ELA Grades 3-6
ELA Resources
Book Floods
One way to allow your students to become experts over a certain
genre or author is to allow them to discover the characteristics by using book floods. Start by setting groups of books at several different tables or
groups of desks around the room. The books should either be written in
the genre or by the author that you are studying. Devote a chunk of
time to allow students to read through books while looking for
commonalities between all texts. Beforehand, develop guiding
questions or a chart that students may use to guide their thinking
towards the elements of a particular genre or an author.
At the end of the time, students should share what they have
‘discovered’ with their groups and then with the class.
Creating an anchor chart with students’ “conclusions” will help to foster ownership
of learning, and will allow for important information to stay posted in
the room for the duration of the unit.
Open Ended Questioning
20 Great Apps for Teaching Writing
By Dana Truby
Master of Prefixes, Suffixes, & Root Words Activity
The Grammar Brain
The Plot Thickens Activity (GT/Pre-AP)
Source: NY Times
Click here for full lesson
Interactives: Elements of a Story (Annenberg Learner)
This site features an interactive explanation of each literary element, which is then followed by a series of activities to enhance students' understanding. Students will be asked to put plot developments into the correct order, select appropriate settings and characters, and sort events and exposition.
Elements of a Story has been created with these standards and activities in mind. After completing this interactive, students will be able to:
- identify literary elements and plot components of a familiar folk tale;
- describe the different literary elements of a story, including characters, setting, and sequence of events;
- define literary plot components, including exposition, conflict, climax, and resolution.
Try it out! click here!