TLS Books
Dictionary Skills Review
Why do we use a dictionary? Your scholars will tell you why while demonstrating their dictionary skills. In addition to stating the purpose of using dictionaries, they will also show what they know about guide words, alphabetizing, and...
All About Reading
Pirate Dictionary
Shiver me timbers, this here resource is a great way to teach young landlubbers to speak the language of the briny deep. Including over 30 different words and phrases, complete with definitions and guide words, this dictionary will have...
Scholastic
Frindle Lesson Plan
"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own terms for common classroom objects,...
Curated OER
Beyond the Dictionary: Meaningful Word Study
Engaging lesson and activity ideas that grow pupils' word knowledge in all content areas.
Poetry4kids
Simile and Metaphor Lesson Plan
Similes and metaphors are the focus of a poetry lesson complete with two exercises. Scholars read poetry excerpts, underline comparative phrases, then identify whether it contains a simile or metaphor. They then write five similes and...
Curated OER
Using "Kindness"
Learners discover the benefits of kind acts by dissecting the word itself. In this vocabulary lesson, students utilize the letters in the word "kindness" to create other words which they record. Learners figure out what "kindness"...
Curated OER
Dictionaries
Students understand the way the dictionary is laid out as well as the purpose for why people use dictionaries. In this language arts lesson, students recognize the need for alphabetical order and are able to find words using a...
Amazon Web Services
Idiom Dictionary
Examining idioms is a peace of cake when using this graphic organizer! Here, grammarians identify an idiom and use it in a sentence. Then they investigate its literal meaning versus its figurative meaning, and accompany each one with a...
Curated OER
What I need for School
You can use this instructional activity with English language learners, a young language arts class, or speakers of a foreign language. The phrases learned are I need and I don't need. The teacher collects several items around the room,...
Haut Gap Middle School
Root Words
Scholars demonstrate their knowledge of root words aqua and aud, and develop vocabulary skills by completing of a chart, handout, and worksheet using creative thinking skills, a dictionary, and a thesaurus.
University Interscholastic League
English Lesson to Prepare for UIL Spelling and Vocabulary Contest
"i before e. . ." Spelling is easier if kids know the eight basic spelling rules contained in this resource packet.
Poetry4kids
Alliteration and Assonance Lesson Plan
Scholars analyze the poem My Puppy Punched Me in the Eye by Ken Nesbitt in order to locate examples of alliteration and assonance. After reading the poem, alliterative words are underlined and assonant words are circled.
Curated OER
Vocabulary Dictionary Drill
Investigate vocabulary terms related to communities. First your class generates a list of vocabulary terms related to the study of communities. Working in small groups, they compete in a dictionary drill to discover the meaning of the...
Curated OER
Illustrated Dictionary
Students make an illustrated dictionary of words they've used and learned in class. In this vocabulary instructional activity, students find words from their notes, discuss the words in a group, select the best words as a class, and...
Curated OER
Research Using Technology
Pupils receive an index card, and they write down jobs and hobbies that interest them. Then, they get together in groups and are assigned the task of researching the jobs and hobbies that are of the most interest to the entire group....
EngageNY
Publishing Historical Fiction Narratives
Class members discover what it means to publish their works. Working on a computer, young writers use an online dictionary to edit their spellings and conventions based on the information added to the rubric. From here, and most of the...
Curated OER
"Me" Resource
Learners elucidate themselves by writing up to six entries in different formats. Some formatting choices include a dictionary, encyclopedia, or atlas entry, a magazine article, a newspaper article, and a table of contents. Some...
Brigham Young University
The Giver: Magic Squares
Combine math and vocabulary in a fun activity based on Lois Lowry's The Giver. Before kids begin the book, they look up the definitions of 16 vocabulary words and complete a puzzle that will give them the same number.
Curated OER
Let's Discuss Current Events
Investigate articles from the daily news and share opinions with classmates. Using current events, learners view a news program without sound and predict what news is being discussed by analyzing the visuals. Then they read news articles...
EngageNY
Researching and Note-Taking: Becoming an Expert on a Colonial Trade
Fourth graders work in small groups to become experts on different colonial trades in the eighth instructional activity of this unit. Working toward the long-term goal of writing a piece of historical fiction, young scholars read...
Curated OER
Breaking News: OMG, LOL, FYI Now in Oxford English Dictionary (26th March, 2011)
Students explore vocabulary by analyzing the current events. In this dictionary addition lesson, students discuss a news topic about word additions into the Oxford Dictionary. Students complete a list of activities about the story...
Curated OER
Transportation Lesson
Students practice using transportation vocabulary in a foreign language. In this language arts instructional activity, students utilize the vocabulary terms for locations in order to give directions and find a specific place. Students...
Curated OER
Choose Your Words Wisely
Improve word choice! Writers use dictionaries and thesauruses to aid them in choosing exciting words to incorporate in their writing. They rewrite sentences and practice identifying words that can be replaced using a better word. Flip...
Curated OER
Leading into Good Writing
Discuss the importance of a lead in writing with your upper graders. They examine several examples of leads from literature and practice writing leads for pieces of artwork. They then select a topic from a list and write an introductory...