Act out the African folktale Abiyoyo. Kindergartners listen to the tale and discuss the characters, dressing as their favorite characters in order to retell and perform Abiyoyo using props. They will gain an understanding of...

Drama and movement are wonderful ways to cover story elements such as setting, character, and descriptive writing. Little ones listen to a poem about imaginary creatures. As they listen, they shape their bodies into what they think the...

Fairy tales seem like quick, fun children's stories, but asking compelling questions about characters, plot elements, and literary themes can transform them into rich and complex tales. Use a series of eight lessons on Hans Christian...

Students determine the story elements of typical mystery stories including characters and plot structure. They look at vocabulary that is common to mystery stories before reading and responding to mystery chapter books. Working in guided...

Students read and analyze the story elements of the novel "Holes" by Louis Sachar. They play a "Holes" matching game, complete a timeline of story events, complete a Cause-and-Effect graphic organizer, conduct research on Louis Sachar's...

Experience how a story can drastically change when the point of view is altered. Young scholars first read a review of Disney's film Tarzan, focusing on how the point of view in the classic story is important. They then select...

Every good novel needs a solid beginning! Setting the stage can have your budding authors stumped, so use this lesson to get them thinking. After examining the plot rollercoaster image (included) they consider the four places...

You could spend a full day discussing The Phantom of the Opera and not scratch the surface, but a set of lessons about the literary elements and themes of the musical production is a great start. Young thespians build upon the...

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...

This resource provides the beginning ideas for a lesson on writing a narrative. Learners watch a video, identify story elements, including plot and setting, and then write their own stories. If augmented, this lesson could provide a...

Guide your class through a text with resources for before and after reading. Learners ask questions, discuss characters and plot points, point out elements of the reading that stood out, and compose brief summaries.

Young scholars view slides from the movie "Hoot" and discuss characters, setting and the caption. They identify where in the rise and fall of the plot this scene takes place. They brainstorm elements needed to create a story from a...

Students examine the elements of a story, read a review of Chris Rock's new sitcom, "Everybody Hates Chris" and create original sitcom episodes based on their own lives.

In this story elements worksheet, students complete a graphic organizer about characterization. Students describe the character's words, personality, appearance and reputation. There are four bubbles within the graphic organizer to...

How can you tell if a character is a villain? What about a hero? Work on literary analysis with an engaging language arts worksheet. After completing an activity about the four types of conflict, learners fill out a character map about a...

Class discussions can really make concepts come to life. The class discusses the differences between compare and contrast, read a book, then talk about ways they can compare events or characters in the story. Good leading question are...

Fifth graders develop and practice the steps involved in imaginative writing. They follow the steps/worksheets included and write imaginative stories of their own.

How are mood and tone similar? Different? Help your readers understand the difference between the two with this helpful guide. On the first page, they read the definition for both tone and mood and identify words that are describe each....

Not all technology is digital. Teach learners about the low-tech maker movement with a photo essay about six artisans from California and two articles about the local creator movement. After tackling the photo essay in small...

Write dear old Peter Rabbit a letter with this lesson. First, youngsters listen to the story Peter Rabbit and analyze the story elements. Then they complete a story map graphic organizer in order to write a letter to Peter...

Young scholars write a Thanksgiving Day Story using some or all of the words included in the worksheet. These stories can be fiction or non-fiction (Personal Essays). They are graded on sentence structure, paragraph structure, grammar,...

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.

Students discuss with teacher how to complete a short story and the elements necessary: characters, settings, themes, and plots. They then use the worksheet to complete the short story.

Fourth graders identify the literary elements of a nonfiction text. In this literary elements lesson plan, 4th graders read the text Piano Starts Here--The Young Art Tatum and fill in a chart that includes the events from the book....