Alliterative adjective nicknames generate stories inspired by Rosemary Wells' book Noisy Nora (also a thematic complement to any class with children who make a ruckus to get attention). Class members explore basic story elements --...

Study story elements with your young learners. Read Goldilocks and the Three Bears and discuss the order of events by making a story panel out of butcher paper. Sentences are given as suggestions for the panel, though you may...

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...

A creative spin occurs when one pupil acts as author Ann M. Martin. Using a Q & A at the back of her book A Dog's Life, other classmates ask the "author" questions. They discuss the reasons why they know the book is from a...

Seventh graders write a few sentences explaining the most important events of their lives during the past year. As a class, they discuss why they chose the elements they did for their sentences. To end the lesson, they read a variety of...

Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing lesson. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The lesson includes several options to complete...

Students explore storytelling by participating in an image analysis activity. In this story structure activity, students read the book Cookie's Week by Tomie dePaola and retell the story to their teacher in sequential order. Students...

Fourth graders examine the new vocabulary associated with the book, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly before listening to a teacher read aloud of the book. They complete a choral reading of the story, sequence it, and write...

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...

Students familiarize themselves with fables by listening to several of them. They define fables. They identify the moral of a specific fable. They identify characters, plot and sequence of events. They create a mask of a character in a...

Second graders identify story elements in familiar stories from their lives. In this story elements lesson, 2nd graders act out familiar activities  by following directions. Students read a story and discuss the story elements....

Students analyze Jack London's use of anthropomorphism to identify the importance of adaptability in life. In this literature lesson, students use the novel The Call of the Wild to identify key elements in survival. Students...

After viewing slides and reading about child labor, young authors compose an original narrative story. They practice note-taking skills and work to effectively engage a reader by incorporating plot, logical order, complex characters,...

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...

There are not many more apt examples of ethics gone awry than William Golding's Lord of the Flies.. Ninth graders focus the ethics of decision making with the examples provided in the plot. They focus on the...

Fourth graders investigate the concept and take the opportunity to both identify and to construct point of view in narratives. Additionally, 4th graders practice identifying and sequencing main events.

Students complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. In this point of view instructional activity, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Students choose a character...

Twelfth graders examine the elements of literature. They each read a chapter of a novel, sequentially list the main ideas, present a summary of the chapter to the class, sequence the events, and review the novel by summarizing the timeline.

Enhance a unit on historical fiction with an engaging writing lesson. Learners bring the Industrial Era to life as they compose their own historical fiction pieces based on primary source images of Pittsburgh steel workers. 

Students explore plot structure, conflict, setting, and mood. In this literary elements lesson, students read Rosa Parks, My Story and complete the provided plot outline worksheets. Students discuss the text elements of non-fiction...

Third graders explore language arts by answering study questions about a book they read. In this reading summary lesson plan, 3rd graders read the book Verdi by Janell Cannon and identify the plot, characters and sequence of the story....

Students analyze the Shakespearian play, "Julius Caesar" in this seven lesson unit. Through readings, hands-on projects, and the study of plot development, comparisons are made to the movie and the historical records available.

Students study the tale of Robin Hood to further their knowledge of character traits, improve their vocabularies, and increase their knowledge of the Medieval Ages. In this Robin Hood lesson, students complete 14 lessons that help them...

Students research the American Revolution through the story of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In this American Revolution lesson, students research folktale and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Students view illustrations for the story....