Curated OER
Narratives
Add to the narrative writing experience. Elementary or middle school writers listen to the teacher read a descriptive passage, then reread the same passage silently. They highlight sensory details and figurative language, then orally...
Curated OER
My Mind is Blank
Investigate prewriting activities in this brainstorming lesson. Middle schoolers are divided into groups and are assigned a topic. They decide which prewriting technique to choose from, including free write, looping, brainstorming,...
Curated OER
Narrative Writing
Students create new sentences using adverb clauses identified from a book. In this narrative writing lesson, students write new sentences from some of the dependent clauses used in a book read to them by the teacher. Students...
Curated OER
BINGO with Greek and Latin Roots: Unit 1 Narrative Writing
Play BINGO! Reinforce knowledge of word roots with an adaptation of this classic board game. The teacher draws a root word from a bag and learners fill in a square with a word that has the same root base. Instructions and Bingo cards are...
Curated OER
It’s Your Birthday! – Conventions: Revision and Proofreading
Happy birthday! Celebrate everyone's birthday with this writing activity, which prompts seventh graders to research historical events in a country at the time of their birth to create an essay. Working in pairs, they proofread each...
Curated OER
The City Life or the country Life: conventions: Comparative and Superlative Forms of Adjectives and Adverbs
Reinforce knowledge of adjectives and adverbs by game playing. To better understand English conventions young writers, use flashcards to identify the base word and its comparative or superlative form.
Curated OER
Can you Follow Me? Conventions
Use the present tense to create written assignments. Critical thinkers take a passage written in past or future tense and rewrite it in present tense. They then write a set of instructions in present tense.
Curated OER
A Simple Task Made Complex: Types of Sentences
Looking for a lesson about differing sentence types? Use this lesson on compound and complex sentences in your grammar unit. After composing simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences individually and as part of a group,...
Curated OER
Using a Venn Diagram to Compare / Contrast: Double Bubble
Create a "Double Bubble" to organize information in a Venn diagram-like graphic organizer. There are a few options included to differentiate this assignment, but unfortunately, there are no topics for selection. Provide your...
Curated OER
Author's Purpose: Research Process/Narrative Writing Techniques
Determine the author's purpose in writing a memoir. Eighth graders work in groups to elicit author's purpose in memoirs, taking care to note how subtle the message can be hidden throughout the work. This instructional activity is a...
Curated OER
Varied Beginnings: Research Process / Narrative Writing Techniques
What's the best way to start a story? Learners write a memoir using effective openings. They research the process and work through a list of hooks to use in their writing. They use at least two hooks to begin their personal memoir. A...
Curated OER
Sentence Combining
Students combine simple sentences into compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. For this combining sentences lesson, students are given short, choppy sentences and combine them into more mature sentences. Students...
Curated OER
Transition Words in Expository Writing
Create to learn! Your class can create posters of transitional words and phrases to help them compose an explanatory text. They work in groups and focus on one type of transition (time, place, importance, etc.). They also create a poster...
Curated OER
Venn Diagram for Compare/Contrast
Use this instructional activity to focus on a compare and contrast writing structure in your middle school language arts class. Here, young writers compare and contrast two texts using graphic organizers. They use a double bubble format...
Curated OER
Main Idea/Supporting Details Scavenger Hunt
Engage your class in a scavenger hunt to find the main ideas and supporting details in a text. They follow the teacher while s/he models how to determine main idea and find supporting details, and then they work independently. A fun...
Curated OER
Idea-Noun Definition: Source Searching
A great idea for showing language arts pupils the universality of themes, even in the real world! Have class members choose an idea-noun (peace, justice, war, love, etc.) at the beginning of the year or semester. They complete weekly...
Curated OER
CCC: Credible sources, Creative Commons Images, and Citing Your Sources
As part of a unit devoted to the study of autobiographies, this one-day library session focuses on developing research skills. Class members locate and properly cite a sketch of a Creative Commons image, as well as record the call...
Web English Teacher
Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns
Myself. themselves, himself. Class members engage in an intensive study and reflect on the uses of reflective and intensive pronouns.
Curated OER
Values and Images Reflected in TV Commercials
Students view commercials from American and Latin American cultures and discuss the values and selling strategies used in each commercial.
Curated OER
Fourth Grade Language Practice
In this language practice worksheet, young scholars complete a total of 25 multiple choice questions that use a variety of 4th grade language concepts. An answer key is provided.
Curated OER
Using Information Resources: Lesson 4
Fourth graders review a variety of information resources and identify parts of a book. They practice brainstorming and practice skimming. They review all the research resources that are found in the library.
Curated OER
What is a Dictionary?
Second graders explore the purpose of a dictionary. In this library media instructional activity, 2nd graders explore My First Dictionary and identify guidewords, entry words, and captions. Students list ways they can use the dictionary.
Curated OER
Penguin Paradise
Learners read about penguins and communicate their information in a one paragraph summary. In this penguin writing lesson, students review sentence construction. Learners complete a KWL about penguins and read the book Penguins Through...
Curated OER
Polygons
Middle schoolers work together to create mobiles with different polygons. They research the polygon and list its characteristics. They may present to the class if they chose to.