What do Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, and Frosty the Snowman have in common? They're all characters from beloved holiday movies that viewers revisit in the play Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!). Scholars conduct research...

Here's a graphic organizer that promotes comprehension by asking class members to record the elements of a story. Using the provided template,  readers identify the setting, the major characters, the problems they face, and the...

Full of activities for Jan Brett's story "Gingerbread Friends," this resource will get your kids in the mood for some snacks, fortify their need for vocabulary, and fill their minds with story elements.

How can you tell when a story takes place? Use context clues to infer the time of day and seasons of five short reading passages. Kids then note each passage's time period as daytime or nighttime, as well as winter or summer.

Encourage narrative writing with a clever exercise. Class members watch episodes from movies and describe what happened to a character, including details about the setting, plot, and characters. Writers then craft a narrative about a...

All aboard! Pair a reading of The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg with a set of literacy activities. The packet of worksheets includes task cards, sorting activities, a synonym match, comparing and contrasting activities, writing...

Cinderella wants to go to the ball and marry the prince. At the end of the story, she does! But how does the plot move from the exposition to the resolution? Teach language arts learners and fairy tale fans about the basics of plot...

Mean girls and bully packs are favorite topic for films and TV shows that focus on the destructive power of cliques. High school freshmen are asked to reflect on both the positive and negative aspects of cliques by reading a short...

If you're planning on including Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles in your science fiction unit, use a concept analysis guide to frame your instruction. It covers literary elements such as setting, narrative voice, and theme, as...

Once upon a time are four words most children are familiar with when reading a fairy tale. But do they know that fairy tales are a great way to learn the literary elements of reading and writing? Use a thorough fairy tale unit...

Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts lesson on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing their own short...

A solid, straightforward book report form is an excellent addition to your literature unit. Class members note the main characters, point of view, plot elements, and other important details from a story, adding their favorite part...

Get an in-depth look into a narrative text with a three-page worksheet that examines a story's character—actions, sayings, thoughts, and appearance—setting, and challenges scholars to write a brief summary about what they've read. 

Extend the exhilarating learning experience of Dr. Seuss with five activities designed to reinforce literacy skills—site word reading, dialogue writing, story mapping, and more! Featured stories include The Lorax,...

Elevate children's reading comprehension skills with this collection of guided reading resources. From paper dice with basic comprehension questions printed on them to a system for using sticky notes to identify key...

The brother-sister pair Carlos and Clarita need your class's help in developing their new pet sitting business. Through a variety of scenarios and concerns presented to the siblings, the learners thoroughly explore systems of equations...

Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" engages adolescents with its theme about the dangers of complete societal equality. Learners complete a graphic organizer to track literary elements in the story, as well as an inference...

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,...

Peter Bunzi takes readers to the Victorian era with two stories, Coghaert and Moonlocket. Accompany the literary time warp with a companion packet that offers a plethora of exercises. Learning...

Look back on the school year by spending a few days putting together books that learners can reflect on in the coming years. Learners note down personal information and their favorite things, respond to questions with goals, stories, and...

How do novels differ from plays? Explore with your class the text features of fiction and drama by reading The Hidden One: Native American Legend and then performing a reader’s theater script based on the story. Class members create a...

Any classroom study of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved requires careful planning and scaffolding. A primary source set that includes a video, illustrations, photos of artifacts, and a broadside of the Fugitive...

Map out the conflicts throughout history with a graphic organizer. It includes a section for kids to list the participants in an event, the problems or goals, and the theme or lesson learned.

Happy birthday! Pre-K and Kindergarten students bring in a photograph of their favorite birthday party. They get together in small groups and write about the birthday - with the help of adults. The stories and the photos are displayed on...