Curated OER
Using Inspiration Software to Explore Characters In Stories
Young scholars identify characters, their qualities, and examples of their qualities and use Inspiration to organize them in a clear and understandable format. After a lecture/demo, students use the program on the next story by themselves.
Curated OER
Speak What We Feel, Not What We Ought to Say
High schoolers examine and create their own interpretation of a particular character from the play, King Lear. They read the speeches, write a paragraph about their character, and present a short performance of their scene.
Curated OER
"I am Not Well": Unspoken Endings and Unscripted Scenes
High schoolers analyze Act 4, scene 1 from the play, Merchant of Venice. They hypothesize the content of an unscripted moment and response, look for evidence in the text to support their hypothesis, rewrite the scene, and perform it for...
Curated OER
Creating a Story Quilt
Students create a quilt to represent an important event in their life. In this visual arts lesson plan, students research Faith Finggold and her quilts. Students use art supplies to create their own quilt and share the symbolic meaning...
Curated OER
Elements of Fiction
Students investigate themes and settings in their favorite fiction stories. In this creative writing lesson, students discuss the reasons a fictional story works well and discuss ways to create their own. Students create...
Curated OER
Epic Poetry: Literary Terms for Story Analysis
What do Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Odyssey have in common? Why, they are all epics, of course, and are presented here as examples of the literary term. If you are beginning a study of epics, consider previewing the terms included...
Curated OER
The Holocaust: Retelling the Story
Students compare and contrast two different presentations of Holocaust experiences. They participate in class discussions and write journal entries to explore the differences between the book "Until We Meet Again" and the film "Devil's...
Curated OER
Thrilling Information: Music and Reading
Here’s a cross-curricular program music activity that uses Peer Gynt to engage class members. Groups take one section of “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” choreograph their section of the tune to represent the story as they imagine it,...
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Greed is Good?
From Mr. Merdle to Mr. Madoff? A viewing of the PBS adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Little Dorrit” launches an examination of greedy characters in literature and a study of greed, unfairness, and economic hardship today. The richly...
Curated OER
Describe a Journey
Students describe the sensory experience of a character's journey in an essay. In this precise details writing lesson, students explain the effects on the senses of weather, time of day, landscape, and other...
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Classroom Guide for the Redwall Series
Students participate in cross-curricular activities and readings to become familiar with the works of Brian Jacques. In this heroes lesson, students discuss the character traits of legends and how their characters develop through events...
Scholastic
Literacy Activities for Any Time
As the title suggests, this packet is loaded with activities that can be used at any time. The common element in all the exercises is that they are connected to books by Dr. Seuss.
Curated OER
A Weave of Woods
Focus on vocabulary, comprehension, and analysis while reading A Weave of Woods, a colorful picture book by Robert D. San Souci. Young learners use worksheets to preview, predict, practice paraphrasing, and make comparisons. The...
Curated OER
Plot Development
Students identify the elements of plot and write a script with a strong plot. For this plot lesson, students identify elements of plot in examples by completing a chart and a graphic organizer. Students then create plots from...
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What a Character!
Students look at the role of characters in a story. In this character lesson, students discuss how different types of characters change the plot of the story. They see how storytellers use their body, face, and voice to tell stories.
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The Cask of Amontillado
Young scholars examine the Edgar Allan Poe story "The Cask of Amontillado." In this character activity, students discuss and analyze the characters in the story. Young scholars make personal connections to the characters and create a...
Curated OER
STUDENT'S CHOICE
Students interact, answer questions, and extend the story plot. They write a Haiku or basic poetry with their words, name characters, create a new ending for a story, and write a new story with one of the characters.
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Lively Read of the Tale of Despereaux
Students create a character map of the main characters in The Tale of Despereaux. After reading the text, students create a character chart based on information they gleaned from the story. They use this information to write a letter...
Curated OER
Plot Development and Conflict
Students explore plot development and how conflicts are resolved. In this plot development and conflict lesson, students discuss antonyms and list the ones they find in their story. Students complete online activities and write a summary...
Curated OER
Storytelling in the Oral Tradition
Seventh graders research Greek mythological characters. They write about problems faced by middle school-aged children and how the character would handle them. Students also create story boards to accompany their oral narratives.
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Literature: Watching Anna
Students view the PBS presentation of Leo Tolstoy's, "Anna Karenina." Prior and after each episode, they discuss plot and characterization and in one lesson, use adjectives to describe each of the main characters. Then, students create...
Curated OER
How Does Power Affect Conflict?
Students use several short stories to analyze different types of power. While discussing the role of power in these short stories, students will practice communication skills essential to conflict transformation, specifically attentive...
Curated OER
Details, Details: How Choices Reveal Character, Setting, Tone, and Theme. (Analyzing and Interpreting, Making Inferences)
Students respond to works of art. In this art interpretation lesson plan, students examine images of art while using concepts they learned as they read literary pieces. They detail the setting, characters, and the mood and theme of the...
Curated OER
Plot/Story Problem/Resolution
Students analyze the plot, problem, and resolution of a story. In this story analysis lesson, students read stories and fill out graphic organizers about the plot, story problems, and resolution.