Curated OER
Figurative Language
Students interpret figurative language. In this language lesson, students are read the poem "I Love the Look of Words" by Maya Angelou and are to find examples of hyperbole and personification in the poem. Students then...
Curated OER
Poetry Writing Unit: Writing a Film Poem
Film poems? To concluded a poetry unit, writers select one of their own poems and create a film that brings to life the sounds and images of their work. Included with the detailed unit plan are daily lessons, student examples, a list of...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Traditional “Mother Goose” Nursery Rhyme
There may be some little lambs, itsy bitsy spiders, and pumpkin eaters in your language arts class! An online poetry lesson takes learners through the steps of writing a nursery rhyme with easy-to-follow steps and explanatory examples.
Perkins School for the Blind
Language Experience Stories
Here is a great way to bring core content to your special education classroom. Included is a set of instructional ideas intended to help learners increase their verbal and written expression through storytelling. Tape recorders, story...
Tune Into English
America – West Side Story
Anita's iconic rooftop ode to American life in West Side Story is the focus of a lesson on immigration. As class members listen to "America," they follow along with printed lyrics, and discuss whether they agree with Anita's...
Curated OER
Vocabulary Charts
Help your kids learn their vocabulary with a lesson plan and graphic organizer. After receiving a list of new vocabulary words, learners look up the definitions in dictionaries and fill in the worksheet. Additionally, they include a...
EngageNY
Drafting Introduction and Conclusion
In conclusion ... Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in
the Middle Ages to gain a better understanding of introductory and concluding paragraphs. After studying the author's strategies, learners begin...
EngageNY
Researching: Eyewitness Accounts, Part 2
Continue on. Learners continue with the work they began in the last lesson looking for quotes to complete an eye witness interview. Pupils work in their groups to examine the texts in their research folders and The Great Earthquake and...
Curated OER
Metaphors
Metaphors open doors to descriptive language for your poets. They read the poem "What is the Sun" and record all the metaphors they find. Then, scholars change one of them to a simile. After answering two more comprehension...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 1, Unit 1, Lesson 7
A story about feral girls raised by werewolves will have some interesting character development! Track how the girls and their teachers act, speak, and change with a lesson focused on Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by...
EngageNY
Grade 11 ELA Module 4 Overview
The intricate craft of narrative writing can make a happy story feel exuberant or a sad story feel devastating. With 42 extensive lessons that include poignant discussion questions, standards-aligned self-reflections, engaging writing...
Curated OER
Go Free or Die
Groups of older elementary learners begin their study of figurative language by visiting a website and completing the exercises detailed there. They then apply what they have learned by finding examples in several poems. Finally, they...
Curated OER
Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex Sentences in Your Writing
Have you ever graded a stack of essays that felt like a series of bland simple sentences? A helpful grammar presentation will help learners spice up their writing by varying their sentence style, making them stronger and more...
Prestwick House
The House on Mango Street Activity Pack
Enrich a unit on The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with a selection of related activities. The packet contains nine activities that go from pre-reading through wrapping up the novel. Young readers work on studying...
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...
EngageNY
Comparing and Contrasting Two Texts about Poison Dart Frogs: Poison!
Scholars compare and contrast two informational texts about Poison Dart Frogs. A brief vocabulary review and discussion lead the way to a two-part close reading—the first reading for gist the second reading for details. Followed by a...
EngageNY
End of Unit 2 Assessment, Part 1a: Writing Body Paragraphs
It is not what you say but how you say it. Class members prepare for writing their A Long Walk to Water essays by analyzing row four in the writing rubric. Learners discuss the words used and talk about the importance of correct grammar...
EngageNY
Launching the Module: Identity and Transformation, Then and Now
Identify yourself! Learners listen to Nadia’s Hands read aloud before working in their identity journals to answer prompts relating to the story. They then look at identity using two recording forms Who Am I on the Outside? and...
EngageNY
Introducing Historical Context: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Is it possible to judge a book by its cover? Scholars analyze and make predictions using various cover images of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. They then discuss the difference between autobiographies and biographies....
EngageNY
Analyzing Douglass’s Purpose
Class members continue analyzing text excerpts from Narrative of the Life of Frederick
Douglass. They read and draw conclusions to determine Douglass's view on slavery. Learners finish by discussing with partners how the excerpts...
EngageNY
Introducing the Narrative Arc: The Last Day of Slavery
Fix your mistakes. Scholars look over their end-of-unit assessments while the teacher focuses on common mistakes made among the class. Learners then make predictions about their next text, Frederick Douglass: The Last Day of Slavery, by...
EngageNY
Mid-Unit 3 Assessment: Drafting the Position Paper
Organize your thoughts! Scholars work on the drafts of their position papers about sustainable water management. The draft serves as their mid-unit assessment. Before beginning, the class discusses the prompt and then learners work...
EngageNY
Building Background Knowledge: The Myth of Cronus
Scholars look at and describe a picture of Cronus and Rhea and discuss the process of making predictions. Learners then use the images to write a prediction about the myth of the gods on an index card before completing guided...
EngageNY
Writing to Inform: Analyzing a Model Using a Rubric
Learn to write right. Scholars analyze the model essay Adversity Faced by Townspeople in the Middle Ages. They discuss the essay and make annotations working with an elbow partner. Learners then take another look at the essay using a...