How familiar are your fourth graders with the fictional genres available in their class or school libraries? This lesson introduces them to many genres of fictional books so they can get off to a terrific start of fourth grade reading.

We've all heard not to judge a book or a person by its cover. This topic is poignantly covered in the Vietnamese myth of the Crystal Heart. In this lesson, students will read the myth and write similes in the style of the fisherman's song.

Expose your students to the wonderful genre of drama, but be sure to teach them the important key terms so they understand the structure. Use this as a stand alone lesson or a pre-lesson for the Putting a Play Together! lesson.

This lesson will help your young writers develop a claim, or thesis, and construct an argument around it. You may have students complete the essay by continuing the process with the lesson Literary Argument Writing: Drafting Your Essay.

Let’s put it all together! In this lesson, students will explore the different parts of a drama or play. By the end of the lesson they will be able to define terminology related to plays and give examples of the unique genre features!

Using charts is a great way to see similarities, differences, and information. This visual lesson will help all students see what can be gained from nonfiction and fiction texts.

By fourth grade, most students are familiar with story elements such as setting, characters, and plot. In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the elements in two stories with similar themes.

Smaller dictionaries that are totally relevant to the material being read? In this lesson, students will learn that these miraculously really do exist and go by the name of glossaries!

By fourth grade, most students are familiar with story elements such as setting, characters, and plot. In this lesson, students will compare and contrast the elements in two stories with similar themes.

This winter-themed lesson plan, which incorporates the book Tree of Cranes by Allen Say, teaches students about Japanese traditions and customs. They will review the basic elements of a narrative story, and then write their own narratives about a special event or moment in their life.

Learning from others is a huge part of getting better at something, including writing! In this lesson, students will study works by nonfiction authors to enhance their own nonfiction writing.