In a multidisciplinary lesson plan, you will focus your instruction around the West African folktale, Anansi Goes to Lunch by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk while your little learners sing songs, play games, participate in a grand...

To underscore the importance of precise diction and sensory details in narratives, class members examine two statements to determine which is more effective and significantly impacts the reader. Individuals then examine their college...

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, considered by many to be a seminal piece of American literature, contains many complex literary themes that carry through United States history. Use a series of discussion questions and classroom...

How do the Three Witches' interactions with Macbeth advance the plot of Shakespeare's Macbeth? Learners complete a Quick Write to answer the question. They also participate in a whole-class dramatic reading of Act 4.1.

What's the difference between men and princes? Machiavelli discusses this distinction in chapter 18 of The Prince. Scholars first listen to a masterful reading of the chapter. Then, they write about how the author develops a central idea...

How have society's expectations influenced female writers? Pupils explore the topic by reading chapter three of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. Scholars complete a Quick Write to analyze how Judith Shakespeare's experiences...

Writing becomes dynamic in a presentation. Presenters transform a piece of writing they have already composed about the Little Rock Nine into a presentation. The focus is transferring ideas from their writing into short prompts on cards...

Here's a wonderful way to learn English grammar. Class members examine the plural count nouns in Thiele and Weiss's "What a Wonderful World," reading the lyrics as they listen to Louis Armstrong's version of this classic song.

What does your class want to know about William Shakespeare's The Tempest? Host a discussion about the questions high schoolers have about the play with a KWHL activity in which they write down their inquiries, what they...

Beowulf, the Old English epic hero, comes alive again in the activities found in a teacher's guide designed to accompany a reading of the classic poem.

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." These familiar lines begin the Preamble to the Constitution, but do learners know what they mean? A close reading exercise takes a look at the language of the...

Glide into the study of flight. An engaging lesson has scholars research information on the Wright brothers. They develop props and produce a recreation of the first flight at Kitty Hawk. They then report on the event as if they were...

A challenging worksheet is here for your learners of language arts. In it, they must find words that convey a more powerful, or more descriptive meaning than the guide word at the top of the list. There are 12 guide words, and nine more...

Cross-comparison, the technique of focusing on two different texts with the same themes, motifs, events, etc., is employed in an exercise that asks groups to examine two different translations of “The Ruin,” a poem, written in Old...

Invite that hungry caterpillar to teach your class about nutrition! After brief instruction on fruit, the teacher reads The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle to the class. Kids hold up the fruit images at appropriate points in the...

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...

The point of view in a story can dramatically change the story itself. Focus on finding the points of view in various reading passages with a language arts packet, which includes fiction and nonfiction text.

A guided imagery exercise is a great way to get readers thinking about writing. As part of their study of Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse’s 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, class members listen to a reading of one of the poems...

Shelves filled with heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Bouquets of red roses. Racks of romantic cards. Stores are preparing for Valentine's Day. Has the holiday become too commercialized? That is the question asked by a lesson plan...

What media literacy skills do people need to evaluate a news source? Scholars listen to and discuss an NPR story about how fake headlines often dupe young people and adults alike. Next, they study news stories, using a fact-checking...

Designed for teachers who use Norman Maclean's autobiographical A River Runs Through It, this one-page resource offers discussion question structured using Bloom's Taxonomy.

The Magic Pot by Patricia Coombs is the theme of this multidisciplinary lesson plan. Early readers first take part in a read aloud and grand conversation about the story's details. Then, they get to work practicing their skills in...

Hold a silent discussion about concepts related to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After reading chapter seven, learners participate in a whole-class written discussion based on guiding questions written on the board by the teacher.