Curated OER
Scary Short Story Writing Lesson
There's nothing like the prospect of writing a scary story to get your middle schoolers' writing juices flowing! In the lesson presented here, pupils listen to scary short stories read to them by the teacher. Then, a discussion ensues...
Newspaper in Education
The Iliad: A Young Reader Adventure
Is The Iliad part of your curriculum? Check out a resource that offers something for those new to teaching the classic and those with lots of experience using Homer's epic. Plot summaries, discussion questions, activities abound in...
Polar Trec
Temperature Profile above the South Pole
Collecting and understanding data is a big part of understanding the world and how it changes. To better grasp what temperatures are changing and how they affect global populations, learners create a graph based on the date provided....
Balanced Assessment
A Fishy Story
There's nothing fishy about this resource. In the task, learners use given information about fish prices to create a scatter plot and line of best-fit. Later, they use the information to answer questions about the profit from fish sales.
Curated OER
Express Yourself Lesson Seed 13: Character Development 2
Building upon prior lessons in the series, this reading and writing exercise requires pupils to look back at their own writing, track character development in the novel The Cay, and analyze how Phillip has changed. The reading focus is...
Curated OER
Stories! Imagination! Joy!
Rekindle the art of storytelling through imagination and oral tradition.
Curated OER
Do You Have Character?
Sixth graders read Katherine Paterson's novel, Bridge to Terabithia, and watch a video of Maurice Sendak's book, Where the Wild Things Are. They examine the characters in both stories that share similar characteristics. Students use the...
Curated OER
Fractured Fairy Tales
Through reading and writing, learners explore common elements found in fairy tales. After discussing traditional fairy tales, class members listen to The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs by John Scieszka, a hilarious retelling of the...
Classroom Adventures Program
Creating Characters
Examine character in depth. Over the course of these six lessons, learners explore their own character traits, determine the traits of characters in the books they read, practice comparing and contrasting, and collaborate in small...
Curated OER
Amos and Boris: Text Study
Twenty insightful questions follow a read aloud of the story, Amos and Boris by William Steig. Scholars then show what they know through completion of a cause and effect chart, reading fluency assessment, and a written...
Ziptales
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Scholars create a brochure that features three aspects of the poem "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." The program details information about Robert Browning, the poem's setting, and its events.
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2: Unit 1, Lesson 5
Eager readers have waited a long time, very patiently, for a set of literary analysis lessons that connect text structure to the work's central idea. As ninth graders continue reading "The Tell-Tale Heart," they focus on the central...
Curated OER
Story Setting - The Art Lesson by Tomi dePaola
Students read the book The Art Lesson by Tomi dePaola and analyze the story. In this setting lesson, students discuss the importance of the setting and how it helps us understand the story. Students answer questions and chart their...
Curated OER
Adventure Writing: Oregon's Landscape as a Setting
Students identify geographical features of different regions encountered by migrants on the Oregon trail. Students research how the Oregon landscape may have affected life and 19th century westward migration. Students write a narrative...
Curated OER
Literacy: Slowly, Slowly, Slowly Said the Sloth
Students explore language arts by analyzing a children's book in class. For this vocabulary lesson, students read the book Slowly, Slowly, Slowly... by Eric Carle. Students identify the characters, setting and plot of the story before...
Curated OER
The Iliad - Essay Questions
In this literature learning exercise, students respond to 9 short answer and essay questions about Homer's The Iliad. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
The Jungle Book Pt. 4: Fun Trivia Quiz
Quiz your class on "The White Seal," part 4 of The Jungle Book, with this resource. Learners respond to ten surface level questions about the story and receive immediate online feedback. You'll need to look closely at the content of the...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Voyagers: Challenge Activities (Theme 5)
Young voyagers face the challenge of the wide dark sea, travel with Yunmi and Halmoni, and even get trapped by the ice as they explore the reading selections offered in these enrichment activities designed for the Houghton...
Weekly Story Book
Folk Tales and Fables
Pages and pages of engaging activities, worksheets, and writing projects on teaching folktales and fables await you! You don't want to miss this incredible resource that not only includes a wide range of topics and graphic...
Curated OER
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Questions
For this reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 5 short answer questions about the content of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Curated OER
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Questions
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students respond to 5 short answer questions about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Curated OER
Writing Short Stories Using a Plot Diagram
Students read Abe Lincoln's Hat and use a plot diagram to identify the sequence of the story. They use plot diagrams to write their own stories from the perspective of Abraham Lincoln's hat.
Curated OER
Where the Red Ferns
Where the Red Fern Grows provides the text for a study of the literary elements of plot, character, and setting. Discussion questions and vocabulary lists are referenced but not included.
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...