Curated OER
Writing Short Stories Using a Plot Diagram
Students read Abe Lincoln's Hat and use a plot diagram to identify the sequence of the story. They use plot diagrams to write their own stories from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln's hat.
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Story Pyramids
Young writers generate descriptive words. They use pictures of various landscapes (from books, magazines, or the Internet) and complete a story pyramid. The pyramid (included here) asks to describe the main character, the setting, and...
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Plot and Conflict in W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw"
Tenth graders analyze the use of literary elements in W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw." Literary analysis is accomplished by a review of the plot and order of events in the story. Learners work in pairs to match the events from the story...
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The Personal Narrative - Part 3
Let's peer edit! Have your writers exchange their personal narratives with another learner! While peer editing, they will look for any missing information and identify strong details. They can practice literary analysis skills using a...
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Different Strokes For Different Folktales
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...
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Around the Room Short Story
Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...
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Story Mapping A Favorite Book
First graders create a diagram of a story by using the computer program Kidspiration. In this diagramming lesson plan, 1st graders will pick a book to write about. They then will plug in story elements of the book into the computer...
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Building Fiction: Elements of a Short Story
High schoolers define and interpret the elements found in a short story. Then they identify the elements of plot found in a short story. Students also apply knowledge of plot to an original work of fiction. Finally, they identify the...
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The Gift of the Magi
Test the true meaning of giving - and irony - with this lesson about "The Gift of the Magi." Using textual analysis, details, and text organization, middle schoolers make predictions about future events in the story and determine the...
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Two Settings
Learners respond to the text Riding Freedom. They will compare and contrast two settings by filling in a graphic organizer. They explore different settings, discuss the reasons why settings change, and draw conclusions using descriptive...
Mary Pope Osborne, Classroom Adventures Program
The Backpack Travel Journals
Strap on those backpacks, it's time to travel through history with this literature unit based on the first four books of The Magic Tree House series. While reading through these fun stories, children create story maps, record interesting...
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The Similarities and Differences of Setting
Sixth graders identify components of the setting in science fiction text. In this compare and contrast settings activity, 6th graders read Only You Can Save Mankind and identify similarities and differences between science fiction text...
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Poetic Justice: A Study of Poe's Famous Works
Students explore Edgar Allan Poe's most famous short stories. In this Edgar Allan Poe lesson, students complete a 25 page packet of activities where they recognize the features of genres and literary devices Poe uses. Students read "The...
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Character, You Say? Prove It!
Pupils discuss character traits, and complete a character map and a Venn diagram for selected characters in their assigned text.
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The Clay Marble
Students probe the story, "The Clay Marble" by Minfong Ho to identify examples of courage, quick thinking, and perseverance. The lesson creatively extends the plot of the story by celebrating the heroin's birthday many years after the...
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Summarizing with James and the Giant Peach
Elementary readers in literature groups practice summarizing chapter-by-chapter with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Focus on main idea, supporting details, and the 5 Ws. Unfortunately, a clever "peach" graphic organizer to which...
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NteQ Lesson Plan for S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders
Explore literature through the completion of reading comprehension worksheets in class. After reading the classic book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, middle schoolers review each chapter by completing study questions and story webs....
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Discovering the Oregon Trail
Students explore U.S. history by researching the Oregon Trail. In this American exploration instructional activity, students read the story On the Shore of the River and define the exact path early settlers took to find the state of...
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The Teacher from the Black Lagoon
Read and analyze the book, The Teacher From the Black Lagoon by Mike Thaler with your class. They will compare/contrast the two Mrs. Greens with a Venn diagram, design a new book cover, create a paper mache mask, and complete a story...
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A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The activity includes several options to...
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Universal Traditions
Students research personal bias towards the story Marriage is a Private Affair. In this tradition research lesson, students read the story and discuss the ending. Students free write about the topic and complete a Venn diagram to compare...
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Using Inspiration Software to Explore Characters In Stories
Students identify characters, their qualities, and examples of their qualities and use Inspiration to organize them in a clear and understandable format. After a lecture/demo, students use the program on the next story by themselves.
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Unforgettable Personalities
Students read an essay titled, "Unforgettable Personalities" to study the influence of character's traits on the resolution of conflict in a narrative. They discuss and complete a worksheet that compares their own personality traits to...
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Bone's Adventures
Students read and discuss a chapter from the book "A Dog's Life," focusing on the point of view of the dog in the story. They explore dog rescue organization websites, and play the online game "Bone Travels On," creating a story map and...