Curated OER
Children Using Antonyms to Write Short Stories
Second graders discuss what antonyms are and read the book, Quick as a Cricket. In this antonym lesson, 2nd graders write a short story by describing themselves.
Film English
My Shoes
Engage your pupils in short story and short film. Using a still from the film as inspiration, pairs compose short stories, which they later share and compare with other members of the class. They then watch the film and respond to a...
K20 LEARN
Who's Coming To Dinner? Descriptive Writing
"The Dinner Party" is the anchor text in a lesson designed to encourage writers to use sensory details in their stories. After brainstorming descriptive words and phrases for the five senses, class members read Mona Gardner's...
Fabius-Pompey School District
Paired Passage Practice and the Extended Response Question
How do pupils relate paired passages to each other? Here's a resource that helps! The lesson includes a short story and a poem as a set of paired reading passages, followed by some analysis questions. It also includes an essay template...
Common Sense Media
The Masque of the Red Death
Poe goes high tech with a lesson that asks high schoolers to use the internet and various apps as they read and analyze "The Masque of the Red Death." In addition to responding to comprehension questions in Quizlet, they use Minecraft to...
Curated OER
What A Pair! A Cross Grade Writing Activity
What a pair! Older pupils interview younger ones and use what they learn to write a short, illustrated storybook that features the youngster as the main character. The youngster responds with a thank-you note in which they identify their...
Digital Education Resource Archive
Narrative Writing Unit
Each one of the learners in your class has a story to tell, so help them learn the most efficient and organized way to tell their tale. A thorough unit on narrative writing addresses the writing process, grammar, story structure,...
K5 Learning
Authors Tell Different Stories
The story of Cinderella is a popular one! So much so, there are multiple versions of the story being told around the world. With this collection of activities your young readers receive background information about two versions...
Prestwick House
Star Wars and the Hero's Journey
Is Luke Skywalker the archetype of a literary hero? Follow the path of the Hero's Journey with an engaging lesson that details the plot structure, applies it to Star Wars: A New Hope, and invites class members to choose their own...
Literacy Design Collaborative
The Lottery
Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" provides middle schoolers with an opportunity to hone their close reading and literary analysis skills. After annotating their copy of the story, writer's craft an essay in which they analyze...
Curated OER
"The Story of an Hour" Lesson 2: Teacher's Guide and Notes
After reading background information about Kate Chopin, pupils complete their shared reading of her short story, "The Story of an Hour." Participants then consider the irony of the ending.
Curated OER
Writing a Short Story - Weather
Pupils write a short story based on the weather condition they chose. in this short story lesson plan, students must include a theme, setting, characters, and plot.
Curated OER
Writing Fiction: Using Older Characters
Out with the old and in with the new? Not so in this lesson plan, which explores the idea of writing older characters in fiction. Students learn the value of varying their characters, exploring different perspectives, and avoiding...
Curated OER
Creating a Story Map Using Kidspiration
Fourth graders use computer software, Kidspiration, to create a graphic organizer detailing main characters, setting, problem, solution, and theme of their favorite short story. Students also discover how graphic organizers can help them...
Curated OER
The Gift of the Magi
Test the true meaning of giving - and irony - with this instructional activity about "The Gift of the Magi." Using textual analysis, details, and text organization, middle schoolers make predictions about future events in the story and...
Curated OER
Story Development through Japanese art
A classic Japanese print is attached to this activity and its up to your class to write a story about it. Pretending the image is an illustration, they use what they know about Japanese mythology to compose a short story describing the...
K12 Reader
The Kid Will Win a Ship
Which word included the short /i/ sound: pirate or ship? Work on the short /i/ sound with your class by using the short poem provided here. Class members read the poem and answer three reading comprehension questions.
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 instructional activity presented here, pupils listen to scary short stories read to them by the teacher. Then, a...
PBS
Stories of Painkiller Addiction: Commitment to Recovery
Recovery from substance addiction is an ongoing process. The final lesson in a series about painkiller abuse and addiction prompts learners to research various recovery options before writing a short story about a character who is going...
Curated OER
Lesson: Bringing Back the Sun: The Story of Jaguar Inspiring Student Stories
What on earth is that jar for? It was an ancient incense burner used by the Maya, that was inspired by the myth of the sun god. Young analysts hear the story of the Mayan sun god, analyze the story through the artistry in the jar, and...
Curated OER
Lesson: All in the Family
Who was the Radcliffe family? Young learners find out about the life and times of a family from long ago. They analyze the family portrait, write a story about the family, and then use their story to create thought or word bubbles which...
K5 Learning
Ann and Frank
Challenge your third and fourth graders to look deeply into a text with a reading comprehension activity. After learners finish the short passage, they answer four questions that range in levels of difficulty and analysis.
K5 Learning
The Day I Tried to Cook
First graders read a short story on cooking. Then they respond to questions based on interest and practice writing.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Tales of the Supernatural
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...