Inferring How and Why Characters Change

Lesson Plans

Student Interactives

Calendar Activities

 

LESSON PLANS

Grades   6 – 8  |  Lesson Plan  |  Unit

Developing Story Structure With Paper-Bag Skits

Lights, camera, action, and a bit of mystery! In this lesson, students use mystery props in a skit bag to create and perform in short, impromptu skits.

 

Grades   3 – 5  |  Lesson Plan  |  Minilesson

What’s Under the Slide? Making Inferences Using Microscopes

Students hone their critical thinking skills by learning how to make inferences from textual clues.

 

Grades   3 – 5  |  Lesson Plan  |  Standard Lesson

Authoring an Epilogue That Helps Our Characters Live On

This lesson uses One Green Apple by Eve Bunting to teach how characters change across a text. It will also guide students through writing an epilogue to accompany their independent book.

 

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STUDENT INTERACTIVES

Grades   K – 12  |  Student Interactive  |  Organizing & Summarizing

Story Map

The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

 

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CALENDAR ACTIVITIES

Grades   3 – 6  |  Calendar Activity  |  February 12

Judy Blume was born in 1938.

Students work with a partner or individually to create cartoons of their favorite scenes from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.

 

Grades   3 – 12  |  Calendar Activity  |  April 27

Coretta Scott King was born on this day in 1927.

Students do a book report assignment based on a current or past winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award.

 

Grades   5 – 10  |  Calendar Activity  |  June 15

Brian Jacques, author of the Redwall series, was born in 1939.

After students have read one of Brian Jacques' Redwall stories, a class newspaper is created based on the story.

 

Grades   3 – 8  |  Calendar Activity  |  October 4

Edward Stratemeyer, creator of book series such as Nancy Drew, was born on this day in 1862.

Students select several books from one of Stratemeyer's series to read, discuss shared elements in the books, and use the 3-Circle Venn Diagram to compare story elements.

 

Grades   3 – 6  |  Calendar Activity  |  March 25

Celebrate Kate DiCamillo's birthday today.

After examining the characters in one of DiCamillo's stories, students write original short stories featuring animals as central characters.

 

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