Guide your class through a text with resources for before and after reading. Learners ask questions, discuss characters and plot points, point out elements of the reading that stood out, and compose brief summaries.

Students read or listen to Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, identify elements of fiction, develop writing, thinking, and organizing skills, and create PowerPoint slides based on the story.

Learners listen to The Seven Chinese Brothers and identify tall tale elements in it. They brainstorm ways they could help each other in school. They create a banner reflecting the style and art of Chinese decorations and clothing in the...

Fifth graders review the basic story of the Cinderella fairy tale. In groups, they read various stories of Cinderella from different cultures. They use a compare and contrast chart to examine the differences between the American...

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...

Students examine the many ways quilts were used to chronicle the history and experiences of African slaves and African-Americans in America. They analyze a story quilt using the elements of storytelling, then create a class quilt.

Students put themselves in the role of a historical person and have to write a short story of dramatic dialogue about an event or person that has NOT been depicted in a work of historical fiction yet. This person is Hannah Dustin. A...

Encourage scholars to share their love of reading with informative and engaging book reviews. Here, you'll find a series of guides that walk learners through the review writing process. Included in the collection is information about...

Students create a children's book version of the Japanese folk story "Momotaro Boy of the Peach" and present the story to elementary students. For this children's book lesson, students design their book to explain Japanese culture to...

Students examine the elements of mystery stories and read Rage in Harlem. In reciprocal teaching groups, they discuss the author's development of the story, and complete dialectical journals.

Students edit and improve their short stories by examining character description, dialogue, and plot elements. In peer editing groups they correct gramatical and spelling errors. they read aloud their new story drafts.

In this Louisiana musical landscape worksheet, students study 6 terms and their meanings as they pertain to music instruction to be used for further classroom activities.

Students investigate themes and settings in their favorite fiction stories.  For this creative writing lesson, students discuss the reasons a fictional story works well and discuss ways to create their own.  Students create...

Elementary learners explore fiction storytelling through partcipating in a survey. They identify the characters, themes and plot of the Harry Potter series while discussing their opinions in class. Learners conduct a survey about their...

Students compare and contrast two different presentations of Holocaust experiences. They participate in class discussions and write journal entries to explore the differences between the book "Until We Meet Again" and the film "Devil's...

As the title suggests, this packet is loaded with activities that can be used at any time. The common element in all the exercises is that they are connected to books by Dr. Seuss.

Explore how photographs can represent a whole story to a viewer. Middle schoolers work on narrative writing techniques in this lesson, focusing on photographs from the New York Times to write first-person descriptive narratives....

Students are able to recall details in a story such as characters, plot, and setting. They are able to create a verbal story about a toy of his/her choice. Students are able to work cooperatively with a partner to create a story.

Students explore plot development and how conflicts are resolved. In this plot development and conflict lesson, students discuss antonyms and list the ones they find in their story. Students complete online activities and write a summary...

Seventh graders research Greek mythological characters. They write about problems faced by middle school-aged children and how the character would handle them. Students also create story boards to accompany their oral narratives.

Students view the PBS presentation of Leo Tolstoy's, "Anna Karenina." Prior and after each episode, they discuss plot and characterization and in one lesson, use adjectives to describe each of the main characters. Then, students create...

Fourth graders read a Cherokee myth about the origin of strawberries. After reading the story, they add another chapter to it and read their additions to the class. Or, as a group activity, they each write a few sentences and then pass...

Students create a character map of the main characters in The Tale of Despereaux. After reading the text, students create a character chart based on information they gleaned from the story. They use this information to write a letter...

Students research the English Renaissance era. In this research instructional activity, students complete this activity before reading the story The Prince and the Pauper to learn about the history. They pick topics and work in...