Curated OER
Hyperbole and Idiom
Seventh graders use context clues to determine the figurative meaning of idioms and hyperboles. They practice writing idioms and hyperboles in sentences about real life situations around them. This lesson is a good way to improve variety...
Curated OER
Knowledge of Idioms
What is an idiom, and why is it necessary that we know and understand them? This brief PowerPoint helps answer these questions by looking at examples and offering a strategy for reading new text that might contain an idiom. The final...
Curated OER
Worksheet 7: Vocabulary Practice
This worksheet, appropriate for upper elementary and middle school, has learners identify the meaning of words in context. They distinguish between different shades of meaning. The worksheet has seven multiple choice questions.
Curated OER
A Soldier's View of the American Civil War
Study and research the American Civil War in this explanatory writing activity. Middle schoolers complete six activities to learn about the American Civil War and soldiers' views of the war. The activity includes several options to...
Curated OER
Simile and Metaphor
Middle schoolers use context clues to find the figurative meaning of similes and metaphors in writing. They practice using figurative language to help their writing come alive. Use this activity in a instructional activity about poetry,...
Curated OER
Rollin’ on the River: Identifying Jargon
Students identify jargon in poetry, prose and fiction. For this literature lesson, students will read selections from Mark Twain and identify figurative langauge, focusing on jargon.
National Math + Science Initative
Reading an Informational Text: "It All Started with Sputnik"
Sputnik was one of the greatest scientific advancements of the 1950s, and this reading lesson does it justice. Pupils start off with pre-reading questions and a video. They then read an excerpt from an article, which is accompanied by...
National Park Service
A Tale of Two Men
Theodore Roosevelt and the Marquis de Mores were both born in 1858, and both came to the Dakota territory in 1883, but they influenced the developing country of America in different ways. Elementary and middle schoolers apply written and...
Curated OER
Correlative Conjunctions
Students identify correlative conjunctions in sentences and then rewrite pairs of sentences as a single sentence with correlative conjunctions. They practice diagramming sentences of various sentence patterns and then write a personal...
Curated OER
Reporting Live From...
Students examine the many disasters in West Virginia. In this US history instructional activity, students write about and give an oral presentation of one of the disasters as if they were reporters.