How does our moral reasoning shape our identity? After a study of Kohlberg's Levels of Moral Reasoning, readers use Kohlberg's theories to analyze the speech, thoughts, and decisions of a character in A Separate Peace. They then...

Readers apply Sigmund Freud's theories of the unconscious mind and the psychological approach to literary criticism to analyze and evaluate the relationship between two characters in A Separate Peace.

Beneficial for beginning readers, struggling readers, and those in need of review, a set of language arts activities is a great addition to any foundational reading unit. Focusing on phonological awareness, fluency, instructional...

Celebrate April's National Poetry Month or enrich a poetry unit with a wealth of language arts material. Class members develop an oral interpretation of a poem and/or develop a podcast interview with a poet. 

Introduce your young writers to the basic five-paragraph essay. The fun part of this presentation is the stance of the essay used to illustrate the format. The writer of the model essay contends that the Twilight series is a terrible...

Start out with angles by asking your pupils to read this reading passage. Class members will learn about degrees, right angles, acute angles, and obtuse angles and then respond to five questions about the text.

What happens next? Work on story sequence with a lesson plan that prompts kids to put a story back in order. Additionally, they discuss what would happen if one event was missing from the sequence.

Learn the moral of the story with a series of activities about Aesop's fables. Focusing on The Contest Between the Sun and the Wind, learners complete a graphic organizer to discuss who, what, how, and why the events occur. Additionally,...

Use the fairy tale Rumpelstiltskin to teach your third grade class about descriptive writing. Following a teacher read-aloud of the story, the class brainstorms a list of adjectives describing the main character. Students use this list...

This review of a novel project is a great way to ensure accountability for independent reading. The assignment sheet, templates, samples, and rubrics are all part of the packet materials.

Accompany a reading of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with a thorough literature packet. Although the materials are meant to prepare readers for a timed essay, the background information and the activities are...

Scholars learn about the Hero's Journey as they read Ray Bradbury's "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh." They analyze the story's structure and narrative techniques. Finally, they write summaries of the text's central idea and use their...

"I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works." This colored view is the focus of a close reading activity that asks readers of The Great Gatsby to examine the way...

Here is a lesson that incorporates music writing, and reading literature. The class reads chapter eight from the C.S. Lewis classic The Magician's Nephew. Then, just like in the story, they use music as inspiration to create (write)...

Fourth graders discover diversity of plant and animal life in California's parks and compare findings to identify what makes park areas unique. Students then publish their discoveries in picture books of their own design.

The lives of middle-class Victorian women were circumscribed by strict standards that governed all aspects of behavior. To gain a better understanding of the Victorian Ideals for women, class members research the life of a middle-class...

Celebrate the arrival of winter with a reading of Jack Ezra Keats' book The Snowy Day. Engaging children by asking them about their own experiences in the snow, the teacher goes on to read the story...

Here is a great little reading and vocabulary development lesson created just for learners with special needs. The lesson is constructed with both core content and necessary adaptations in mind. The group will use PECS, pointing/gesture,...

Learning to read is not a simple task, but there are methods for assisting pupils as they develop literacy skills. The first four pages of this resource include information about language development and reading development, as well as...

English is a complex language, so take some time to clarify one aspect that is often confusing for English language learners: the -ed ending. This resource includes information about the different ways the -ed ending is used and provides...

Here's a handy, seven-step guide to crafting good paragraphs in support of a claim. The steps are clearly explained and examples provided.

The second lesson in a series of fourteen, this plan takes the short story basics a step further. Learners complete a quiz about the story from the previous day, discuss the text, learn about Anton Chekhov, and work in groups to begin...

As this short story unit comes to a close, provide a day for a full examination of theme and allow some time in class for individuals to work on their various assessments. This final lesson before presenting iMovies and portfolios is the...

Cover Freytag's Triangle and examine Anton Chekhov's "The Bet" in this third lesson plan in a series of fourteen based around short stories. Learners take a quiz and discuss Freytag's triangle. They apply the triangle to "The Bet" and...