Learners discover the parts of a story through the retelling of a fable as well as characters, plot, and setting. This activity is completed using the program Pixie to create an online storybook.

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...

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...

Tenth graders analyze the use of literary elements in W.W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw." Literary analysis is accomplished by a review of the plot and order of events in the story. Learners work in pairs to match the events from the story...

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...

Students explore scenes from Katherine Paterson's book, Bridge to Terabithia. For this visualization lesson, students listen to the story read aloud. The students then choose words and phrases that paint a picture in their heads....

Go down the rabbit hole with a thorough novel unit for Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. With a cause and effect chart, K-W-L organizer, and reading comprehension questions, the resource is a great addition to your summer...

Read the descriptive paragraph (included) with your middle schoolers, and have them study the stylistic elements included. They'll look for vivid verbs, alliteration, assonance, similes, and personification. Before writers craft their...

How do you know the book you are reading is a fantasy? Explore the characteristics of the fantasy genre as you read the story Zathura with your class. Together you'll create a class chart that identifies the fantasy genre while building...

Weaving is an important part of Navajo culture. Read The Goat in the Rug to your fourth and fifth graders, and give them a glimpse into the process of rug making from the point of view of a goat! They will learn new vocabulary words and...

Make reading more enjoyable and interactive with literature circles! Here you'll find detailed lessons to begin the literature circle process. Ten lessons introduce each role learners take on. Literature circle roles include...

Students combine the use of geographical information and writing. They write a story and create a visual aid to be used when presenting to the class. They move to different stations deciding which topic they want to further research. ...

Sixth graders chart a story. In this plot elements lesson students chart and then retell a story from the rising action until the resolution. Students use stories from the book America Street.

Break an article down with a SOAPSTone chart. Class members determine the speaker, occasion, audience, purpose, subject, and tone. The chart includes a question for each of these elements, provides some clarifying text for each, and...

After having a bad day, Sally took scholars' suggestions and had a super day. Pupils listen to her newest short story then discuss the events that occurred. They sort each event by what was in her control and what was not. Participants...

Life changes may cause stress. Here, scholars identify stressful situations in a peer's life and offer coping skills to make for a better day. A short story, "Stressed Out Sally," provides pupils with a look inside a bad day. After...

Thomas Jefferson lived a controversial life. A series of lesson plans shares information about Jefferson's Sons, a novel about the infamous founding father. Discussion questions and other tasks explore different points of view and cover...

Second graders read WHAT IF? up to the page that ends "Suddenly, across the field they saw..." and discuss how the animals are feeling. They then discuss their feelings and in pairs discuss a possible ending to the story.

Students listen to The Trouble With Trolls and discuss fables.  In this story elements lesson, students work on reading skills.  Students participate in different reading activities.

Students explore relationships between story characters. For this story elements and reading comprehension lesson, students generate character traits of the characters in Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. Students describe...

When scholars re-tell a story, do they boil it down to important details in a logical order? Practice summarizing narratives using this think-aloud strategy, which is scripted here for your convenience. After explaining why this is an...

What are the pros and cons of prolonging life? Incorporate real-world issues into the study of literature using Dr. Heidegger's Experiment. Through the exploration of pre-determined websites, scholars consider several related...

Second graders observe the teacher model writing a letter to the author of the book, COPS AND ROBBERS. They then compare the story structure of the book to those of FUNNYBONES and identify the setting, characters and theme.

Use a graphic organizer to get readers thinking about main ideas as they record the who, what, where, when, and why of a story. Consider modeling this process completely before kids do this independently. They fill in five boxes charting...