The resource gives some basic concepts concerning the title of the novel, basic literary elements, student developed assessments, and a philosophical notion concerning honesty in literature.  The instructors are shown where they can...

Students read the novel, Music from a Place Called Half Moon. They are assigned chapters to analyze for literary elements and to assign titles to the book chapters.

Seventh graders analyze grammatical structures and identify literary elements in a variety of texts. Through the genre of folktales, ancient or indigenous cultures are studied.

Tenth graders examine poems by Shel Silverstein and identify literary elements in them. The exercise is part of an examination review about poetic elements. The review concludes with students writing nature poems displaying the devices...

Students read Joyce McDonald's, Swallowing Stones while investigating the literary elements used in the writing. They define a large number of vocabulary words to be applied when reading. Finally, they write a persuasive essay.

Middle and high schoolers remember their most memorable experiences, and then connect their own narrative with an exposition about the topic associated with their experience. This New York Times lesson would be a great addition to...

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...

A comprehensive and immersive series of lessons that examines various aspects of story development leads learners into writing a narrative of their own. Writers develop an understanding of the writing process as they use the learning...

First graders explore the concepts of what setting is and how it's determined in a story. They play the KidWorks program to help facilitate the setting in a story. They use resources such as a picture dictionary or word wall to find and...

Use this mystery novel worksheet to have learners answer several specific questions about details in the book, the atmosphere of the book, and the main characters in the book. This impressive, four-page worksheet will serve as an...

The concept behind this lesson is fantastic. Learners explore how different locations and situations affect them as individuals, focusing heavily on the impact of the urban environment. They question how location can make them change...

Create meaningful illustrations to accompany stories in a web-based art and literacy lesson focused on "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. The class takes a virtual art safari with the Museum of Modern Art and then discusses how...

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...

Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...

Learners prepare for and participate in a debate and mock trial regarding laws broken during the Boston Tea Party. Several primary documents and a homework chart are included.

Help your class find their writing voices with this instructional activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher...

After reviewing this ten-slide PowerPoint, students will be able to "distinguish between conflict and cooperation" amongst their peers. The presentation outlines the differences with pictures which students are asked to observe and...

Stuck for a journal topic? Download CAHSEE’s 21 “Expository Journal Prompts” as a pdf handout for yourself or class. A great resource for your writing program, print it up and add it your curriculum library.

Explore San Francisco's Chinatown in a lesson about the first few chapters of The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Kids research Chinatown on the Internet and create a virtual tour of the neighborhood, including the foods, cultural events,...

Kindergartners sequence the parts of a story using a snow globe as a setting. They will listen to Snow Globe Family and retell the parts of the story noting the beginning, the middle, and the end. Then they will make their own snow...

Students identify a poem by Emily Dickinson for analysis. They apply a set of critical questions to a poem in order to interpret poem and find literary elements used by author. They organize information for a PowerPoint presentation...

Young scholars view the PBS presentation of Leo Tolstoy's, "Anna Karenina." Prior and after each episode, they discuss plot and characterization and in one lesson, use adjectives to describe each of the main characters. Then, students...

Fifth graders identify plot conflicts in the text. In this plot conflict lesson, 5th graders read Dogs Don't Tell Jokes and recognize examples of character vs. self and character vs. character.