What are the elements of a personal narrative? Get your class talking by reading "The Necklace" and "A Dangerous Game." The lesson plan focuses primarily on defining certain vocabulary terms (like context clues, plot, conflict, climax,...

Examine the elements of nonfiction writings in this lesson. Learners list common features of nonfiction and compare nonfiction and fiction books on the same topic. Create a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two genres.

Guide your learners to develop themes in Lewis Carroll's Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Here is a handy resource that poses abundant higher-level thinking questions on topics in the books from...

Designed to be used with a showing of the 1951 version of The Red Badge of Courage staring Audie Murphy, this learning guide includes discussion questions, suggestions for activities, and topics that can be discussed with parents.

Students put themselves in the role of a historical person and have to write a short story of dramatic dialogue about an event or person that has NOT been depicted in a work of historical fiction yet. This person is Hannah Dustin. A...

Middle schoolers differentiate between fiction and non-fiction, discuss historical fiction, which combines both genres, choose historical novel from list and read independently, and write original short stories that combine elements of...

Learners read and comprehend a piece of fictional writing, analyze how setting, characterization, and plot affect the theme of a story and work in a group to create a new writing assignment. This 5-day plan culminates in students writing...

In this literature activity, students respond to 10 short answer and essay questions about Richter's A Light in the Forest. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.

Accompany a reading of Madeleine L'Engle's classic tale, A Wrinkle in Time, with a detailed guide equipped with 15 informative and useful chapters. Scholars discover who the author is, why she wrote the book, and crucial story elements...

Create meaningful illustrations to accompany stories in a web-based art and literacy lesson focused on "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" by Rudyard Kipling. The class takes a virtual art safari with the Museum of Modern Art and then discusses how...

Teach learners how to interact with both fiction and non-fiction text with a packet of activities and worksheets. After looking over text structure and the difference in text features between different types of writing,...

Is it possible to tell a true war story? Tim O’Brien says that fiction is for “getting at the truth when the truth isn’t sufficient for the truth.” To get at the truth about war, class members examine primary source materials from the...

Often, science fiction makes a lot of connections to real life. An educator's guide for the novel Charisma by Jeanne Ryan, has readers discuss many of the real-life issues that come in the text. A brief summary helps garner interest...

Imagine the surprise when small groups present their Evidence Charts to the class and discover that each group has studied a different version of the Cinderella story. Irish, Ojibwa, Egyptian, Chinese, Korean, Persian, Mexican, and...

Students identify the elements of science fiction and write their own example.  In this Journey to the Center of the Earth lesson students complete several activities about science fiction, authors and novels.

High schoolers discuss works of science fiction that they read, highlight aspects that made each a part of science fiction genre, identify formal literary elements, and discuss ways each can be developed through science fiction.

Student examine the elements of literature. In this literature lesson, students follow the provided procedures to review the novel Copper Sun by Sharon Draper.

Study story elements with your young learners. Read Goldilocks and the Three Bears and discuss the order of events by making a story panel out of butcher paper. Sentences are given as suggestions for the panel, though you may...

A unit plan uses short texts to teach literary elements such as theme and characterization. Included are passages by authors such as Walter Dean Myers and Sandra Cisneros. Activities include quick writes, filling in graphic organizers,...

Learners explore the Russian Revolution through dramatization. For this Russian Revolution lesson, students participate in drama workshops prior to writing and presenting one-act plays featuring figures of the revolution.

Enthusiastic readers take part in a book club unit that focuses on genre, particularly historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure. Over the course of 10 days, groups read a variety of stories and choose leveled activities from a learning...

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...

Analyze and interpret a literary work your class has read during the course. After reading a variety of literary works, middle schoolers alter the ending of a selection by creating an alternate ending. They generate five comprehension...