Once upon a time are four words most children are familiar with when reading a fairy tale. But do they know that fairy tales are a great way to learn the literary elements of reading and writing? Use a thorough fairy tale unit...

If friendship were a soup, what ingredients would be in it? As part of a study of Marcus Pfister's Rainbow Fish and the Big Blue Whale, kids engage in a series of friendship-themed activities using materials contained in this richly...

Support young scholars' oral language development with the use of four early childhood activities. To reinforce proficiency, pupils read with an adult, play a game of telephone with their peers, put on a play with puppets or stuffed...

Young learners explore the antagonist. They retell Hansel and Gretel and identify the witch and the stepmother as antagonists. They then brainstorm common character traits of an antagonist, and then write a paragraph describing...

Many classic tales, like "Cinderella," can be found worldwide. Bacis events are similar, but each retelling is molded by the culture in which it exists. Present your class with several version of tale (links provided) and have them...

Students listen as the teacher reads fairy tales to students and identify patterns. They listen as the teacher re-reads the fairy tales and signal or recite patterns as they listen. Students identify patterns in the fairy tales. They...

Who is Emmet Till? An important historical figure, your kids will be shocked by his story! Discover the details of his life and collaborate to write a crown of sonnets in the style of Marilyn Nelson.

Students explore Aboriginal storytelling. In this literature lesson, students read Knots on a Counting Rope and then create a story line as they discuss the attributes of Aboriginal culture. Students retell the story in their own words.

Second graders discover how to properly summarize important events. In this summarizing lesson, 2nd graders listen to a retelling with a lot of minor details and discuss how it could be improved. Students read a story and determine the...

High schoolers compare and contrast various versions of the fairytale Cinderella. In this folktale lesson, students read The Korean Cinderella and The Egyptian Cinderella and analyze the differences between the two stories. High...

Students explore language arts by creating their own stories in class. In this book making instructional activity, students read the story City Pig in class and create storyboard illustrations in order to analyze the story. Students...

First graders identify and discuss the characteristics of a good friend. They read the book "Just My Friend" by Mercer Mayer, and watch the videos "My Wet Pet" and "The Berenstein Bears: Road Race." Students identify the friend...

Students create charts for story elements. They read two selections that share a common theme and discuss the story elements. They create a chart for the characters, plot, and setting and complete it while reading the selections.

In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read about the origin of the candy maker's candy cane and color the candy canes. Students retell the story and color 1 candy cane.

Students explore storytelling through pantomime, improvisation, and dramatization. They watch an online video, discuss Native American earth stories, role-play various situations, explore websites, and present an oral story to the class.

Fourth graders explore language arts by reciting a famous nursery rhyme to their classroom. In this oral storytelling lesson, 4th graders read the story "The Three Little Pigs" and identify the characters, setting and story. Students...

Learners explore storytelling by reading a classic book. In this story structure lesson plan, students read the story The Gingerbread Man and identify the characters, settings and plot. Learners answer reading comprehension questions...

In this preschool homework worksheet, students will read the story Don't Forget the Bacon and complete a simple retelling activity with parent support.

Students read African folk tales to learn about story elements and writing techniques. In this writing and reading skills lesson, students listen and retell African folk tales about Anansi the spider. Students complete four lessons to...

Learners examine patterns of imagery in A Midsummer Night's Dream by using online resources. Students compare the patterns they see to those they've found in other Shakespeare plays. Then learners draw conclusions about why Shakespeare...

Students retell story events on a lunch bag filled with popcorn. They illustrate the story events and enjoy the popcorn snack.

Elementary readers in literature groups practice summarizing chapter-by-chapter with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Focus on main idea, supporting details, and the 5 Ws. Unfortunately, a clever "peach" graphic organizer to which...

Children listen to the story, The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything, and discuss the sequence of events. They create a booklet, sequencing the events in the correct order.

Teach your young readers how to summarize a text using a strategy called Somebody Wanted But So. Kids identify the character (Somebody), the motivation (Wanted), the conflict (But), and the resolution (So). The resource comes with...