An informational text about Lemony Snicket leads to a discussion of the books class members have read in the Series of Unfortunate Events series. Children then compare and contrast the settings, plots, and characters in the...

Do you have a lot of different reading levels in your class? Pair kids up by level and have them choose a book to read independently. They will make predictions, ask questions, make connections, etc. Consider creating a general reading...

Students write mystery stories. In this writing lesson, students review the definition and components of a mystery. They look at a photo and write a mystery to explain the picture. 

Why should your class complete a story map? After reading Bud, Not Buddy, divide your class into pairs or small groups to complete the included worksheet. They list the main characters, the conflict, main plot events, the resolution, and...

Cover Freytag's Triangle and examine Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" in this third lesson plan in a series of fourteen based around short stories. Learners take a quiz and discuss Freytag's triangle. They apply the triangle to "The Bet" and...

The second lesson in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to begin...

Young scholars describe the five elements of a story--setting, characters, problem, events, and resolution. They use the Clifford series of books, and a worksheet imbedded in this lesson to help them explain the five elements of a story.

This detailed overview of a curriculum unit suggests using travel literature to engage and stimulate your third graders’ interest in reading. The suggested reading list includes fiction and non-fiction materials and offers urban children...

Your budding journalists need to understand the five W's for writing a news story. They read a story, complete several graphic organizers to help them organize and write their article, and then use a self-assessment activity to edit and...

Explore African literature and artwork in a multicultural literacy and art lesson. Begin with a read aloud of Tiger and the Big Wind: A Tale from Africa, and afterward, have kids retell the main events in the story. They...

"The Hare and the Water," a Tanzanian folk tale, lends a global perspective to literary analysis. Learners spend the first two days reading and storyboarding. On day three, they examine folk tale elements (worksheet included), and design...

Fourth graders study Chaucer as a master of details. Then, they create a short story linking unrelated details into a logical plot with a clear setting and established characters. This lesson has some excellent worksheets attached!

Students create charts for story elements. They read two selections that share a common theme and discuss the story elements. They create a chart for the characters, plot, and setting and complete it while reading the selections.

There are some words out there that just make you say, "Wow!" Encourage your class to find and use these words in their writing to make their work more interesting and complex. This packet goes through the writing process, beginning with...

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.

Students explore the element of "line." In this beginning art activity, students listen to the book Harold and the Purple Crayon, then describe the types of lines Harold drew. Students identify straight lines,  jagged lines, curvy...

For this thematic web worksheet, students complete a graphic organizer with the main idea of the story in the center. Students then identify supporting details and write them in the boxes around the center.

Students encounter and study "Mambo" from "West Side Story," by Leonard Bernstein. They practice utilizing musical elements (instrumentation, tempo, and dynamics) to create a certain mood for a scene with music. Each student interprets...

Use hypertext to make a multimedia choose-your-own adventure story! Young writers incorporate knowledge of story writing elements to write their own stories, and rewrite the adventure with various scenarios and endings. Use technology to...

Help your class find their writing voices with this lesson plan which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...

Class members use e-mail and the merry-go-round story format to create a science fiction story. Each writer begins by selecting one of three prompts, crafting the introductory paragraph and sending the paragraph to the next person on the...

Explore language arts by reading two similar stories in order to compare and contrast them in class. Young readers read two Aunt Isabel books, by Kate Duke, and discuss the main characters, plot, and setting. They complete a graphic...

How is a story like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Use making a sandwich as a metaphor to remind your writers that a good, solid beginning, a rich and rewarding middle, and an ending that brings everything together spices up a...

“Rikki-tikki-tavi” provides an opportunity to model for readers how to use background information to enrich understanding of a story. Class members observe animal behavior, listen to biographical background on Rudyard Kipling, study...