High schoolers, in groups, research the setting, food, and entertainment of a selection of literature. They design costumes, menus, and theme parks from the piece of literature as well. Then they present their projects to the class after...

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...

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...

Connect to real-world experiences by having your primary learners create an award certificate based upon literal and inferential information from a story. They present the award to a character from a story and explain the criteria used....

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 --...

I can't wait to try this activity with my class. It's versatile and could be modified to fit any character analysis lesson. To analyze characters thoroughly, learners create life boxes. Each box will pertain to a character from any...

Review plot, theme, and major characters in the book Wuthering Heights. Working in groups, the class examines themes, the significance of setting, and summarizes the novel. They work to answer a series of critical-thinking questions and...

Discover the genre of short stories with sixth graders. They discuss the characteristics of short stories from the book America Street. Then, they compare and contrast movies and television shows and chart story characteristics. Various...

Read then role-play the characters from story of If You Give A Pig a Pancake. Young actors use improvisation and characterization to create the characters from the story. They will also write and role play original version of the story...

Cover the canine characters in The Call of the Wild through discussion and writing. Small groups complete a jigsaw-style activity, with each group focusing on one dog and using textual evidence to back up their ideas. Next, individuals...

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...

Hand out these project ideas when working with The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Pupils can choose from six different options or propose their own. The idea is that they will complete more than one project to meet the point requirement. The...

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...

The short story "The Inn of Lost Time" includes stories within a story, a concept clearly illustrated on this graphic organizer. The frame story quite literally surrounds the other stories on the page. Pupils fill in information from the...

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...

Readers of To Kill A Mockingbird are asked to match characters from Harper Lee's novel that closely resemble one another. In addition, they identify the traits the two characters have in common. A great way to chart mirror characters....

Tenth graders explore narrative poetry. They analyze sections of a poem and present to groups. They compose their own narrative poems using pictures as prompts. They exchange their poems and analyze their classmate's poem.

If your class is reading the historical fiction novel, Out of the Dust, then you are in luck. Here are a few slides that will help you provide historical context for the book, as well as define main characters, setting, symbolism, and...

Learners explore the elements of fictional text. In this story elements lesson, students read Chicken Said "Cluck" and create a pyramid of story elements identified in class. Learners then read a nonfiction text about chickens and create...

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...

Kids love to write fantastic and suspenseful stories, but they can sometimes get out of hand and confusing. To clear up all the clutter, they read a wonderful fictitious white-knuckle story and use it as a model for their own tales of...

Reading scary stories on Halloween is frightfully good fun! As elementary learners read several stories for the holiday, they choose a favorite and create a decorative garland representing the characters and setting elements found in the...

Young artists will respond to reading children's literature, by engaging in original storytelling and representing their own images through the visual arts. Then they orally describe details of people, places, and things in their stories...

Pair this story map with any short story of your choice. The reader studies the characters, setting, conflict, and the story's major events. Or, provide this sheet for your budding writers to create their own stories. A clear graphic...