Curated OER
Understanding Fantasy
Explore fantasy as a genre. After working in small groups to identify literary elements in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, class members share their work and then use the presentations to help them prepare to write...
Curated OER
What is a Make Believe Story?
Explore the concept of make believe stories. In this genres of literature activity, students discover the difference between realistic fiction and fantasy. They are asked questions during and after the reading of a book to ensure the...
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Fantasy Stories
Students create fantasy stories. In this creative writing lesson, students write a fantasy where they can use characters that they have read about in The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
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Palace Adventure
Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...
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Fantasy Stories
Students explore fantasy stories through the reading of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. In this literature lesson, students make a list of fantasy characters to include in a fantasy story. Students write a fantasy story.
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Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Students write a fantasy story about time traveling back to the time of the Oregon Trail. In this Oregon trail lesson students gather information from their Social Studies textbook about life during the time of the Oregon Trail.
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Realism and Fantasy
Second graders listen to the story, Bruno the Baker, where some parts seem real and some seem fake. They must identify the parts of the story as realism or fantasy. An interesting way to teach young readers these two concepts.
The New York Times
Writing Fiction Based on Real Science - NYTimes.com
Refuse to alienate your scientific-minded young scholars during your creative writing unit. Learners explore how literary writing can reflect observable fact, and be based in actual science. The links include examples of fiction and...
Curated OER
Cloudy With a Chance of...
Second graders will write a story. In this writing and meteorology activity, 2nd graders read the story Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, then use KidPix to create a weather picture. The picture is imported into a word processor and the...
Curated OER
Understanding Fantasy Fiction
Students investigate storytelling elements by writing their own fiction stories. In this creative writing lesson, students listen as the teacher reads a fictional story. Students analyze the lack of rules in the story and create their...
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Dusty Locks and the Three Bears
Read this twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Dusty Locks and the Three Bears by Susan Lowell. Kindergartners listen, predict, and discuss the story. They then participate in a dramatization of the story and draw a picture to...
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Fantasy Narrative Writing Lesson Plan CS
Students write narratives based on fantasy. As a class, they discuss the elements of a fantasy story and listen to the teacher's model of a fantasy narrative. After the teacher reveals the expectations of a good essay, students write...
Curated OER
Writing a Fantasy Story - Time Travel
Students write a fantasy story about travelling back in time to the period of the Oregon Trail. They conduct research and take notes about the Oregon Trail, and write a first and a final draft of their short story about their visit to...
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Telling A Story
Students discover that every story has a start, middle and end. In this literature lesson, the teacher models using a picture to show the parts of the story. Students each take a picture and tell a story using start, middle and end.
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Compare and Contrast
Fourth graders read two books In this compare and contrast lesson, 4th graders read a science fiction or fantasy story and compare it to the story, "Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library." Students also have the option to listen to the...
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Write into Fantasy, Humor and Suspense
Students discuss the characteristics of several different writing genres. They are given a prompt to and work in groups to continue writing in the style of a humorous, fantasy or suspense story. They share their stories with the class.
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Fantasies and Myths
Fourth graders examine different types of literature, specifically myths and fantasy. They listen to "The Giving Tree", identify in which genre of literature it belongs, and view several myths on a website. At end of lesson, 4th...
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Journey Through Wonderland: Real or Fantasy
First graders recognize the difference between fact and fiction, real and fantasy. After listening to Rip Van Winkle, retold by Lara Bergen and a version of Jack and the Beanstalk, 1st graders demonstrates their understanding of fiction...
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Fact or Fantasy Writing
First graders see that some written text is for pleasure and enjoyment while some is for relaying information. They get to experience both types during the lesson. They brainstorm ideas for a story about a new kid in school to write about.
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Genres, Genres Everywhere
Young readers assume the role of Genre Sleuths to investigate the characteristics of folktales, fantasies, and mysteries. For this session you will need to collect a variety of books on a topic you have been studying. Groups then examine...
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Techno Author
Here is a great way to explore language arts by completing a computer activity with classmates. Youngsters read a fairy tale in class and analyze where the beginning, middle and end are. They create their own story using clip art and...
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Magical Creatures Land
The opening of J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit provides a model of how to use rich details to create a setting. After reading the description of Bilbo Baggins’ abode, young writers create their own magical home for a fantasy creature. The...
Pace University
Genres in Literature
Enthusiastic readers take part in a book club unit that focuses on genre, particularly historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure. Over the course of 10 days, groups read a variety of stories and choose leveled activities from a learning...
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Spooky Story
Second graders write a Halloween story. In this combined technology and writing lesson, 2nd graders create a Halloween picture using KidPix, insert it into Microsoft Word, and then write a story to correspond with the picture.