What skills do storytellers employ to bring to life the characters and events in their tales? After listening to a recording of a Haitian folk tale, class members consider how tone of voice, pace, and gestures can be used to enliven a...

Whether it's dark, delightful, or somber, set the mood with William Golding's Lord of the Flies. High-schoolers practice descriptive writing by creating the appropriate mood for an original scene, starring one of the book's main...

What makes a good speaker? Upper elementary learners practice oral fluency by working with a partner to read nonfiction books. While reading, they practice using correct tone of voice, making eye contact, and speaking clearly.

Encourage scholars to retell their favorite short story or folktale, adding personal details to make it their own. After reading their book of choice several times, story tellers retell a tale verbally to their classmates. 

Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.

Students answer a question in the same tone of voice that you ask it in. In this tone lesson plan, students respond to the volume and expression of the teacher's voice.

Young scholars read to their peers from selected texts. As one person reads, the other person listens to his/her peer, noting tone and fluency. Afterward, they reflect on each other's reading. There is a guided reflection worksheet...

Elementary schoolers read many tall tales. They create their own tall tale about a specific event of their choosing. They must act the part of the author. This well-designed lesson takes three class sessions to complete, and is...

Youngsters write and construct their own autobiographies based on The Hundred Penny Box by Sharon Bell Mathis. They engage in pre-writing steps, narrative writing, and peer editing. This is the second part of a two-part project lesson.

Fifth graders examine the power of voice in writing by completing a story using words following a particular voice. They take simple nursery rhymes, then attempt to put their own voice to a revised version. An interesting lesson on writing!

As a class, read different sentences prepared by the teacher, identifying the punctuation that is needed for the appropriate expression. In small groups, have each child assume the role of one or more character in The Grouchy Ladybug by...

As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...

Students categorize studenT toys by intelligence types. They review toy safety and function and identify the appropriate play age of various toys. They read and evaluate studenT books and write one of their own.

Every culture has a set of social skills one must learn to establish and maintain relationships. Some of these skills are particular to a culture and some are universal. Class members practice using appropriate language,...

Students consider fluency and speed of reading. In this speed limits lesson, students discuss the importance of speed when reading and how the rate affects comprehension and listening skills. Teacher models think aloud as a strategy.

Ninth grade girls get together to sing the song Hello Girls. They warm up with common voice exercises then work to maintain melody, harmony, pitch and tone. 

Learners write a story from the perspective of a water droplet on a journey through the water cycle. They use the 6+1 Traits writing method to focus on voice in the writing as they create characters that their water droplet has...

Fifth graders work together to make simple menus more interesting by adding descriptive words. This plan works well with the Six Traits of Writing as it covers the trait of word choice. This is a really fun way for students to practice...

Students combine creativity with the rigor of careful editing by adding music to their story. It forces them to focus on how they communicate the meaning of their story to the listener.

Students identify some of Aretha Franklin's vocal qualities and techniques. They have a discussion of styles of music they heard on the video, including gospel, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues, and opera.

The world is full of possibilities for your ELLs. Help them explore their career options with a lesson that incorporates Internet research and expository writing. Not only will they learn more about their careers of choice, but both...

Having social skills and being able to assert yourself in a positive way is so important. Students with mild to moderate disabilities engage in a series of activities to practice assertive communication and social skills. Perfect for a...

Appropriate assertive and non-verbal assertive communication is the focus of this lesson designed for the special education classroom. Using mirrors, class members practice assertive responses to a variety of situations.

Students use several strategies in poetry to convey tone and speaker. In this language arts lesson plan, students read and build vocabulary as they gain a larger understanding of how to write poetry. Students then work in groups in...