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Printables
Curated OER

Elements of Fiction

For Teachers 1st - 8th
The metaphor of a pot of soup and a series of colorful templates remind young writers of the elements that make for a rich story. Pepper the plot with carrot/character, potato/point of view, corn/conflict, tomato/theme, and season with...
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Lesson Plan
Arts Midwest

The Joy Luck Club: Culture and History

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Explore San Francisco's Chinatown in a lesson about the first few chapters of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Kids research Chinatown on the Internet and create a virtual tour of the neighborhood, including the foods, cultural events, and...
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Lesson Planet Article
Curated OER

Picture-Perfect Story Settings

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Using common picture books, teachers can help learners develop the setting for their next creative writing projects.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson: An Exploration of Places and Spaces Part I

For Teachers 9th - 12th
The concept behind this lesson is fantastic. Learners explore how different locations and situations affect them as individuals, focusing heavily on the impact of the urban environment. They question how location can make them change...
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Writing
Curated OER

Marking Time

For Students 2nd - 3rd Standards
Two narrative excerpts tell the same story from different points of view. In the first excerpt (first person), sequencing words and phrases are bolded and learners write down what the bold type does. The second excerpt is in third...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Borrowing Narrative Skills from Mr. Fletcher: Using a "Prompts in Reverse" Technique to Inspire Your Writers

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Help your class find their writing voices with this instructional activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

What Makes a Novel a Novel?

For Students 4th - 8th
As your authors prepare to write a hypothetical novel, they need all the inspiration they can find! Using a book they have already read (and enjoyed), learners complete a literary analysis by filling in eight short-answer questions....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What is the Setting of a Story?

For Teachers 1st
First graders explore the concepts of what setting is and how it's determined in a story. They play the KidWorks program to help facilitate the setting in a story. They use resources such as a picture dictionary or word wall to find and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The "Write" Stuff: Strategies and Conventions for Imaginative Writing

For Teachers 6th
A comprehensive and immersive series of lessons that examines various aspects of story development leads learners into writing a narrative of their own. Writers develop an understanding of the writing process as they use the learning...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Workshop

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Kids take a critical look at each other's work in order to understand the editing process while providing constructive suggestions. This handout really sets learners up to successfully offer constructive critique to their peers. Helpful...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book: Comprehension Skills

For Students 2nd - 4th
Your learners are just starting to read books on their own, so this resource is perfect! Cut out the bookmark-size slips of paper for learners to utilize while reading Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book. Each of the five bookmark pages...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Noisy Nora, Studious Students: Story Elements

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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 --...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Call of The Wild

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Mystery Lessons

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learn about mysteries with your readers. They will investigate plot, basic elements of mystery, famous characters, and become familiar with genre vocabulary. Bring in props and mystery books to begin and then have learners create story...
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PPT
Curated OER

Elements of Fiction

For Teachers 4th - 5th
A wide variety of information regarding the elements of fiction is presented in this PowerPoint. Viewers are directed to trace their hand on a blank piece of paper and label each finger with one of the 5 elements of fiction. Additional...
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Lesson Plan
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National Endowment for the Humanities

Character in Place: Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path” for the Common Core

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How do writers use the interaction between elements like characterization and setting to create meaning? Readers of "A Worn Path" create a series of comic book-style graphics of Eudora Welty's short story and reflect on how Welty uses...
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PPT
Prezi

Song of the Trees by Mildred Taylor

For Teachers 3rd - 7th Standards
Explore the literary elements of Mildred Taylor's Song of the Trees with this beautiful Prezi presentation. Focusing on the story's characters, setting, and major plot points, young readers are provided with a complete summary of this...
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Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Core Analysis Frame: Fiction

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Dig into any piece of fiction with a series of analysis questions. There are two levels of questions provided: basic and in-depth. The basic questions can be copied double-sided onto a single piece of paper, while the in-depth questions...
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Printables
Curated OER

Parts of a Narrative Poster Series

For Teachers K - 5th
Your classroom won't be complete without a set of posters that can help learners hone in on the parts of a narrative story. Each of the six printable images is in full color and come with a definition and images that learners can use to...
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Printables
Freeology

Annotations Bookmark

For Teachers 5th - 10th
In general, pupils are not allowed to write in school-issued books; however, they can write on a bookmark that you provide! Kids can take notes on the setting, characters, themes, and connections as they read a short story or novel.
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Activity
Curated OER

Express Yourself Lesson Seed 11: Setting

For Teachers 6th Standards
Encourage your learners to examine the setting in Theodore Taylor's The Cay. Pupils work in small groups to put together a description of the setting before reading two more chapters of the book. They use their double-entry journals to...
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Worksheet
La Jolla High School

Setting--Painting the Background

For Students 7th - 10th
Setting and description are important parts of John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Ask your class to examine how he sets the scene with this graphic organizer. Individuals or groups look at several different aspects of the setting in...
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Organizer
Curated OER

Setting Worksheet

For Students 5th - 10th
Set your class up for success with writing descriptive settings with these two graphic organizers. On the first page, writers note specifc details about their chosen setting and comment on how each character views the setting. The second...
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Lesson Plan
New Class Museum

Lesson: An Exploration of Places and Spaces Part II

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How does your location alter or impede your movement? An interesting question posed by two artists, who work to show the restrictions of people in various landscapes. Learners analyze both exhibitions, discuss location and movement, then...