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...

Learners prepare for and participate in a debate and mock trial regarding laws broken during the Boston Tea Party. Several primary documents and a homework chart are included.

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....

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...

It's all about using peer resources in this writing process lesson, which includes a fantastic novel revision worksheet packet. Learners have read a partner's story draft the night before, and groups have a "lightning round of praise"...

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 --...

Three types of external conflict are outlined in this PowerPoint, including character vs. character, character vs. society, and character vs. nature. Tip: Instruct students to write a paragraph explaining some kind of external conflict...

After reviewing this ten-slide PowerPoint, students will be able to "distinguish between conflict and cooperation" amongst their peers. The presentation outlines the differences with pictures which students are asked to observe and...

Part-three of this six part series begins with a dramatization of a battle between Indians and Muslims which led to the dawn of the Mughal Empire. Unlike other Muslim rulers in India, the Mughal leader was a devote Sufi and had a deep...

Your health class reads two biographical stories: one about a girl who has allergies and the other about a girl who has asthma. They watch a quick cartoon on the KidsHealth website about immunity and take the related online quiz. You...

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.

“Rikki-tikki-tavi” provides an opportunity to model for readers how to use background information to enrich understanding of a story. Class members observe animal behavior, listen to biographical background on Rudyard Kipling, study...

Bridge cultural awareness, community, government, and art with an introspective and thought-provoking lesson. Upper graders become globally and socially aware as they analyze and explore the art of Jeremy Deller. They consider his images...

Reading A Separate Peace? Readers analyze important quotes that appear in John Knowle's classic novel using the provided graphic organizer. Learners record a passage and provide an accompanying analysis for each entry. Consider having...

Explore chapter nine of Tuck Everlasting with this two-page worksheet. Learners analyze six quotes from the text and identify the main idea of the novel. The focus of this worksheet is to explore theme in the text and how specific...

Writers use the literary element of conflict to develop their theme. Use the conflict between the Johnny and the ScreeWees in Terry Pratchett’s Only You Can Save Mankind to model how a major theme is revealed. The conflict between the...

To better comprehend the novel, A Separate Peace by John Knowles, learners define 3 vocabulary words, define 1 literary term, and respond to 10 short-answer questions. This resource refers only to Chapter 13 of the book. 

Pupils define 3 vocabulary words, define 1 literary term, and respond to 10 short-answer questions pertaining to chapter 9 of A Separate Peace by John Knowles. These activities are designed to help them better understand the novel and...

In this American Life activity and progress test worksheet, students respond to a total of 23 short answer, true/false, multiple choice, matching, crossword puzzle, and fill in the blank questions pertaining to American Life.

Darth Vader, The Wicked Witch of the West, Shere Khan, Moby Dick...these are some of the most famous villains in film and literature. Study the four categories of conflict with your class and have them finish the day by creating a...

With the songs "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen and "Allentown" by Billy Joel, learners examine external versus internal conflict. When they have finished the first part of the lesson, they create their own poem (or song) about the...

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...

Extend your study of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton with an essay. Pupils can choose one of the three prompts provided on this page and write about either characterization, conflict, or theme. Each prompt includes a brief definition of the...

Record the plot elements of The Cay on this worksheet. Pupils note basic information about the book and answer questions about the introduction, point of view, character, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of...