After reading and analyzing two narrative memoirs, middle schoolers engage in a variety of activities, including writing an essay, developing a story map, and creating character charts. They then compare and contrast story maps, and...

Learners read a story and retell it through role playing. They will read Big Pumpkin, identify the main ideas and important characters, retell the story through dramatic play, and identify their favorite character.

Your class will create a four section flip book and write titles for characters, setting, problem, and solution. They will also draw a picture to show what they wrote about.

Challenge your class to take just five minutes to complete the tasks in each slide. The end result will be a short story. Each text includes writing a certain element of a story: opener, ending, characters, and more. After completing...

What a wonderful way to have your class use their critical-thinking skills! Using folktales and legends as the tool, they have to decide which characters could be considered heroic and why. There are a variety of resources provided to...

As part of an lesson involving literature or writing, have your learners watch and discuss this presentation on plot development. In a series of slides, viewers engage in an activity to explore dramatic structure, including plot...

Wrap up a study of Seedfolks with a final essay. Writers can draft their essays by following the steps and filling in the organizer provided here. The packet begins with a prompt, includes a few basic requirements, and provides an...

There are quite a few characters in Paul Fleischman's Seedfolks, so why not help your class keep track of them? Learners can mark up this chart to show the traits that apply to each character. Along the left, each character is listed,...

After reading each chunk of two chapters of Carl Hiaasen's novel Hoot, ask learners to respond to related study questions. The instructions at the top of the questions suggest that individuals should read the questions first, read the...

How do events, characters, setting, and tone work together to create an engaging short story? Would the impact or theme of a story be different if one of these elements were changed? After reading Mark Twain's slightly screwy "A Ghost...

Seven of the characters in Homer's the Odyssey are introduced in this very basic presentation. Viewers meet Zeus, Poseidon, and Athena (among others). Strengthen this presentation by adding pictures or attempting to see what information...

Students pretend to be statues to show story characters and setting. In this story character and setting lesson, students act as statues that depict the characters and setting in the story they are listening to. They create a tableaux of...

After your class finishes reading Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, they use the Venn diagram here to compare two characters from the novel, in this case Bud and his grandfather Herman E. Calloway. Examples of qualities on which...

Reinforce the actions, emotions, and characteristics that determine what a character is like by having your middle schoolers create a biopoem using the model presented here. You could engage them first by having them write a poem about...

Individuals examine a book's components, including key events, characters, and vocabulary and develop "chain book reports" with their peers. Strips of paper containing the book's important events are staples together and hung.

Learners compare aspects of children's books that teach diversity and respect. They examine universal values such as courage and bravery, respect and apathy. They create a final project based on their ability to recognize the values in...

Play a classroom version of the classic game show Jeopardy, to review and discuss the novel your class has been reading. Questions about plot and other story elements are written on cards and given point values. Divide the class into...

Students read "Peter Spier's Circus!" and identify the literature's setting and characters. They work in small groups to create a circus stage set and puppets based on their reading. Students perform a puppet show using their set and...

Students examine pictures of people who lived during the feudal system. In groups, they research the role and lifestyles of the nobility and commoners. To end the lesson, they draw their own fictional person and write their own narrative...

Students read about courageous characters who face and positively deal with new situations. They connect what they've read with their own experiences. Students construct fish lanterns to represent their courage in the face of new...

Students research and use traditional Chinese characters to notate numbers. They compare and contrast Chinese calligraphy with Arabic numerals. Students demonstrate their comprehension of number concepts through their drawings and...

Students read a book on their own and identify the characteristics of fantasy literature. After finding quotes from their favorite characters, they use construction paper to make models of them. To end the lesson, they use watercolors to...

Students read a book, noting the characters, setting, plot, and events. They gather, synthesize, and then select the most important data from their book to prepare a book report by decorating a charm bracelet with pertinent information...

In this Shakespeare worksheet, students identify the characters in the novels written by the famous author. Students complete 20 short answer questions.