Teach learners how to interact with both fiction and non-fiction text with a packet of activities and worksheets. After looking over text structure and the difference in text features between different types of writing,...

Scholars explore an expository text to answer questions about its structure.

A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...

The manipulation of time is one of the most essential elements in Sophocles' Oedipus the King. As your language arts class participates in a jigsaw discussion activity, they work together to analyze the play's plot structure and...

How many ways can you break down a classic novel? Based on the acclaimed Romantic-period novel by Emily Bronte, the Wuthering Heights activity pack includes a pre-reading exercise. Next, learners create a resume for one of the...

What does is take to be a role model? Through grand conversation, and the use of books and a graphic organizer, scholars find out and apply the requirements to identify a role model within their family. They then journey through the...

An activity boosts reading comprehension by challenging scholars to answer questions about a narrative tale detailing elements—plot, characters, setting, theme, problem, and solution.

This isn't your traditional Robin Hood tale! Explore a Middle English ballad with your young historians, and examine the underlying structure and purpose of historical texts.

The country of Egypt is more than just big pyramids and ancient pharaohs. After reading a brief overview of this African nation, young learners will demonstrate their understanding of the text by identifying the main idea and supporting...

Students explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.

In this first activity of the unit, class members continue to work on their draft of a narrative essay response to a prompt found on the college Common Application.

Playing team sports is about more than just scoring the most goals or winning the most games. Read this passage with your class and learn how athletes build character as members of a team. When finished, individuals identify the main...

Take an in-depth look at a passage from Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie. Included here is the reading passage as well as a step-by-step procedure for reading the text, a set of text-dependent questions, and a final writing...

"The Gettysburg Address" is the basis of a series of activities that not only model for learners how to conduct a close reading of a text, but also how a close reading can help them comprehend a difficult text. The detailed, step-by-step...

Teach your class to think outside the box. Scholars use the concept of equality to solve a problem in the assessment task. They determine how to use a scale to identify the one box out of a set of nine boxes that is heavier than the others.

Tiger, puma, lynx, jackal: which does not belong? Using the novel study for The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, scholars complete a similar vocabulary exercise. Next, they write sentences explaining why their chosen words don't fit. They...

Why is Romeo and Juliet considered a tragedy? Class members conclude their reading of the play, focusing on the final lines of Act 5, scene 3. They also consider how Shakespeare structures the text, orders events, and manipulates time to...

Get your class going on one of the final assessments for a unit on short stories by introducing iMovie and its main features. In this tenth lesson in a series of fourteen, pupils take some time to explore iMovie before conducting an...

Expose young readers to a new genre of fiction with a short reading passage. After learning about fables, children identify the main idea and supporting details in preparation for writing a short summary. Read the text as a class,...

Third graders work to determine the main idea, recall key details, and answer questions using an informational text on the topic of animal adaptations. Using the non-fiction text "Staying Alive: Animal Adaptations" (provided) the teacher...

Have you ever felt trapped in your own body? That is likely how Melody in Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind feels. As scholars read to find out how Melody finally expresses herself, they complete sentences with new words, describe...

Cover Freytag's Triangle and examine Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" in this third lesson plan in a series of fourteen based around short stories. Learners take a quiz and discuss Freytag's triangle. They apply the triangle to "The Bet" and...

What are the effects of a good literary cliffhanger? Using the novel study for Paula Fox's The Slave Dancer, pupils consider why the author chose to end the first chapter with suspense. They also answer text-based questions, practice new...

What does it mean to be courageous? With the study guide for Marie McSwigan's novel, Snow Treasure, scholars answer questions about the text and practice new vocabulary. They also write quatrain poems about courage or another theme from...