Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
The Hobbit
From dragons to dwarves, from riddles to rings, the great adventure story of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has captivated generations of readers of all ages. An educator's guide explores the novel's literary elements, including the...
Curated OER
Problems and Their Solutions in Stories and Everyday Life
Students identify story elements. In this stories lesson, students read a story and identify the chracter, character traits, plot, setting and theme. Groups of students match problem and solution cards.
Curated OER
Plot Development and Conflict
Students explore plot development and how conflicts are resolved. In this plot development and conflict lesson plan, students discuss antonyms and list the ones they find in their story. Students complete online activities and write a...
Curated OER
Story Elements
Third graders identify story elements. For this story elements lesson, 3rd graders look at main idea, characters, point of view, theme and setting. They create a five paneled comic strip from a book.
Curated OER
Plot of a Short Story (SMART Board)
Using the SMART Board, teacher reviews the elements of a short story while students follow along in their notebook. Continuing with the SMART Board, teacher introduces the definition of plot and the five parts as students take notes....
Curated OER
Drama: Learn A Lesson from the Lion
Reading is reading, whether it's for drama or English class. Boost reading fluency, accuracy, intonation, and comprehension while fostering creative acting skills. Kids read the provided tale of "The Lion and the Mouse" several times in...
ReadWriteThink
Comics in the Classroom as an Introduction to Narrative Structure
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a comic strip combines both images and words for the ultimate narrative effect. After reading The Three Little Pigs and deciphering the plot elements, elementary readers work through four...
Curated OER
Introduce: Prediction
What will happen next? Leave readers at a cliffhanger as they practice prediction strategies while listening to a story. Pupils start by making guesses based on the book's cover and title, discussing the techniques they use to make these...
Scholastic
What Happened Next? (Grades K-4)
Explore the structure of narrative writing with this fun, collaborative lesson. Start by reading aloud a short story, asking small groups of learners to fill in key events on a large story board prepared on the class whiteboard....
Curated OER
Build Mastery: Sequencing
Writing a summary is much easier once you've laid out the sequence of events. Show readers how these two skills are intertwined using this graphic organizer. Review the meaning of sequencing first, presenting the chart and possibly...
Curated OER
The Personal Narrative - Part 3
Let's peer edit! Have your writers exchange their personal narratives with another learner! While peer editing, they will look for any missing information and identify strong details. They can practice literary analysis skills using a...
Curated OER
Building Fiction: Elements of a Short Story
Students define and interpret the elements found in a short story. Then they identify the elements of plot found in a short story. Students also apply knowledge of plot to an original work of fiction. Finally, they identify the...
Maine Content Literacy Project
The Process of Reading vocabulary, literary elements
Cover Freytag's Triangle and examine Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" in this third lesson plan in a series of fourteen based around short stories. Learners take a quiz and discuss Freytag's triangle. They apply the triangle to "The Bet" and...
Curated OER
Teaching Story Elements: Jack and the Beanstalk
Middle schoolers define fictional story elements. In this reading comprehension lesson, students read Jack and the Beanstalk and view an included SMARTboard lesson. Middle schoolers use the SMARTboard to match the story element terms...
Scholastic
Defining Conflict Using "The Interlopers"
Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts lesson plan on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing their own short...
Novelinks
Tuck Everlasting: Time-Line Graphic Organizer Strategy
What happens first in Tuck Everlasting? What happens after that? Prompt readers to create a timeline of the events in Natalie Babbitt's novel, detailing both story sequence and character relationships.
Curated OER
I'm Thinking Of A Story
In this literature lesson, students listen to folk tales and then discuss the main ideas and plot of the story. Additionally, students guess what story is being talked about when their teacher describes the main idea and plot. Good...
Curated OER
Short Story Motivator
Students review an episode of their favorite television shows. They discuss the plot in the show and compare it to a short story. They complete a story map as they watch the episode.
Curated OER
Analyzing Story Structure
Learners explore language arts by completing a graphic organizer in class. In this story structure lesson, students read the poem "Sick" by Shel Silverstein and discuss the different elements in the piece which make it an effective poem....
Curated OER
Story Framing Legends
Students review, examine and study the seven stages to a traditional legend or modern story in legend form. They locate two traditional legend stories and see if they fit into the two categories listed for them in two boxes. Each student...
Curated OER
Stories of Hope: Dragonfly and Mosquito
Young scholars identify and interpret the value of the dragonfly as a predator of the mosquito. They create their own folktales using the dragonfly or a creature of their choice to solve the malaria problem or another issue. Students...
Curated OER
Compare and Contrast: Literary Analysis
Seventh graders are able to use active listening skills, take notes and identify literary elements of a short story. They use/create graphic organizer, compare/contrast literary elements from various stories and compare and contrast traits.
Bantam Books
The Tempest: Chalk Talk
Discussion doesn't always need to be spoken. Before you begin The Tempest by William Shakespeare, have kids connect their ideas and experiences to central questions of the play with a silent discussion activity. Once they have...
Education City
Reading Comprehension
Celebrate National Reading Month in March—or any month of the year—with a selection of versatile graphic organizers. The worksheets prompt readers to compare characters easily, predict what will happen next in a story, track their...