Young scholars practice spelling words by swatting fake insects.  In this vocabulary lesson plan, students participate in a spelling game in which teams must spell a word correctly one letter at a time.  Young scholars may fix...

I can't wait to try this activity with my class. It's versatile and could be modified to fit any character analysis lesson. To analyze characters thoroughly, learners create life boxes. Each box will pertain to a character from any...

Students read a chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and define new words for their dictionaries. In this vocabulary lesson students choose two or three assignment from a list of projects and complete it using...

Famous people who have overcome obstacles are the focus of this language arts and social studies instructional activity. Pupils are introduced to the concept that they have the ability to overcome obstacles in life. They read selections...

Use hypertext to make a multimedia choose-your-own adventure story! Young writers incorporate knowledge of story writing elements to write their own stories, and rewrite the adventure with various scenarios and endings. Use technology to...

Young voyagers face the challenge of the wide dark sea, travel with Yunmi and Halmoni, and even get trapped by the ice as they explore the reading selections offered in these enrichment activities designed for the Houghton...

Third graders analyze the importance of characters in fiction writing and performances.  In this theatre lesson, 3rd graders identify the important characteristics of a fictional character and how to portray a character through many...

Work gets done faster when people work as a team. The ninth installment of an 11-activity unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl combines character education with research skills and creative writing activities. The activity...

Government surveillance is an enduring conflict that has become increasingly complex with our nation's use of technology. Add to the understanding of Orwell’s 1984 by using the resources here that display the contemporary actions of Big...

“So I’m going to have a copy of this play put in the cornerstone and the people a thousand years from now’ll know a few simple facts about us.” Our Town is used as the text in a Common Core exemplar that examines the dramatic and...

Scholars examine the "They That Wash" poster and listen to the rhymes. They match word cards to the words in the nursery rhyme, practice sounds, and create new words. Afterward, they add copies of the rhyme to their "My Very Own Nursery...

Here is a fascintating lesson which relates how the motto "In God We Trust" came to appear on all US currency. It turns out that a man from Arkansas came up with the idea and petioned his congressman and President Eisenhower himself to...

Learners follow five steps to compose an alliteration poem. They choose one consonant and brainstorm as many nouns, verbs, and adjectives they can think of to create rhyming sentences that come together in a poetic fashion. 

How authors address issues of their societies is addressed in this very detailed lesson. After researching Toni Morrison and her work, groups create a dramatization based on a scene from one of Morrison’s novels and act it out. Class...

Add a strong poetry lesson to your literature unit. Middle and high schoolers investigate their writing voices with journaling and group discussion, then choose a famous poet to study. They write letters to their chosen poets, explaining...

Middle schoolers read a novel and discuss character personality. First, they analyze a character in a novel and keep a chart or web of the character's identity, which includes specific examples from the book. They then write a script...

Create an abundance of understanding, as your high school learners learn to analyze multiple love poems. Part one of this resource has learners define what love is, examine art that reflects the love between Robert and Elizabeth...

Every book has a few great characters, but James and the Giant Peach is the only one whose characters travel in a piece of fruit. The class creates T-charts for the main characters of the novel, while reading the book. They write actions...

Students practice spelling and word recognition. In this spelling lesson plan, students play a game. . Students are given a word to spell and as they call out each letter, they swat the letter with a fly swatter allowing each student to...

Fill in the squares to complete a word with a Latin root in it! The Latin root and a definition is given; your learners add letters to produce the correct word. A word list is given. Help expand your readers' vocabulary with these...

Vocabulary instruction works best when taught within a larger context. A vocabulary activity builds connections by using synonyms to help learn the meaning of new words. This helps connect the words to prior knowledge and give them context.

Besides the dictionary definition, words also carry the added weight of meanings that are inferred or implied, meanings conferred on words, or connotations. To gain an understanding the importance of connotation, class members...

Help your learners work with difficult or archaic words. A continuation of lesson two of this module, the plan here focuses on deciphering the Inventory of John Allen, in particular the unfamiliar words that make up much of the list. Add...

What time do you eat breakfast? Or go to school? Language learners practice crafting and answering questions about their daily routines.