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The Land and the Water
Third graders read "The Land and the Water," a fictional short story and an article about John F. Kennedy, Jr. and compare and contrast fictional tragedy to a non-fiction tragedy. They fill out a Venn diagram and write an essay using...
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The Joke is on You
Learners discuss catacombs, casks, and Amontillado. The class reads the first two pages of the short story, The Cask of Amontillado, and discuss the situation of the story and the mental state of the narrator. Then they predict what...
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Translation Into Reality
Students read a variety of short stories that focus on teenage protagonists. In groups, they answer comprehension questions and discuss the characters and setting for each story. Individually, they choose one writing assignment to...
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Snowman in Winter Sequence Writing
Pupils develop a creative snowman using step-by-step stickers. They write a short story about the snowman they have created, explaining the sequence they used to create their snowman. Students present their completed story in front of...
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"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe
Learners read and analyze the short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. They take notes while reading the story, select an element to analyze, and write an essay about the characters, theme, or the setting.
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Understanding Cause and Effect using A Sound of Thunder
Students listen to a short story, A Sound of Thunder, and retell parts of the story which is about time travel. They respond to the story by writing cause/effect outcomes about the ecosystem using a handout.
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Ten Characters from American Folklore
Students read short stories about ten characters from American folklore. They match a statement about each character with the correct character. They then rewrite one of the ten stories in their own words (optional).
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Matter and Energy
Middle schoolers participate in a small group read aloud of the short story, "Cerium" by Primo Levi. They answer several questions about the story and then relate the reading to a lecture on Kinetic theory. After the lecture they apply...
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Exploring Science Fiction
Twelfth graders read a variety of science fiction short stories. Using the text, they identify the components that make it science fiction and a well written piece of literature. They record their observations and share them with the...
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Make a Book Into a Movie
Turn your high schoolers into casting directors with this instructional activity, which focuses on turning a class novel into a movie. Choosing the cast for a movie based on a class reading, as well as designing a poster for the movie,...
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Writing a Children's Book -- Young Authors
Students practice their writing skills by creating a children's book. They integrate five elements of short stories into the narrative. They share their stories with their book buddies.
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Learning About Honesty
Students read a short story about honesty, a character skill. They then answer comprehension questions and discuss the story with their classmates as well as study about the consequences of not telling the truth.
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The Monkey and the Coconuts
In this puzzle based worksheet, young scholars read a short story featured in the Saturday Evening Post in 1926. After reading the story, students determine the starting number of coconuts that were available to the shipwrecked island...
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Critic's Choice
Third graders read three to five genres and choose one as a favorite. They write an essay persuading the class to read the genre. This lesson serves as a nice introduction to different styles of literature.
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An Unfinished Tale...
Challenge your writers to compose a proper ending for the short story "The Talisman." Class members start out by either listening to or reading the first nine paragraphs of the story. The rest is up to them! Encourage kids to resolve the...
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"The Necklace" and "Cinderella"
Tenth graders complete literature analysis activities using Guy de Maupassants "The Necklace" and the Grimm Brothers "Cinderella." In this literature analysis lesson, 10th graders discuss the life and career of Guy de Maupassant and take...
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Summarization Safari
Students summarize a piece of fiction text. After reviewing the correct way to question while reading, students independently read a short story. They complete a summary organizer using the five Ws outlined by the instructor during...
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Science Fiction
Students complete compare and contrast activities for two stories about racism and tolerance in the science fiction genre. In this literary analysis lesson, students read a Ray Bradbury short story and Walter Mosley poem, watch a related...
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"Blackbeard's Ghost" Differentiated Lesson Plan
Develop a better understanding of "Blackbeard's Ghost" with this differentiated lesson. Working in groups on a creative project, middle schoolers can reinforce their reading comprehension and literary analysis skills. Use this lesson to...
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Langston Hughes: Voice Among Voices
Students study Langston Hughes's poetry, short stories, and his first autobiography. They read and appreciate the candid, honest and powerful creative masterpieces of this black genius and discuss the numerous universal themes and...
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Wrapped in Mystery
Sixth graders can identify five basic elements that most mysteries contain. They put the elements of mystery into a graphic organizer they can follow. They construct meaning after reading Poe's short story and identify or infer the...
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Kolam: A Living Art of South Asia
Students will read the short story "Meenakshi's Magic Hands" by Santhini Govindan and view a slide show of photo images interspersed with the text to learn of the art form of Kolam. Students read and reflect upon a nonfiction essay,...
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Incredible Inventions
Young scholars read the book Incredible Inventions and do literacy based activities based on the book. In this literacy lesson plan, students read the given book and do activities that include writing poetry, drawing, and writing short...
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Summarizing Summer
Fourth graders summarize a piece of text. After reviewing the correct way to read in order to summarize, 4th graders independently read a selection of their choice. They write a summary paragraph using the graphic organizer outlined by...