In this video from Nature, observe elephants trek across the desert to an isolated waterhole.

What is scary, and why does it fascinate us? How do writers and storytellers scare us? This lesson plan invites students to answer these questions by exploring their own scary stories and scary short stories and books. The lesson culminates in a Fright Fair, where students share scary projects that they have created, including posters, multimedia projects, and creative writing.

In this lesson students will learn how to create the setting for a narrative story. Using a Ted Ed video narrated by Kate Messner students will learn how an author creates a believable world for their characters to live in. The lesson includes formative assessment questions and contains graphic organizers to help students build their narrative setting.

After reading The Odyssey, students will write their own hero's journey narrative using Joseph Campbell's twelve steps of the hero's journey. Although students may choose to write a story set in Greek mythology, they can choose any setting for their story. Before writing, the students will discuss the hero journey in the Odyssey and popular books and movies. Then they will write their own hero's journey story with an original character and plot. Students will be assessed on development of their introduction, plot, and conclusion as well as character development, setting, and theme (lesson learned.) They will also be assessed on their organization (structure and transitions), style, voice, and mechanics. This unit was created for a classroom of tier two and tier three students who often struggle with organizing their thoughts for writing.

Resources with an emphasis on play, child development, belonging and inclusion, and social and emotional learning, grades K-3.