College of the Canyons
Free Verse
Free verse poetry is often regarded as poetry without structure, but in reality, it is a poetic form that adheres to its own poet's thought and breath patterns. Delve into the rules and famous examples of free-verse poetry with a short...
K12 Reader
Shakespeare's Language: What's the Meaning?
You needn't be an actor to stage this exercise in reading comprehension. Kids examine Jacques's "All the World's a Stage" speech from Act II, scene ii, of As You Like It, and explain the literal meaning of the figurative language. There...
Prestwick House
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The main character in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, is the focus of a crossword puzzle that asks readers to identify key events and characters in Janie Starks' life.
K12 Reader
Valentine’s Day Acrostic Poem
Be mine! Young poets use the provided worksheet to craft a Valentine's Day acrostic poem for the word heart.
Prestwick House
April Fool’s Day Vocabulary Lesson
Quandimonium will ensue when the class discovers you will be grading this April Fool's Day vocabulary activity, complete with made-up words and definitions, although the truly perspicacious will remain axomachilliax.
Prestwick House
A Separate Peace
John Knowles' A Separate Peace is the subject of a literary crossword puzzle that asks readers to identify key events and characters in this coming-of-age story.
ProCon
Gun Control
According to some estimates, there are more guns than people in the United States. Learners decide if America should enact more gun control laws. They analyze information about gun deaths in the United States by year, read about the...
Pimsleur
Brazilian Weather & Clothes
What's the weather like today? Make sure your pupils can respond in Portuguese by teaching them the vocabulary in this lesson. Class members talk about seasons and vocabulary, complete worksheets on climate and clothing, and participate...
K12 Reader
Pronoun Agreement: Spot the Error
Young grammarians locate pronoun agreement errors, in number, gender, and/or person, in a series of sentences, and then re-write the sentences correcting the errors.
Pimsleur
Dining Out in Brazil
Learn about Brazilian food and pick up some Portuguese vocabulary along the way. After studying the vocabulary, class members complete the provided worksheets. They then work in pairs to write sentences and play a vocabulary game as a...
Curated OER
Great Gatsby's Jazz
As Nick wanders the grounds of Gatsby's mansion, he observes the behaviors of the rowdy guests and listens to the music pouring over the lawn. Bring the music of the jazz age into the classroom with Louis Armstrong's "West End Blues,"...
K12 Reader
Combining Sentences Using Appositives
If learners only use simple sentence structure, their essays can fall flat. Model how to combine short, choppy sentences with appositives to add interest and flow to individuals' writing.
K12 Reader
Combining Sentences Using Appositives II
Provide young grammarians' additional practice using appositives to combine short sentences with this short instructional activity that includes a definition and models.
K12 Reader
Appositive Hunt
How do you find appositives? Why you look for clues, those words or phrases, set off by commas, that tell readers more about nouns. Young grammarians can practice finding them with this worksheet.
K12 Reader
The Mississippi River
After examining a short passage about the Mississippi River system, readers use the provided graphic organizer to identify the main idea and supporting ideas in the article.
Curated OER
Poetic Elements
Poetry is all about sound and rhythm. The sound of the words, the rhythm of the lines, and the emotional atmosphere created by these elements and the literary devices poets use, compress whole stories into a few stanzas. The specialized...
K12 Reader
Oliver Twist
Middle schoolers demonstrate their ability to summarize by crafting a summary of a passage from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Oh that Dickens should be so laconic.
K12 Reader
Anne of Avonlea
Middle schoolers read a passage from Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Avonlea and identify three details from the passage that show Anne is nervous as she faces her students for the first time.
Pimsleur
Book Report: Children Return to Their Roots
Based on the book Victoria Goes to Brazil (Children Return to their Roots) by Maria de Fatima Campos, this lesson will teach learners about family, geography, sports, music, and transportation. Learners read, summarize, and use the book...
K12 Reader
Pronouns as Indirect Objects
Pronouns used as indirect objects are the focus of this short worksheet that asks learners to fill in the correct pronoun.