Be more specific. Scholars take a look at domain-specific vocabulary by discussing an anchor chart. They then look at vocabulary words recorded from paragraphs one through five in Water of Life. After analyzing the vocabulary used in the...

Water, water everywhere. Readers revisit paragraphs six through nine in the article "Water is Life" to answer text-dependent questions. They then pair up to reread the article focusing on its structure and record their thoughts on...

Here's a wonderful way to learn English grammar. Class members examine the plural count nouns in Thiele and Weiss's "What a Wonderful World," reading the lyrics as they listen to Louis Armstrong's version of this classic song.

Here is an outstanding series of lessons on journalism, writing newspaper articles, and writing editorials. This type of writing has long-been neglected in our schools, so this collection of writing activities is most-valuable. Along...

When would two paws up denote a blockbuster film in your classroom? Only when young writers create movie reviews from a pet's perspective in this imaginative expository writing practice. This engaging topic begins with a class discussion...

Students examine denotation and connotation in language, and paraphrase a poem. They read and analyze a sonnet by iam Shakespeare, analyze the attitude and tone, paraphrase a poem, and create a thesis about a poem based on textual evidence.

Whether working with pupils in their primary language or language learners, the exercises included in this resource will encourage your pupils to build more complex sentences. Using color-coded cards of nouns, adjectives, verbs, and...

Fourth graders build language skills in the context of creating a classroom magzine. They participate in activities which help students communitcate ideas and information for a variety of purposes and for specific audiences using the...

Your class hears a Native American Indian point of view of Europeans' arrival in Louisiana. They assess how cultural perspectives (especially an insider's view) and native language can shape a story. Each pupil identifies the...

Learners research Kwanzaa, focusing on the seven principles used in celebration, with an artistic lesson. They design their own window books to demonstrate comprehension of the principles and symbols of Kwanzaa in words and...

Eighth graders identify figurative language and poetry in this literary analysis instructional activity. Using Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll and a YouTube video for "The Walrus and the Carpenter," young readers complete a...

Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...

Lines from Shakespeare and from hip-hop artists provide learners with an opportunity to examine the literary devices these artists use to express their ideas about love. Groups use the provided lines to craft found poems, and then the...

Prepare your class for a unit on Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles with an activity that works for pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading. Learners fill out a K-W-H-L chart to reflect on what they already know, what...

What does your class want to know about William Shakespeare's The Tempest? Host a discussion about the questions high schoolers have about the play with a KWHL activity in which they write down their inquiries, what they...

Move to the left! Move to the right! Kids will definitely get moving with a lesson on directions. They review left, right, forward, and back before playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey and singing some songs about movement.

Eyes and ears and mouth and nose! Practice the names of body parts with a lesson based on the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". Kids sing the song and read a story with the same vocabulary words before finishing a worksheet to...

Learn about how the seeing eye dog program began with a reading lesson plan about Eva Moore's chapter book, Buddy, The First Seeing Eye Dog. With vocabulary words, discussion questions, and extension resources, the lesson plan...

Just because a story is on the news doesn't mean it's being presented fairly. Analyze news broadcasts with a lesson focused on evaluating television journalism. At home, kids watch a news show and note the stories presented, including...

Do reporters write about what they see, or what they think? Examine the differences between investigative writing and opinion writing with a lesson from PBS. Learners look over different examples of each kind of reporting, and convince...

Pitch your best news story to your news team, or the peers in your journalism class, with a lesson about finding, reporting, and presenting a story. After watching clips of different examples, as well as strategies for finding...

Historical fiction can be a valuable asset when learning about the past. Integrate several novels written about the Civil War into your social studies unit, with groups of four working collaboratively to comprehend the novel from...

Does the fastest one always win the race? Look deeper into The Tortoise and the Hare with a set of discussion questions for before, during, and after reading the story.

How can adding a prefix or suffix to a root word create an entirely new word? Study a packet of resources that focuses on Greek and Latin roots, as well as different prefixes and suffixes that learners can use for easy reference.