Young readers use graphic organizers, such as Venn diagrams and story maps, to analyze a variety of folktales and the elements of a story. They use writing, sequencing activities, and creative art to identify the morals learned from a...

Fifth graders use text to identify the elements of a story. They compare and contrast the elements and explain them to the class. They discover why each element is needed to make a good story.

Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture...

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Explore point of view and more with a Common Core-designed instructional activity. Learners experience different points of view by representing one of two characters from Esperanza Rising during a partner discussion. They must use...

In this engaging activity involving close analysis of abstract expressionist art, your class members will not only discover more about artist Friz Scholder's Native American art, but they will also have the opportunity to consider...

Discover how the periodic table tells the story of its elements. Learners begin by studying the makeup of several mixtures. Their analysis leads to a discussion of elements and the periodic table. As they dig deeper, they understand the...

Explore the literary concept of theme through the The Gift of the Magi. Starting with a class discussion, the concept of theme is explored through examples from famous stories and movies. Next, the class analyzes the possible themes of...

Connect to real-world experiences by having your primary learners create an award certificate based upon literal and inferential information from a story. They present the award to a character from a story and explain the criteria used....

Explore how illustrations add to a story. Young learners will look at picture books to see how the pictures tell the story. They create illustrations to go with a chosen story, and then flip the activity so they have to write a story to...

Seventh graders explore the history of Christmas by researching classic literature. In this holiday activity, 7th graders read the story A Christmas Carol and discuss the tone of Charles Dickens' classic literary work. Students answer...

Ninth graders summarize and paraphrase a short story read in class. They identify the six story elements of character, setting, plot, conflict, solution, and tone/mood. Students create a PowePoint presentation that illustrates the...

Determining a theme or central idea is greatly emphasized in the Common Core standards. Target that skill though big metaphors and central symbols in Pam Muñoz Ryan's Esperanza Rising. Help your class reach the standard through...

Students integrate Author and Biography study with Students personal perspective. They make connections between research and creative writing. Students enrich research and critical thinking skills. They encourage students to think about...

Young scholars are introduced to the characteristics of fables and folktales. In groups, they read and identify the various elements in the stories they read from around the world. For each story, they analyze the setting and the...

Students explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make it an effective...

Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...

How do you get a theorem named after you? Euler knows what it takes! The third lesson of five asks pupils to use an interactive activity to compare the faces, vertices, and edges of seven different three-dimensional solids. They use...

First graders identify text that uses sequence or other logical order. They identify and interpret how different plants and animals inhabit different kinds of environments and have external features that help them thrive in different...

Third graders listen to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". Using the music, they identify the high and low parts in the orchestal composition. They compare the elements of a story to the piece of music and respond to the music and state how...

Students study world cultures with an emphasis on languages and cultures. In this world cultures instructional activity, students study the countries of Spain, China, Italy, and the United States. Students read the story Everybody Cooks...

Finished your novel? What’s next? Designing the book cover, of course. But how to begin? After examining the covers of published books and noting the common elements of these jackets, young novelists design a front and back cover for...

Students explore language arts by reading and reflecting on literary examples. In this fiction writing lesson, students read several different cultural versions of the story "Cinderella" and discuss their interaction with the story and...

Fifth graders are read a variety of Cinderella stories from around the world. In groups, they complete a comparison chart for each story and how it compares to the American version. To end the lesson, they participate in a fairy tale...