Six short answer questions challenge scholars to show what they know after reading an informational text that examines waves—what they are, what causes them, and how different Earth factors affect their size and strength.   

Some nouns need more than one adjective to adequately describe them. Using a reference poster that puts twelve categories of adjectives in order, class members fill in the blanks to complete eight sentences.

Everyone wants to feel like they belong. James, in James and the Giant Peach, finds a feeling of belonging in a very odd place—inside a peach! Scholars read the story of James and the Peach and work through vocabulary, language, and...

Scholars partner up to review a model essay and talk through the process leading up to writing their essays. During a second reading of the essay, learners locate and underline the claim given, reasons, and counterclaim. They then...

Scholars read President Roosevelt's Day of Infamy speech and analyze the speech's words using close reading guides. Readers determine Roosevelt's point of view after reading the speech and filling in the guides.

Partner up! Scholars continue their fishbowl activity with one partner sitting inside the circle and one sitting outside the circle. Participants add to sentence starters to analyze the perspective of the Pearl Harbor Attack seen in the...

Scholars begin writing an argument essay based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. They read and analyze a model essay, considering the author's thinking before writing it.

Scholars take another look at Japan's Fourteen-Part Message. They then take turns adding ideas to sentence starters to create ideas about the different perspectives of government. To finish, groups mix and mingle to share their sentences...

The longest journey begins with a single step. Scholars analyze the details of Carlotta Walls LaNier's journey through the desegregation of schools in the United States. They continue reading the author's memoir, A Mighty Long Way and...

The Plessy v. Ferguson case was influential in establishing segregation in the United States. Scholars continue reading the court's decision in the case, seeking to understand the key reasons the court came to its decision. Pupils also...

Bring Internet research and social issues to your language arts class in this activity. After investigating the topic "Media Violence and How It Affects Teenagers" on the Internet, middle schoolers work in groups to compile their...

Do your language arts students love to draw? Use this lesson plan to reinforce poetic techniques with illustration. After drawing what they think poem would look like with no words, middle and high schoolers work on several different...

Expository writing is the focus of the language arts activity presented here. In it, young writers review what expository writing is through a class discussion and teacher demonstration. Then, learners write expository text that...

Here is a complex lesson plan that interweaves the history of the Jim Crow South and the Great Migration with the study of poetry, art, and blues music from the Harlem Renaissance. The plan helps young historians develop a deep...

A six-week unit takes high schoolers through various works of African-American literature, including poems, plays, and short stories. The lesson plan format includes a week-by-week description of activities, goals, materials, and...

Act and act, address and address...there are so many words in our dictionary that can function as nouns or verbs. Start this lesson by having your class list as many as they possibly can. When an adequate list presents itself, have your...

Want your class to use critical thinking when discussing vocabulary? Go beyond the dictionary with a vocabulary activity based on Gary Paulsen's Hatchet. Kids write the word in the center of a graphic organizer that also provides...

Begin your discussion about Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility before you even open the book. Kids fill in a worksheet that lists five statements about the literary themes of the novel, and then discuss their opinions as a...

Strengthen your high schoolers' writing with a series of steps for writing successfully. With sections on organizing an essay, choosing a topic, crafting a thesis statement, and revising a draft, the lesson encourages your class to...

Your learners talk to each other every day, but are they really listening? Use a instructional activity based on listening skills to ensure that class members feel heard and respected. It includes games, discussion topics, and...

The Odyssey, Star Wars, The Hunger Games. Odysseus, Luke Skywalker, Katniss Everdeen. Add The Hobbit and Bilbo Baggins to these lists, and you have a unit examining classic and contemporary myths, legends, and folktales with hero and...

This is a formal affair. Scholars take a look at using formal writing in essays. They analyze the model essay Are We Medieval?: Opportunities in the Middle Ages and Today? They then begin working on the first draft of their own...

Shiver me timbers, this here resource is a great way to teach young landlubbers to speak the language of the briny deep. Including over 30 different words and phrases, complete with definitions and guide words, this dictionary will...

Complement your lessons on "The Little Red Hen" with this colorful collection of supplementary activities. The packet includes a maze, several word puzzles, cutting and pasting practice, and more.