Students investigate the concept of a hurricane by using the cartoon series "The Magic Schoolbus" to simulate the fantasy of traveling through a hurricane. The lesson uses a KWL graphic organizer in order to guide student inquiry and as...

The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...

To launch a reading of The Dark is Rising, the second novel in Susan Cooper's award winning contemporary fantasy novel sequence for young adults, class members engage in a guided imagery exercise that asks them to visualize the...

Aesop’s Fables offer young learners an opportunity to study figurative language. After reviewing theme, simile, alliteration, and metaphor, model for your pupils how to identify examples of these devices in the fable. Class members then...

Here is a wonderful lesson designed for students with special needs. This well-thought-out lesson uses Big Books, familiar stories, and has a lot of review learning built into it. The book, The Keeping Quilt is used in the main part of...

In this story structure lesson, students read the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and identify the characters, setting and main themes of the book. They answer a list of study questions about the book.

Pupils observe images of amazing places, either real, or imagined by Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali, and Ansel Adams. They think about a time when they wanted to escape and where they wanted to go. They draw their getaway and then...

Middle schoolers explore short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this literature lesson, students read one of his short stories listed and then summarize the story in a written piece.

Learners create a rainforest poster and move to music learning about the rainforest. In this rainforest lesson plan, students express themselves in a variety of ways using their knowledge of the rainforest. Activities include creating a...

Young scholars inspire communication skills thru the lyrics of a song. Students watch and correlate the production of a fantasy film with speaking and listening skills. Young scholars quote the themes from the video.

Students explore the different ways scientists gather information about extinct animals. They utilize these methods to create illustrated story books about a particular extinct animal.

Young scholars read stories about constellations. They create constellations by filling in the letters of their names on a test bubble sheet and tracing the design onto white paper. They make up stories about their name constellations.

Students complete activities to analyze points of view in different texts. In this point of view lesson, students read Hansel and Gretel and The Magic Circle and discuss the points of view. Students choose a character from the story and...

Students research the Legend of King Arthur. For this King Arthur lesson, students explore him as he is presented in stories, poems, and art. Students compare and contrast the real life of King Arthur versus the man in...

Students discover how historical events led to the stories of King Arthur and his Court. Students read stories about chivalry and the Round Table, discuss the Holy Grail's symbolism, and role-play an Arthurian character.

Students identify the elements of science fiction literature. They write and illustrate a science fiction story using real and exaggerated science. In addition, they read their stories aloud in small groups.

Students understand the meaning of alliteration. In this alliteration lesson plan, students write sentences using alliteration and recognize how it changes the writing in a story.

Eighth graders read act 1 scenes 1 & 2 of the play Diary of Anne Frank. In this Diary of Anne Frank lesson plan, 8th graders discuss how the setting of the play affects the mood of the story and answer short answer questions.

Twelfth graders explore figurative language as it appears in Washington Irving's original text, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, answer questions based on story, and write sequels to it by using the different types of figurative language...

Students experiment with mirrors. In this Mirrors and How They reflect lesson, students read how mirrors reflect light. Then students perform over ten experiments and record their conclusions about mirrors and reflection. Students create...

Mount a variety of pictures (fantasy, rustic, portraits, action) on large sheets of paper and post them around the classroom. Groups rotate from poster to poster, adding adjectives to describe each of the pictures. Writers use these word...

Students investigate the American flag. For this citizenship lesson, students listen to the book The Story of the American Flag by John Herman and discuss the symbolic meaning of the stars and stripes. Students construct their own paper...

Students investigate what sort of person the author is. They listen as the teacher use her notes to introduce Tom Holt briefly. Students are asked if anyone has read any of his books. They work in pairs to find more about Tom Holt as a...

Ninth graders read the story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," and create a characterization chart to define the stock characters in the main story. They predict whether Walter Mitty will be a static character or a dynamic character....