Curated OER
Short Stories: The Puzzle Pieces of Life
Students distinguish the elements of fiction in a short story. In this fiction elements lesson, students complete nine lessons of activities to learn about the elements of fiction in short stories.
Curated OER
Plot Structure
Ninth graders review the parts of a plot sequence for a short story. They think of a famous Disney movie and plot the events of the movie in the correct plot sequence. They do the same for a comic strip, labeling the exposition, rising...
Statistics Education Web
Now You SeeIt, Now You Don't: Using SeeIt to Compare Stacked Dotplots to Boxplots
How does your data stack up? A hands-on activity asks pupils to collect a set of data by measuring their right-hand reach. Your classes then analyze their data using a free online software program and make conclusions as to the...
Inside Mathematics
Archery
Put the better archer in a box. The performance task has pupils compare the performance of two archers using box-and-whisker plots. The resource includes sample responses that are useful in comparing individuals' work to others.
Curated OER
Color My World Grey and Blue
Can colors help to convey a mood in writing? Explore this question with your class using the songs "Grey Street" by the Dave Matthews Band and "Blu is a Mood" by Blu Cantrell. After analyzing the effect of the color words in these songs...
Curated OER
Creating Plays from Children's Stories
Students explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.
Curated OER
Shakespeare 2000
Comparing the more modern film Ten Things I Hate About You to The Taming of the Shrew leads to an understanding of how Shakespearean plots can be applied to modern-day situations and characters. As a culminating activity, groups select a...
Curated OER
Teaching "Theme" with Children's Literature
In this exercise, learners examine the difference between a theme, topic, and moral. After a class discussion on the definition of literary themes, the instructor reads The Cello of Mr. O by Jane Cutler. Next, individuals analyze the...
Curated OER
Exploring the Dark Heart of an Obsessive Mind
Students complete a unit of activities for "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe in part to analyze short stories, playwriting, and video production. In this Edgar Allan Poe lesson, students complete a 37 page packet of...
Curated OER
Rudyard Kipling's "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi": Mixing Fact and Fiction
"Rikki-Tikki-Tavi," from The Jungle Book, offers young readers a chance to examine how Rudyard Kipling uses setting and personification to bring to life the brave mongoose who battles cobras to protect his family. Class members...
Curated OER
Story Creation Magic: Character, Setting, Plot
Pupils review the terms plot, setting, and characters and examine how all of these elements are needed to make a story. They are given parts of stories and they try to identify all of those parts of the story.
Curated OER
Story Elements
Students create a "character T-shirt" that exemplifies their ability to analyze a character. The students also compare and contrast characters in a given story. Finally, the students write a presentation about the story's characters,...
Curated OER
The Importance of Setting to a Story - Pesky Critters
Students watch a video segment about Florida's wetlands and complete an essay about setting. In this setting lesson plan, students watch a video about critters in the Florida wetlands. Students complete a setting worksheet and complete...
Curated OER
Plotting Coordinates on a Cartesian Plane
Students practice identifying points on a coordinate plane, creating charts, and calculating ratios. In groups, students play a "battleship" game where they determine the location of their own fleet and attempt to find the location of...
Curated OER
The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
Fourth graders read and discuss the book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. They create an original story that follows the Harris Burdick formula, and illustrate the story in the style of Chris VanAllsberg.
Curated OER
Plot and Conflict
Pupils review the literary elements of plot and conflict. In this plot and conflict lesson, students read a story and answer questions about the plot and conflict within. Pupils create a concept map for the novel to identify the...
Curated OER
Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book: Comprehension Skills
Your learners are just starting to read books on their own, so this resource is perfect! Cut out the bookmark-size slips of paper for learners to utilize while reading Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book. Each of the five bookmark pages...
Curated OER
Leading into Good Writing
Discuss the importance of a lead in writing with your upper graders. They examine several examples of leads from literature and practice writing leads for pieces of artwork. They then select a topic from a list and write an introductory...
Curated OER
Teaching Story Elements: Jack and the Beanstalk
Students define fictional story elements. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read Jack and the Beanstalk and view an included SMARTboard lesson. Students use the SMARTboard to match the story element terms with the specific...
Curated OER
Lesson 2: Using Setting to Make Predictions about Characters
Fourth graders look at the importance of setting in a story. In this setting lesson, 4th graders see how the setting of a story affects the actions of the characters and how you can predict these actions based on the setting. They read...
Curated OER
Lord of the Rings: Borrowed Mythology
Students complete a research project. In this mythology lesson, students identify the similarities between world mythology and The Lord of The Rings trilogy. Students complete character plot diagrams for each episode of the trilogy,...
John F. Kennedy Center
Acting Up, A Melodrama: Performing Like Jo March and Her Sisters in Little Women
Lights, Camera, Action! Pupils read Little Women and create, act, and direct a melodrama that Jo March and her sisters would enjoy. The lesson plan comes complete with resources for the educator on melodrama as well as examples...
Curated OER
Teaching Selected Poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems
Students explore the basic elements of poetry through Appalachian life poetry. In this poetry lesson, students read seven poems from Jim Wayne Miller's the Brier Poems and complete poetry analysis activities for each poem.
Curated OER
Foods and Languages of the World
Students study world cultures with an emphasis on languages and cultures. In this world cultures lesson, students study the countries of Spain, China, Italy, and the United States. Students read the story Everybody Cooks Rice and move...