Curated OER
Narrative Writing Outline
Students explore the elements of a narrative for its purpose, type of audience, mood, main character, minor characters, setting, and conflicts in the story. A story outline is developed and a five paragraph essay composed in this...
Curated OER
Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Students use video and the Internet to make predictions, draw conclusions, determine conflict and point of view while reading a short story. For this short story analysis lesson, students watch a related video and complete a prediction...
Curated OER
Plot and Conflict
Students review the literary elements of plot and conflict. In this plot and conflict instructional activity, students read a story and answer questions about the plot and conflict within. Students create a concept map for the novel to...
Curated OER
Bully Prevention
Students examine the topic of bully prevention. In this character education lesson, students establish what bullying is, role play bullying scenarios, and discuss how to manage bullying incidents.
Tell City Schools
The Cay
Support your instruction of The Cay by Theodore Taylor with this extensive unit of materials. Provided here are prereading activities, worksheets and discussion questions for the entire book, and reading quizzes that you can use to check...
Curated OER
Enrichment Activities - "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH"
Fifth graders read the novel "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH." They discuss the various characters in the book, and the different types of conflict that take place within the book. They also research owls and rats to make comparisons...
Missouri Department of Elementary
What Are Bullying and Harassment? Part 2
After reviewing notes from the previous lessons, small groups obtain a scenario card that describes a situation in which bullying is happening. Peers discuss the event and brainstorm two solutions using the STAR method then present their...
Curated OER
Introduction to Myths, Fables, and Legends
Middle schoolers identify elements of myths, fables, and legends as they read an example of each. After reading an example of each type of story, they list elements from each. They compare and contrast these features by...
Curated OER
Deep Impact
How can acknowledging opposing viewpoints reinforce one's argument? Use this New York Times instructional activity to study consumerism and the environmental impact of new products. After reading the article "Whether a Hummer or a...
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education
Puppet Scenes
Explore character, plot, and setting through dramatic puppet play. Second graders discuss basic story elements and then practice making a character with their sock puppets. After they've crafted a dynamic puppet, they pair up to create a...
Curated OER
Sentence Completion 20: High-Intermediate Level
Here's an exercise that will help learners develop their vocabulary. The eight sentence completion problems are followed by an answer key that explains why one answer is correct and why the other possibilities are not. Richly detailed,...
Curated OER
Fairy Tales
Once upon a time are four words most children are familiar with when reading a fairy tale. But do they know that fairy tales are a great way to learn the literary elements of reading and writing? Use a thorough fairy tale unit...
Curated OER
Reader's Review
Students create booklets to provide information on elements of a novel, including plot, setting, character, major and minor conflicts and theme.
Curated OER
A High-Interest Novel Helps Struggling Readers Confront Bullying in Schools
Bully, bullied, or bystander? Paul Langan's The Bully is the anchor text in a unit that examines bullying and violence. After a close reading of the text, readers imagine themselves as the characters and consider how they would react in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Life Before the Civil War
American life before the Civil War was very different from American life today. To show this difference in a full spectrum, learners compare two communities that illustrate the differences between Northern and Southern life. Throughout...
Curated OER
Multimedia Book Report
Young readers plan and draft a book report focusing on the five key components of a novel: plot, character, setting, conflict, and theme. After completing a story board, pupils then prepare a PowerPoint book report that is shown to the...
Curated OER
Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil
Second graders explore conflicts that occur in the school setting.
US Institute of Peace
Organizations Working for Peace
From helping refugees to negotiating peace treaties, the peacekeepers of the world keep busy! Introduce young activists to the many individuals and organizations throughout the world that work daily toward peace. 14th in a series of 15...
Curated OER
Globalization: Darfur
Students examine the conflict in Darfur. In this global studies lesson, students listen to their instructor present a lecture about how history, geopolitics, and international law have contributed to the conflict. Students...
Curated OER
Dateline: 442 BC Antigone
Students create and videotape a newscast about the events that take place in the play, Antigone. They perform scenes describing the main events, the main characters and their conflicts.
Curated OER
Public I or Private I
Students explore the topic of national identity cards in the United States as a starting point in determining what types of information should be publicly accessible to the government and private industry about specific individuals.
Curated OER
African Ceramic Mask Making
Students investigate a variety of African mask types, design several masks, and create an example of an African ceramic mask in this 5th grade through High School Art lesson plan. The lesson plan can take anywhere from 6 lessons to 16...
Curated OER
The Chocolate Touch
Students read a book. In this story elements lesson, students share their favorite food, predict what the story will be about and discuss how they would feel if they got to eat their favorite food everyday. Students read the...
California Polytechnic State University
Australian Geography Unit
At the heart of this resource is a beautifully detailed PowerPoint presentation (provided in PDF form) on the overall physical geography of Australia, basic facts about the country, Aboriginal history, and Australia culture and lifestyle.