Beneficial for beginning readers, struggling readers, and those in need of review, a set of language arts activities is a great addition to any foundational reading unit. Focusing on phonological awareness, fluency, instructional...

Follow a teach, practice, and apply routine to provide extra support with a themed unit created by Houghton Mifflin. Topics include compound words, noting details, action verbs, suffixes, compare, and contrast, verbs, fantasy,...

What decisions might an author make about the structure of a play? Pupils participate in an evidence-based discussion about Shakespeare's choices in Macbeth. Next, scholars analyze the effect of Shakespeare's structural choices in Act 2,...

What tools did Shakespeare use to develop his characters in the play Hamlet? With the resource, pupils engage in a discussion about how the character Claudius introduces and develops Hamlet. They explain how word choices in Claudius's...

All's well that ends does not apply to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Scholars read Act 5.2 using the resource, discovering the play's tragic resolution. Pupils complete a Quick Write analyzing how Hamlet's downfall contributes to the play's...

Following a ghost's advice may not be in anyone's best interest, but that doesn't stop Hamlet! Using an exciting resource, pupils continue reading Act 1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which the ghost tries to convince Hamlet to seek revenge...

How did Elizabeth Cady Stanton advocate for women's rights? Pupils consider this question as they continue reading "An Address by Elizabeth Cady Stanton." They complete a Quick Write, analyzing how satire and sarcasm advance the author's...

How does poetry help people better understand societal issues? Pupils participate in a jigsaw activity to analyze poems from the novel Inside Out & Back Again. Next, they connect the poems to real-life refugee experiences from the...

Why is reading a text closely a helpful skill? Using the 13th of 20 lessons from the Grade 8 ELA Module 1, Unit 2 series, scholars continue reading the informational text "Refugee and Immigrant Children: A Comparison." They work with...

Class members conduct independent research to continue examining the consequences of the industrial organic food chain from Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pupils learn about source credibility and effective search terms, then...

Scholars continue making connections between the article "Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War" and A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They talk with partners to discuss how the article helps them understand a character's point of...

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...

Through the use of stories, artwork, and the KidPix program, youngsters explore the color word red, and engage in activities around the word. Teaching kindergartners about the color words can be so much fun. This could be adapted for any...

How can understanding the genre of historical fiction help your language arts class with literary analysis? Use this lesson to help young readers learn about historical fiction. After reading a selection from the "Dear America" or "My...

It is rough trying to make your way through Romeo and Juliet with young readers. The language can set up barriers that prevent conversations about the conflicts and themes. Robert Swindells Daz 4 Zoe is similar in structure and theme,...

Enhance your foreign language students' skills to describe a house. After reading a description of rooms in a house in their target language, they work to answer corresponding questions correctly. Additionally, they view a PowerPoint...

Teach your class the differences between statements and questions with a simple activity. After reading four statements, third graders rewrite the sentences as questions. They do the opposite in the last section. A helpful activity for...

Identifying themes in literature is the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. Learners read short pieces of fiction and practice the skill of identifying the themes present in each one. The bulk of the lesson consists of...

Japan's Taisho Period was a time when authors like Akutagawa and other Japanese modernists began to experiment with point of view and literary form, making the literature produced during this time period a natural choice for teaching...

Teaching your primary learners how to ask questions? Then look no further. This worksheet introduces the six essential question words: who, what, where, when, why, and how. Children begin by practicing how to write these words, before...

Research guidelines for correct usage, then explore how creative writers employ punctuation as an essential tool in their craft. Secondary classes create board games to teach elementary school students how to properly punctuate. From the...

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.

Give beginning readers a chance to practice with unknown words and context clues using the pictuer book Annabelle Swift, Kindergartner. Choose several vocabulary words to focus on as you read the picture book, or use the ones provided...