In the Enemy's Country is a painting that depicts several Native Americans dressed and ready for war. Youngsters analyze the artistic and storytelling elements the artist used to convey his idea. They then write a creative piece from the...

Barbie gets a makeover, but not the type you may be thinking of. Critical thinkers explore social norms, storytelling, sexual and racial identity through art. They view the short animated film, Big Gurl, discuss how Barbie was altered...

Fox Games is an Installation piece that allows observers to walk through a clay environment. Kids analyze the piece, considering storytelling and perspectives of light. They imagine how different the piece would look at various times of...

Learners use their higher-order thinking skills to understand how visual images have been used to tell stories. They analyze a Lakota tipi that tells a story through paint and artistry. They then make miniature tipis using butcher paper...

There is a wonderful magic that happens when artists collaborate. Kids examine storytelling through collaborative art. Inspired by Rodin's sculpture Minotaur, Daria Martin and Anna Halprin create a filmed dance sequence. Kids analyze the...

Readers reflect on enjoyable stories they know, brainstorm criteria that make a story "good," analyze a New York Times article about innovative children's performances, re-envision classics on their own, and peer edit drafts. Use this as...

Learners examine art by considering how the subject matter and artists design choices affect the viewer's experience. They use the provided close-up images and notes to analyze the painting, Poppies. Afterward, they use the painting as a...

Students develop fantasy creatures and characters, describing personalities in terms of gestures, actions, and expressions displayed. Then they make fantasy masks, focusing on shape, form, proportion, line, and emphasis to demonstrate...

Students read historic or contemporary fiction that is set in and around castles. Then they build castles and characters to use in retelling stories, demonstrating their understanding of fiction texts and period architecture. Students...

Use drawings as inspiration. Have learners doodle for 10 minutes before beginning the lesson. Then, have them use their doodles to inspire a story. Several writing activities are included here to play with writing. One of my favorites...

Explore language arts by reading two similar stories in order to compare and contrast them in class. Young readers read two Aunt Isabel books, by Kate Duke, and discuss the main characters, plot, and setting. They complete a graphic...

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

Experiment with multimedia storytelling. After watching a segment of American Family, first, middle and high schoolers tell a story about their families, clarifying the setting, characters, and script. They work on setting their story in...

Learners of any age can participate in this imagination and improve development activity. With the use of a small box, they work through a series of questions or situations posed by the teacher. Each group uses the box to create short...

Explore different media for storytelling in this lesson plan from BYU. Middle and high schoolers are given a storyline and then collaborate in groups to adapt the story to a variety of media, such as film, websites, advertisements, etc....

A wonderful presentation explains a musical fairy tale. Perfect for an independent work station or as a link to send home for homework, this slideshow comes equipped with full audio. Each character, theme, and instrument from the piece...

Third through sixth graders complete a unit on the art of storytelling, folktales, and fairy tales. They explore various websites, create a story, and demonstrate storytelling techniques. Additionally, they listen to classmates retell...

A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...

Your readers look at and listen to The Bumper Cars and discuss the motivations, actions, and feelings of the characters in the story. They define vocabulary terms from the text and analyze illustrations that convey story elements.

Explore the cultural heritage through of your class through reading, writing, and speaking exercises. They create illustrated mini-books that express their unique cultural and personal experiences. They share their stores with the class...

Save the Lofty Trees, by Leslie Mills, provides the text for a study of the roles of animals and humans in the forest. Richly detailed, the plan offers two approaches to the play: as a scenario for children to imagine what actions would...

Fill-out a story map to help your scholars with pre-writing. They will use a story map template to pre-write. They also organize their ideas into steps which become the foundation for their first draft. Concrete objects are brought in to...

Have your class explore the art of storytelling through this lesson on fairy tales and folktales. Learners interact with a variety of fairy tales and folktales. They practice telling stories out loud as well as writing their own. This...

Cultivate young performers while teaching them about helping one another with this interactive storytelling lesson. Elementary schoolers read or listen to the story The Little Red Hen by Mike Lockett and then act out the story while...