Young scholars design a postage stamp that communicates to the world who they are, what they hope to be, what they are good at, and factual information. They use, "My Great Aunt Arizona" by Gloria Houston as a model for a biography.

Fifth graders participate in read aloud activities of three books about life in Colonial times. They compare their life to that of children of Colonial times using a Venn diagram. They draw a picture and write about what a day in the...

Students apply the three different types of journal writing by composing one of each type on the subject of Shackleton's expedition to Antarctica. They also write a dialectical journal summarizing the facts of the expedition and...

Eighth graders locate and interpret information about the culture of another country using multi-media tools. Students read and interpret literature about characters and cultures from a foreign country. Students create a travel guide...

First graders practice listening skills. They listen to a story and discuss the chronological events in the book. Students identify sight words. They write all sight words and discuss them in class.

Second graders explore Africa. They label the popular places in Africa on a map. Students label the different cities and monuments that are popular in Africa. They discuss the similarities and differences between cities in Africa and...

First graders read "There's A Nightmare in My Closet." They brainstorm what closet monsters could look like. They construct miniature monsters out of construction paper. Students use a variety of different shapes and colors of...

Fourth graders explore the culture and traditions of Native Americans. After reading "Children of the Earth and Sky," students discuss the lives of Native American children in relation to their own. They create replicas of Hopi...

Sixth graders perform research using the Internet about the Tasmanian Devil. The project can be presented in a variety of ways. The use of computer software is important for students to know, specifically Hyperstudio.

In this lesson students will be introduced to six different fiction genres. They will then practice their knowledge of these genres through a review game.

This slideshow introduces the genre of science fiction. It presents background information, common elements, common themes, pop movies (from books) showing diverse examples, and three specific examples: "Time Machine," "I, Robot," and...

This slideshow lesson features the genre of historical fiction. It provides background information, common elements, literary examples, and practice. The practice consists of viewing pictures of Stonehenge and the Pyramids and thinking...

Money and finance has played a role in fiction since Chaucer's Reeve's Tale. This interesting page points out some of the works in which money and/or finance plays a pivotal role.

Contains plans for five 50-minute lessons that ask students to compare and research information about animals from fiction and nonfiction texts. In addition to student objectives and standards, these instructional plans contains links to...

Explore this top ten list of the greatest science fiction movies as picked by the results of a poll taken of leaders from the creative community. Number one is "2001: A Space Odyssey" which was released in 1968.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This ReadWorks Unit engages students in a deep study of Madeleine L'Engle's science fiction work, A Wrinkle in Time. Students will investigate the following topics: the book's theme, the science fiction...

This learning module features "genre" as the topic for PowerPoint presentations, lessons, and quizzes. Numerous projects with the "genre" theme are available for further exploration as opportunities for more in-depth investigations.

[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson in which students use the book Commander Toad and the Intergalactic Spy by Jane Yolen to learn about the characteristics that define science fiction. Lesson includes direct teaching, guided...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to compare and contrast fiction and non-fiction, identify the characteristics of non-fiction, and use guide words to locate topics in an...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson in which students use fiction and nonfiction books from a classroom library to identify the similarities and differences between fiction and nonfiction and to create a Venn diagram...

This learning module provides remediation with identifying genre of books and various texts. Practice with capitalizing nouns is provided with through worksheets, an online site, and a video tutorial. .

[Free Registration/Login Required] A unit of instruction in which students use the book Meet Addy: An American Girl by Connie Porter to learn about the characteristics that define historical fiction. Lesson includes direct teaching,...

[Free Registration/Login Required] A lesson in which students use the book Allie's Basketball Dream by Barbara E. Barber to learn about the characteristics that define realistic fiction. Lesson includes direct teaching, guided practice,...

This is the fifteenth article in a series designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on the genre of historical fiction and the role of the author. Is the author a researcher or a story-teller?