Young artists will respond to reading children's literature, by engaging in original storytelling and representing their own images through the visual arts. Then they orally describe details of people, places, and things in their stories...

In general, pupils are not allowed to write in school-issued books; however, they can write on a bookmark that you provide! Kids can take notes on the setting, characters, themes, and connections as they read a short story or novel.

Reading scary stories on Halloween is frightfully good fun! As elementary learners read several stories for the holiday, they choose a favorite and create a decorative garland representing the characters and setting elements found...

Young readers bring characters to life by working in small groups to script and perform stories that contain a community concept. Detailed questions and activities are outlined for the class. Consider having your groups create...

Begin reading The Crucible and form a foundation for your study with this presentation. Arthur Miller and the historical background of McCarthyism are covered at the beginning, followed by short descriptions of all the characters in...

Test basic plot comprehension of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with this online interactive quiz. Class members answer 15multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank questions about the plot, characters, setting, and quotes from the play....

Fourth and fifth graders use their knowledge of developing character, dialogue, and setting to produce an original story. An excerpt from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is used as inspiration to get everyone's...

Second graders explore setting through improvisations.  In this theatre lesson, 2nd graders perform a variety of improvisations in different settings and chart how they established the setting in the different environments. 

Ninth graders listen to a read aloud of two short stories focusing on literary devices. The write about the settings and realism of the stories, and decide each main character handles the conflict he faces with nature.

In this setting and character worksheet, students provide details about the setting and character in this graphic organizer. Students provide 3 details for each.

How do we know how a character was affected by the conflicts they encounter in a story? We use evidence from the text to make assertions about the characters we read about. Third graders practice finding and using evidence in a...

Character development, setting, and plot? Sounds like the makings of a good narrative story. Young authors read and analyze several narrative examples, and then they use what they know to pen an original composition. They work both in...

Middle schoolers in particular will benefit from this simple presentation. Forty slides cover story elements like the protagonist, antagonist, and setting, and literary devices are also included. Some examples are given, but for the most...

Collective story writing is a great way to reinforce the concept of story elements and collaborative learning. Young writers discuss story elements such as, setting, character, action, climax, conclusion, foreshadowing, dialogue, and...

Introduce your class to drama! You cast each pupil as a different character from a story you have read. They are given a general outline of the scene, act out the scene multiple times, then discuss the weak and strong aspects of each...

Play a classroom version of the classic game show Jeopardy, to review and discuss the novel your class has been reading. Questions about plot and other story elements are written on cards and given point values. Divide the class into...

Help your class identify story elements. They will discuss character, setting, problem, and solution after reading a story. A graphic organizer will help them to identify various elements with guided practice and independent practice...

A car crash, a murder, a hurricane. With such a plot, why is the title of Sheila Turnage's novel Three Times Lucky? After making a prediction about the plot, scholars use the novel study to research and record facts...

Pupils read two stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and write an essay comparing plots and themes. For this Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories lesson, students read "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil." After a class...

Sixth graders analyze the a character's qualities and the effects of these qualities on the plot and the resolution of the conflict in the story "The Pigman and Me." They develop a list of the qualities, discuss if these qualities were...

Third graders are introduced to character, plot development, point of view, and tone through the use of comic strips. They, in pairs, identify these four attributes in the comic strip and present their findings to the class.

Young scholars explore the concept of setting in literature by identifying their own current setting, and imagining what their ideal setting would be. They read a piece of literature, identify the setting and record the information on a...

Learners practice the story element of setting. In this setting lesson, students listen to the story Tulip Sees America by Cynthia Rylant. They discuss and describe the places that Tulip saw in the story.  

Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...