Curated OER
The Newspaper Article
Have your class participate in an interview activity using an informational text about the Amazon. After reading a Cultural Connections story about a person from the Amazon, middle schoolers write interview questions based on the text....
University of North Carolina
Audience
Challenging pupils' perspectives by having them walk in the shoes of the reader. An informative resource discusses how to identify an audience and anticipate their needs before writing an upcoming argumentative essay.
Curated OER
Witness to a Brawl
Using The Musicians' Brawl, middle schoolers first impressions and the effect the title has on a piece of work. Then they analyze the narrative elements to art and write a newspaper article for the painting. In this narrative art...
Curated OER
Creating Characters
Students examine the methods of effective characterization. In this writing skills lesson, students discuss how emotions, dialogue, actions, and physical descriptions build believable characters. Students then use the methods of...
Curated OER
Scene Writing
Eighth graders create an original scene or short one-act play within specified guidelines. Assessment is based upon the performance of student-created scenes during class time. Rubrics for assessment and connection to state standards...
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Writing Assignment
As a culminating assignment for a unit study of heroes that uses The Hobbit as the core text, class members engage in a multi-genre writing project.
Curated OER
The Effects of Character Decisions
Fifth graders analyze the effect of character choices. In this lesson students read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Students explore the affect of decisions on the plot of the story.
Curated OER
Cooperative Jigsaw Expert Report of Fables
Pupils research literary elements of fables. In this literature instructional activity, students analyze literary elements of fables. Pupils work collaboratively using a jigsaw strategy to analyze literary elements.
Curated OER
Break the Pentomino Code!
Students read and analyze the book, Chasing Vermeer. They discuss the main story elements, analyze how pentominoes are important to the story, use a pentomino code to decipher a message, and create a secret code of their own.
Curated OER
"Esio Trot" by Roald Dahl
Students read Roald Dahl's Esio Trot and complete vocabulary and reading activities. In this reading and vocabulary lesson plan, students review vocabulary for the activity and listen to the story. Students discuss the story elements and...
Curated OER
"Thank You Ma'am" by Langston Hughes
Students use Langston Hughes' "Thank You Ma'am" as a reading and vocabulary improvement activity. In this reading and vocabulary lesson, students review the related vocabulary and read the poem. Students discuss the story elements in the...
Curated OER
"The Fog Horn" by Ray Bradbury
Students read Ray Bradbury's "The Fog Horn" and complete reading and vocabulary activities. In this reading and vocabulary lesson plan, students review the vocabulary for the story and take turns reading the story. Students discuss the...
Curated OER
The Little Prince (Chapters 1-4) by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Students read Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince and complete reading and vocabulary activities. In this reading and vocabulary lesson plan, students review vocabulary for the story and identify story elements for the text.
Curated OER
Literature: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi Character Analysis
Seventh graders read the story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" and analyze one of its characters. After completing a story element worksheet, they identify their favorite character. In several sentences students give reasons for their choices with...
Curated OER
Robin Hood: England's Man of Mystery
Students study the tale of Robin Hood to further their knowledge of character traits, improve their vocabularies, and increase their knowledge of the Medieval Ages. In this Robin Hood lesson, students complete 14 lessons that help them...
Curated OER
Adapting a Fairy Tale
Students read and prepare a new oral version of a selected fairy tale. They read and compare/contrast two fairy tales and identify the main story elements. In small groups they create a new oral version of one they fairy tales and...
University of Southern California
Coming to America After the War
As part of their exploration of the American dream, class members examine primary source materials to compare immigrant experiences of those arriving early in our country's history to those arriving in the US after World War II. To...
Curated OER
Genre Lesson: Realistic Fiction
As scholars begin identifying stories as realistic fiction, its important they see many examples to solidify their concepts of this genre. Readers begin with a personal connection, thinking of television shows they like and determining...
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Moby Dick Puppetry
Such an ambitious lesson! Third graders with special needs listen to an audio recording of the novel, Moby Dick. They stop often to discuss each of the main characters and analyze their actions in the story. They then make puppets of one...
Curated OER
Foreshadowing and Prediction: W.W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw"
W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" provides plenty of foreshadowing which readers use to make predictions in this tightly composed, sound instructional plan. Your class reads the story, recording predictions and checking for veracity...
Curated OER
CAN WE SWITCH GENDERS OF STORY CHARACTERS?
Analyze characters and stories to identify stereotyping. Learners will examine the concept of character gender to evaluate bias in classroom story books. They are asked to read a story or play and change the gender of the character to...
Curated OER
The Magical World of Russian Fairy Tales
Students read several fairy tales of Russian origin. They brainstorm common elements of a fairy tale and identify those elements in several examples. They retell a favorite fairy tale through a skit, oral storytelling, a sketch, or a...
Curated OER
Bambara's The Lesson
Twelfth graders read the short story The Lesson. They research the socio-economic and cultural context of the story and author. They examine the author's point of view. They analyze the first person narration in the story. They rewrite...
Curated OER
An Introduction to the Relationship Between Composition and Content in the Visual Arts
Students investigate how artists create a story that provides a message or provokes emotions in a single image. The ways in which the composition of a painting contributes to telling the story or conveying the message is examined in this...