Orlando Shakes
A Christmas Carol: Study Guide
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has delighted readers for generations. An in-depth study guide gives an overview of an adaptation of the classic story for the stage. Along with summaries of the plot and key characters, theater goers...
National Woman's History Museum
Seneca Falls and Suffrage: Teaching Women's History with Comics
As part of the study of women's history, young scholars examine Chester Comix's strips about the Seneca Falls Convention and four 19th century leaders in the struggle for equal rights. After researching other elements of the Suffrage...
Trinity University
Introduction to Poetry
Introduce fourth graders to poetry with a three-week unit that has them examine the structural elements of poetry, analyze poems, and craft their own original poems rich in sensory details and other poetic devices. Young scholars study...
Curated OER
Dear Peter Rabbit
Write dear old Peter Rabbit a letter with this lesson. First, youngsters listen to the story Peter Rabbit and analyze the story elements. Then they complete a story map graphic organizer in order to write a letter to Peter Rabbit using...
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
Collaborative Writing
Collaborative writing projects can be a lot of fun for students. They use a Scholastic Story Starter and the class blog to write a creative story containing basic story elements. The web link to Scholastic is included but non of the...
Curated OER
Narrative Techniques: Plot Lines
Eighth graders develop plot lines as a part of narrative writing process. In this plot lines lesson, 8th graders work in learning groups to create a plot line for a piece of literature they've read. Students discuss the general plot and...
Curated OER
Drama from Animal Characters
Learn about animal habitats, characteristics, and writing in a different perspective. The class composes a narrative from the perspective of a fresh water animal, they include a problem and the animal's reaction to the problem. The...
Curated OER
Using Dreams in Writing
C.S. Lewis’s That Hideous Strength provides the model for using dreams in narrative writing. After a discussion of the purpose of dreams in Lewis’s tale, class members craft a story in which their dreams play an essential role.
Curated OER
Peter and the Starcatchers: Concept Analysis
Are you preparing to teach Peter and the Starcatchers? If so, you'll want to take a look at this analysis of the text, which describes plot and literary elements in-depth and explores potential implications related to diversity and...
Curated OER
Adventure Story
It's always fun to make up something together as a class. This fine lesson has children make up and illustrate a collaborative adventure story. The essential elements of a good story (setting, characters, plot, help, conclusion) are all...
Curated OER
Structuring Memoir
Review the essential elements of the memoir with a presentation that reminds writers of the structural options (chronological order, in medias res, etc.) available to them. Augment the slides with memoir models to ensure understanding.
Curated OER
Bucket List Poetry
What is on your pupils' "Bucket Lists" - the list of things they want to do before they die? Their choices of activities for this list could be very revealing, and is a great source of inspiration for a personal poem. The lesson prompts...
Curated OER
Elements of Poetry
Prepare your learners to identify figurative language in poetry. Tips for reading poetry and what to look for are listed on these slides. Rhetorical devices are defined and plenty of examples are given.
Film Foundation
The Day The Earth Stood Still: Film Language And Elements Of Style
In this, the third in a series of four resources that use Robert Wise's 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still as the core text, young film makers examine the language of film including shot composition, camera angle, lighting,...
Curated OER
Make Up Your Story
Putting together an interesting story can be hard, but this set of worksheets will guide your writers into the depths of their own creativity as they characterize both their main character and villain. Using humor to keep learners...
Read Works
Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
One of Emily Dickinson's most poignant works is the focus of a poetry analysis activity. After reading "Hope Is the Thing with Feathers," individuals answer ten multiple-choice and short-answer questions about the elements found...
Curated OER
Chinese Zodiac
Fifth graders identify the basic elements of a narrative story, such as the beginning, middle, and the end; to analyze the character traits in the story to write a summary using the 5 Ws and How chart included; through sample stories...
Curated OER
Unforgettable Personalities
Students read an essay titled, "Unforgettable Personalities" to study the influence of character's traits on the resolution of conflict in a narrative. They discuss and complete a worksheet that compares their own personality traits to...
Curated OER
The Powhatan Indians' English Boy
Sixth graders write a historical fiction narrative. In this interdisciplinary lesson plan, 6th graders read the historical fiction Henry Spelman: The Powhatan Indians' English Boy. Students write a piece from the point of view of the...
Curated OER
Problem/solution
Students examine presentations of problems and reaching solutions in literature. In this writing skills lesson, students read "The Three Little Pigs," and respond to several discussion questions about plot, characters, setting, conflict,...
Curated OER
A Whale of a Tale
Students read "A Very Hungry Caterpillar" and discuss factual information in the book. They research whales and use information to write a narrative story. They take their stories through the writing process.
Curated OER
Exploring Literary Genre Through Latin American Literature
Young scholars explore poetry and its meaning. After reading poems, students explore the literary elements such as the setting, character, problem, events and resolution. They compare and contrast descriptions given in poems. Young...
Curated OER
Listening and Speaking
Ninth graders practice the elements of narration. In this narration lesson, 9th graders complete learning profile activities to address kinesthetic learners, artistic learners, musical learners, and interpersonal learners. Students work...