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Article
Caro Clarke

Explaining Too Much: Why More Is Less

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the eleventh article in a series that is designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how to eliminate needless information in your novel. The key is to not explain too much about the action.
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Activity
Caro Clarke

Caro Clarke: Description: What's It For?

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the twelfth article in a series that is designed to help the new novel writer. This article focuses on how to effectively use descriptions in any writing.
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Activity
Caro Clarke

The Art of the Unspoken: Saying More by Describing Less

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the thirteenth article in a series that was developed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how good descriptions aren't necessarily connected with a lot of words, good descriptions are clean and to the point.
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Website
Other

Write4 kids.com

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site provides a great deal of information on writing children's stories. Contains "Advice, instruction, insider tips, insight and inspiration."
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Unit Plan
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Holt, Rinehart and Winston: Elements of Literature: Guide to the Sign of the Beaver [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This Holt Literature guide in .pdf format, offers some background on the novel, a chapter-by-chapter summary, and some post-reading suggestions.
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Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: Ninth Literature and Composition: Short Stories

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This lesson provides and introduction to a short story unit. It focuses the lessons and morals taught by short stories and the use of literary elements in fiction. I provides a list of essential questions.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Becoming Visible: N. Scott Momaday

For Students 9th - 10th
Relying on many elements, including traditional Native American and European American traditions, this biography features the rich literary contributions of N. Scott Momaday. See "N.Scott Momaday Activities" for more resources.
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Unit Plan
Georgia Department of Education

Ga Virtual Learning: Popular Culture: What Makes a Book Popular?

For Students 9th - 10th
This lesson focuses on the elements that makes a book popular and provides links to lists of Goodreads popular books and NPR's "Your Favorites: 100 Best-Ever Teen Novels."
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Article
Other

Building Characters With Adversity

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Extensive and very interesting article advising the reader on how to develop characters through adversity.
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Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Understanding and Analysis of Literary Text: Meter and Rhyme

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
OnTRACK English II Reading, Module 3, Lessons 1-12, and Practice Lessons 1-3. Students understand, make inferences and draw conclusions about the structure and elements of poetry, drama, fiction, and literary non-fiction, and provide...
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Lesson Plan
Utah Education Network

Uen: Cinderella Stories From Around the World

For Teachers 5th Standards
In this lesson plan, 5th graders will compare and contrast different versions of the fairy tale "Cinderella." Students will use a compare and contrast chart chart. After the shared readings, students will use all the elements of a fairy...
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Article
Other

How the Language Really Works: Novels and Stories

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This brief article explains perspective, types of narrators, and the elements of fiction.
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Article
Caro Clarke

Caro Clarke: Writing Advice: Beginner's Four Faults

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site is a personal site from Caro Clarke. The third installment in this series looks at the four major mistakes made by beginning authors. The main idea of this article is that the author needs to be able to combine dialogue with...
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Handout
Other

Brock University: Critical Reading: A Guide

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
In addition to thoroughly exploring the purposes and functions of an analytical essay, this resource provides students with step-by-step instructions for reading and analyzing poetry, prose-fiction, and fiction. The site also offers...
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Lesson Plan
Writing Fix

Writing Fix: A Habitat for a Wild "Pet"

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
After observing and naming elements of an animal's habitat, and reading The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer, learners write fictional stories about finding and caring for a wild animal. A printable graphic organizer, a teacher example, and...
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Lesson Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Plot 1st Grade Unit

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] A series of three lesson plans designed to teach students to identify problems and solutions in fiction text and to retell a story's problem and solution in sequence. Students learn to identify the plot...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Planning Story Characters Using Interactive Trading Cards

For Teachers 3rd - 5th Standards
Students use trading cards to examine fictional characters in a story.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: A Secret Note

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This fiction piece shares the story of a camper who receives a mysterious note. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes...
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Unit Plan
The Best Notes

The Best Notes: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a complete online study guide/notes for the novel Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.
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Article
Caro Clarke

Loving Your Characters Too Much

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
This article is the fifth in a series that is designed to help new authors with their new novels. This lesson focuses on your main character and what happens when that character lacks character flaws.
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Article
Caro Clarke

Caro Clarke: What Is Conflict?

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the sixth in a series of articles designed to help the new writer with their novel. This article focuses on conflict and how it effects the characters and the plot of the story. W.11-12.3a Narratives
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Article
Caro Clarke

Describing Your Characters Through Their Actions

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This is the tenth in a series of articles designed to help the new novel author. This article focuses on how to develop characters through their actions instead of simply relying on dialogue and description of thoughts. W.11-12.3d...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Why Did Mamma Change Her Mind? [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Why Did Mamma Change Her Mind?" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a party. Mom said her son and daughter could each have 5 friends (5 boys and 5 girls). The girl wanted all girls so the party was cancelled. It is followed...
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Unit Plan
The Best Notes

The Best Notes: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an online study guide/notes for the science fiction novel Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes including author information, literary elements, chapter-by-chapter summaries/notes, study questions, and analysis.

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