Fifth graders investigate the journey that Magellan took around the world. Small groups conduct research on a ship that went on Magellan's voyage, write the story of their ship, and create a class dance that demonstrates the route taken...

What are the three types of irony? High schoolers engage in a lesson about the use of irony while reading O.Henry's short story "Gift of the Magi." They'll discuss rising action, climax, and resolution in the text before highlighting the...

Second graders engage in a lesson that is about having a super day with an example of a fictitious child. They read "Sally's Super Day" and reflect upon the events and how they affected the character and the outcome of the story. The...

Sixth graders listen to story and respond with comments or questions. They brainstorm unsafe behaviors and randomly fill out templates with different risky behaviors listed on the board. They play RISKO, the Bingo type game.

What makes a novel a novel? Class members select a favorite novel, record their impressions on a worksheet, and then come together in groups to discuss the elements common to narrative writing. Next, they identify the characters, the...

First graders examine the use of logic, deduction, and inference to determine the answers to riddles. They listen to a teacher read aloud of Heather Forest's, Stone Soup before discussing the story which gauges their comprehension....

Seventh graders are read the story "EMS Code Blue" and asked to share what they would do in the different situations. As a class, they discuss the importance of getting help for mental or social problems and are given a list of resources...

C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength provides the model for using dreams in narrative writing. After a discussion of the purpose of dreams in Lewis’s tale, class members craft a story in which their dreams play an essential role.

Work on context clues with your ninth graders in this lesson, which focuses on identifying and analyzing clues to define unfamiliar words. They identify context clues in a passage to recognize words they haven't seen before, and then...

After reading Pat Hutchins’ Rosie’s Walk, have your young cartographers create a map of Rosie’s walk. Then lead them on a walk around the school. When you return class members sequence the walk by making a list of how the class got from...

First graders read and discuss several stories. They share information about different types of shelter around the world. They explain that lifestyles and shelter depend very much on where people live and how they use the resources...

Students complete research to enhance their reading of "The Grapes of Wrath". Using the text, they identify and locate cultural artifacts and discuss their symbolic connotations. As a class, they create a museum exhibit of the various...

What factors help people achieve goals? What factors prevent people from achieving goals? What are the elements that need to be in place to make a team function well? Using Damien Lewis’ Desert Claw and John Francome’s Winner Takes All,...

In The Giver literature guide instructional activity, learners read several passages from the novel and identify the type of conflict it exemplifies and explain it.

Have your class learn about the features of a newspaper. Learners identify the parts of a newspaper and an article. They discuss the elements of good writing and describe how to add photos and captions to a story. Informative and...

Students investigate the various architectural styles of Arkansas. They read a handout, complete a worksheet, view images of architectural styles, and take photos and write descriptions of five style elements they observe in their...

Readers respond to Chapters 17 and 18 of Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera. Working in literature groups, they identify the climactic elements in the chapters, discussing the text and making inferences based on their reading.

Engage your class in photography with this series of activities! Beginning photographers research and explain elements of photography, camera equipment, and careers in photography. After the research portion, learners complete one of two...

Students research which buildings are registered as national or state historical sites, and lobby the community by petition to have another local building placed on the national or state historic register.

Sixth graders can identify five basic elements that most mysteries contain. They put the elements of mystery into a graphic organizer they can follow. They construct meaning after reading Poe's short story and identify or infer the...

Practice identifying the setting with a reading activity. Kindergartners find the setting of a story by observing when the story takes place. They read the book Look! Snow! by Kathryn O. Galbraith and decide in which season the story...

Teach your class how to identify the protagonist in a story. The plan suggests starting with a protagonist from a tale you have previously read in class. Then, you can read a new story and work together to identify the protagonist,...

Every good story has a plot, and every good plot contains a conflict or problem. Third graders familiarize themselves and identify how problems in a story are connected. First as a class and then in small groups or individually, learners...

Fifth graders explore the theme of a story by identifying the effects of a character's decision. In this theme study instructional activity, 5th graders refer to the events in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Students discuss as a...