making lesson, students write the background of a superhero character and storyboard scenes from a movie they would like to make....

High schoolers discuss ways in which the story "Dracula" can be viewed in terms of a board game. After discussion, groups create and illustrated game board, pieces, and written rules for their own version of The Dracula Game. Groups...

Scholars use four different children's books by Dr. Seuss to analyze microeconomic concepts. Group presentations and research help them better understand simple economic concepts through simple stories.

Students examine clay animation. In this technology lesson, students use the Internet to investigate the history of clay animation. Students use story boards and clay figures to create their own "animation."

Students are introduced to how to use the iMovie software. Individually, they write down their personal beliefs and feelings to use in their movie. To end the lesson, they use the elements of design to develop and create their movie to...

Young scholars analyze four versions of the Cinderella story. In this fairy tale analysis lesson, students read four versions of Cinderella and work in groups to identify the plot for each. Young scholars illustrate the stories and...

Young scholars watch a portion of a familiar film and write responses to a series of questions. They apply their observations to short stories.

In his article about color-blind casting entitled, "Willy Loman Is Lost, Still Looking for Stimulus Plan and Some Dignity," Charles Isherwood quotes August Wilson as saying,  "To mount an all-black production of a 'Death of a...

How does a new version of a Shakespearean play change in the adaptation process? Use this New York Times' Learning Network lesson to consider texts that have been produced in different media. Middle schoolers examine the latest...

Students read the story The Story of Babar and have a class discussion about his travels, discuss their families, design a map, pick music, and more. In this cross curricular musical lesson plan, students create a music map for each of...

Students develop a setting, plot and characters for a science fiction story based on current news themes, and then individually write drafts of the story.

Students examine how music and sound affect their creation of artwork. They view art images online, create three hybrid collage creatures, develop a list of hero characteristics, and write an adventure story for a character they have...

Students examine different pieces of literature that have a similiar theme. They read an article about reusing ideas for television shows. They work together to create their own program proposals. They also create backstories for one of...

Students produce iMovies to share their thoughts of friendship along with poetry creations in this technology-based lesson for the upper-elementary classroom. The lesson includes a link to a "create a poem" site and requires computers...

Second graders identify the responsibilities involved in owning a pet at home. They listen to the story and watch the movie "Arthur's Pet Business," discuss what they are responsible for at home with their pets, and in small groups...

Fifth graders read the Native American tale, "The Frog and the Crane," focusing on the use of onomatopoeia in it. In groups, they brainstorm list of words that are examples of the device. Finally, 5th graders write their own stories...

Learners explore language arts by reading a story in class. In this vocabulary word lesson, students read the book In the Small, Small Pond and discuss several vocabulary terms used in the story. Learners participate in vocab...

Students explore the characterization of heroes and their representation of the values and beliefs of the society in which they are created. They first examine the creation of the 'Star Wars' heroes and plots, and then develop their own...

Students are introduced to the history of clay animation. The use of construction, technology, and integration of curriculum make the lesson unique. The highlight of the project is the creation of a storyboard.

Students create an artistic response to the book, The Polar Express. In this creative writing lesson, students read the book and visualize an imaginary journey they would like to go on. Students create a train car from construction paper...