Vanier College
Analyzing Short Stories/Novels
Good questions can help focus readers' attention on the elements writers use to add depth to their stories. The questions on this worksheet do just that and encourage readers to think critically about a story and author's purpose.
K5 Learning
The Story of a Wise Woman
The Story of a Wise Woman tells the tale of South Carolina's, Eliza Lucas Pinckney and how she persevered to plant and harvest indigo. With this short story and questions worksheet, your early readers test their comprehension with four...
Library of Congress
A Selection of Stories from The Æsop for Children
Read and incorporate a variety of Aesop's Fables into a fable genre study with an eBook produced by the Library of Congress. The interactive eBook contains 146 fables written by Aesop and includes colorful interactive illustrations by...
Curated OER
Recognizing Elements of a Short Story
In this short story elements learning exercise, learners recognize the elements of short story by reading the sentences and selecting the correct story element. Students complete 10 online questions.
Curated OER
Recognizing Elements of a Short Story
In this elements of a short story worksheet, middle schoolers are given definitions and must choose the element being defined. Students are also given a selection to read and answer questions about.
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
Benjamin Franklin and Learning a Lesson
Examine stories with a moral in a character development instructional activity. The class reads a short story written by Benjamin Franklin in which he pays too much for a toy whistle. Individuals then make text-to-self connections and...
K5 Learning
The Whistle
Get a quick peek into the life of Benjamin Franklin with a resource with a comprehension worksheet that asks learners to read a short tale, respond to a series of questions based on the passage, and then to identify the moral of the...
K5 Learning
The Wolf
Fourth graders have likely heard the expression to cry wolf, but they may not know the saying's origin. A short reading passage tells the story and includes four comprehension questions for pupils to demonstrate their understanding.
Writing Educators Symposium
Asking the Right Questions
It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and active...
August House
The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind
Learn the moral of the story with a series of activities about Aesop's fables. Focusing on The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind, learners complete a graphic organizer to discuss who, what, how, and why the events occur. Additionally,...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The activities in a curriculum guide to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein provide readers with an opportunity to explore various concepts in depth. First, groups research controversial scientists, examine their work, and decide whether or not,...
Curated OER
Fables: A Short Anthology
Explore fables with your class. Learners read a series of fables, including The Mouse and the Lion, and then match the moral to the correct story. This is a great way to end a unit on fables. This resource could also be used to explain...
Curated OER
Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Young Goodman Brown"
Give your class some background information on both Nathaniel Hawthorne and his short story "Young Goodman Brown." Basic themes and characters are introduced, especially as this is an allegory with many symbolic elements. Help your...
English Worksheets Land
The Donkey, the Fox and the Lion
Have learners read about a lion that lures a foolish fox into a trap and gets himself and his donkey friend eaten. After reading, pupils answer three questions and determine what the lesson of the story is.
Curated OER
Learning Life Lessons through Fables
Explore a variety of fables to learn life's lessons through engaging stories. Add rigor to the learning process with activities that include matching a a fable to the story's moral, short answer exit slips, and a three-column graphic...
Curated OER
Those Fabulous Fables
A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...
Curated OER
Morality "Tails" East and West: European Fables and Buddhist Jataka Tales
Have your class explore Buddhist Jataka Tales to compare and contrast them to European fables. After defining fables, Jataka tales, and the elements of each, learners identify themes and patterns for both types of narratives and the...
K5 Learning
The Coat
The moral of the story: listen to your parents! A concise reading passage introduces learners to Tom and the consequences of his choice to go out without a coat.
Curated OER
A Character's Decalogue Using "Because of Winn Dixie"
Pupils read the book Because of Winn Dixie and then create a personal decalogue, which is a list of 10 personal beliefs. For this decalogue lesson plan, students then write a decalogue of a fictional character and write a story based on it.
K12 Reader
What Can You Infer?
Perhaps one of the most famous and illustrative stories featuring irony, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry provides many opportunities for learners to make inferences about its characters. After reading a short introductory passage from...
Read Works
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
Reinforce reading comprehension strategies and contemplate an important life lesson with a worksheet featuring Aesop's fable, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. After reading a brief passage, scholars show what they know by way of five...
K5 Learning
Fortune and the Beggar
Enhance reading comprehension strategies with a tale about a beggar's run in with a fortune. Scholars read, answer comprehension questions, and consider the moral of the story.
Curated OER
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
In this literature worksheet, students respond to 21 short answer and essay questions about Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Annenberg Foundation
Gothic Undercurrents
Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...