How do directors' choices emphasize different elements of a drama? Scholars participate in a discussion about the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Macbeth and Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood. Finally, they write an analysis of...

Help your young writers recognize the importance of composing formal letters. Middle schoolers read letters written by Thomas Jefferson and analyze the components that make it a formal letter.  They will then compose their own...

That's just the style. Learners begin with a mini-lesson about formal writing style. They then use what they learned about formal writing to begin the body paragraphs for their End of Unit 1 Assessment Prompt: Adversity in the Middle...

Learners match 15 Derbyshire slang phrases with their meanings. When it comes to distinguishing the contexts for formal and informal English, any time you'd use this language, the context is definitely informal.

Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...

Spend some time considering the functions and types of language such as vernacular, standard, and pidgin. This lengthy presentation would benefit a college-level linguistics course with its accurate descriptions and plenty of examples....

Letters of recommendation play a key role in the college admissions process. A handout on the topic, part of a series on specific writing assignments, helps applicants through the process of choosing recommenders and requesting a letter....

Explication may sound like a fancy word, but it's just a fancy way to say analysis. Using a handout on poetry explications, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers learn how to break down and analyze a poem. The...

Class members examine examples that model how to develop and maintain a formal style and an objective tone in informative/explanatory writing. They also engage in a peer review activity and revise their work based on the feedback.

How do learners use textual evidence from a close reading to write a well-developed essay? Scholars try it by completing a mid-unit assessment based on their analysis of the first 15 paragraphs from "A Genetics of Justice" by Julia...

Give your class a taste of the Common Core with a practice test that includes both literary and informational reading passages. Pupils respond to related multiple choice questions and longer written response questions. See the...

How do you give a formal command in Spanish? Study the charts provided and complete the practice below. This resource is easy to follow and gives learners organized information for easy recall. 

Provided here is a thorough review of direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns. First learners study the chart for direct object pronouns, reading through the Spanish and English equivalencies. Then, they read the bulleted information...

It is difficult to articulate how growing up feels as accurately and beautifully as Sandra Cisneros does in her short story "Eleven." After seventh graders read the story and note the author's use of figurative language, they respond to...

Students examine "masterpieces" and mass-produced objects as they discuss humankind's inventiveness and creativity. They also analyze the role of problem solving in the creation of masterpieces and mass-produced items.

Use a packet packed with ideas for how to celebrate the traditions of your country, state, community, and pupils's families. Suggestions for how to draw on oral and material traditions, customs, beliefs, music, and stories all find...

Scholars begin working on the end-of-unit writing prompt for Pygmalion. They must analyze their collected text evidence to determine what information is compelling enough to include in their argumentative essays. The teacher...

The value of this punctuation and grammar lesson is in the SMART board presentation, which takes pupils through the proofreading process. It would be a good way to introduce the idea of proofreading in your class before beginning a unit...

Should junk food be banned in schools? Should the US open its borders to all immigrants? Should the US impose term limits for the House of Representatives and for the Senate? Using Tyson Miller's Dream of a Nation: Inspiring Ideas...

Students identify likes and dislikes at home and school. Then they identify the relationship between training and the world of work. Students also discover and evaluate patterns and relationships in information, ideas and structures....

Fifth graders investigate the world of work in relation to knowledge of self and to make informed career decisions. Then they break into groups to complete the training and education for two careers selected from a listing in the lesson....

Combine the study of poetry and non-fiction texts with this complete and ready-to-use six-week unit. After reading numerous poems from local writers and compiling a personal anthology, high schoolers find and read a memoir or biography...

First graders identify, comprehend, and evaluate the content and artistic aspects of oral and visual presentations. Then they participate in formal and informal presentations and discussions of issues and ideas. Students also create...