Fifth graders determine plot conflicts. In this plot conflicts lesson students read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli. Students search for 'Character vs. Character' and 'Character vs. Self' conflicts within the story.

Feeling conflicted? Work out those issues with a language arts instructional activity on internal and external conflict. Using "The Interlopers" by Saki, class members identify the conflicts between the characters before writing...

Young scholars identify the plot of a text. In this literature lesson, students listen to the book The Great Kapok Tree and identify the problem and solution. A graphic organizer is used to help reinforce the concept.

Though the lesson plan format is simplistic, it's got some good ideas for addressing internal and external conflict in your literary analysis unit. Using "Little Red Riding Hood" and other fairy tales, young readers identify the...

Eighth graders implement plot summary organizers to identify essential elements such as conflict and resolution in literature. In pairs, they retell fairy tales to each other and complete plot summaries about them. As students read new...

Students use the story 'On the Sidewalk Bleeding' to analyze the various conflict types found in literature. In this conflict lesson, students view a PowerPoint about the story and identify the four types of conflict. Students identify...

Story elements such as conflict, character analysis, resolution, and moral are discussed and charted as elementary children read folktales involving animals. An element of science is also introduced as learners discover what a keystone...

Help your pupils track the plot of a short story with this SMART Board activity. Using the short story "The Dinner Party" by Mona Gardner (though the lesson would work with any other short story), they define the exposition, rising...

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

Mix music into your literature class! After reading a novel (either in class or as outside reading), your mix masters create a soundtrack of 10 songs to accompany their reading. What does each song add to the story? A fun activity for...

Eighth graders study Langston Hughes, "Thank You Ma'am" to discover the elements of plot, character motives and reactions. They express the effects of trust and kindness by writing a reflective personal narrative. They illustrate the...

Connect to real-world experiences by having your primary learners create an award certificate based upon literal and inferential information from a story. They present the award to a character from a story and explain the criteria used....

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 plan, use adjectives to describe each of the main characters. Then, students...

Students defend Mark Twain and the study of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn using persuasive techniques, appropriate word choice, and correct letter format, in response to a fictional letter by an upset parent.

The second lesson in the Lord of the Flies unit asks scholars to consider the characteristics of a good leader. After generating a list of these qualities, they annotate a passage from the novel highlighting the leadership qualities of...

Students explore the topic of conflict. In this literature lesson, students read  and discuss the central issues in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," "The Flesh and the Spirit," and "Somnambulism." Students write an essay.

What will happen next? Leave readers at a cliffhanger as they practice prediction strategies while listening to a story. Pupils start by making guesses based on the book's cover and title, discussing the techniques they use to make these...

There are not many more apt examples of ethics gone awry than William Golding's Lord of the Flies.. Ninth graders focus the ethics of decision making with the examples provided in the plot. They focus on the...

Writers use the literary element of conflict to develop their theme. Use the conflict between the Johnny and the ScreeWees in Terry Pratchett’s Only You Can Save Mankind to model how a major theme is revealed. The conflict between the...

Introduce your middle schoolers to the lives of past Native Americans. First, learners work together to put photographs in a sequence. Then, using their sequence, they create stories to share with the whole class. No matter how old your...

Students listen to a short story by Mildred Taylor entitled, "Song of the Trees." They focus on and discuss the elements of plot and conflict. They determine which events are examples of the central conflict and which elements of the...

Students use writing processes effectively to adapt and retell stories. They reread a favorite fairy tale, then adapt and retell in a PowerPoint or other multimedia presentation. They present their rewritten and edited presentations to...

Students explain how individual elements (e.g., plot, theme, character, conflict, etc.) comprise the structure of a play. They write an original one-act play with developed characters, specific setting, conflict, and resolution.

Budding novelists work on character development by relating to the characters in their stories. They imagine their own hopes and dreams and recall those of characters from books they've read. Learners also consider struggles the...