Tenth graders examine poems by Shel Silverstein and identify literary elements in them. The exercise is part of an examination review about poetic elements. The review concludes with students writing nature poems displaying the devices...

Students discover that letters stand for phonemes. They determine that spellings map out the phonemes that are found in spoken words. They analyze the correspondence, oa = /O/ and recognize the /O/ sound in spoken and written words in...

In this proofreading worksheet, 3rd graders read six sentences about Llamas. They find the ten errors in the sentences. Errors may include capitalization, punctuation, spelling or grammar.

Introduce some nonfiction reading into your classroom! This resource contains seven comprehension questions pertaining to an article from The New York Times website about the first middle schoolers to ever win the United States Chess...

Students practice correct grammar by completing exercises and using word processing utilities.

Students select a short story and apply various literary elements they have used throughout the year. They deconstruct a short story according to plot, setting, characterization, and theme. Students create a PowerPoint.

Help your writers eliminate "dead words" (words that are overused) from their writing. This lesson includes a SMART board presentation that will guide them through identifying, eliminating, and substituting "dead words" from sample...

A straightforward lesson about the themes in Ray Bradbury's short stories, this activity allows learners to first work independently and then share their analyses with the class. They read "The Other Foot" as well as another story from...

Students complete a variety of computer file pre-writing activities to help them prepare for writing a personal narrative. They focus on including a beginning, middle and end to their narrative. They make a class book.

Students view a particular image and engage in a dialogue about the picture. They follow a script in Latin detailing a reponse to the image. They discuss how one picture can serve several different purposes.

Review grammar rules for simple and compound sentences. Learners diagram sentences and identify conjunctions, interjections, and prepositional phrases. As a class, they study their notes and complete pages in their grammar book to...

Why is it important to know an author's purpose? After reviewing the three main purposes of writing, seventh graders write a persuasive letter to convince why summer school is better than taking the summer off. They can then join in a...

Test the true meaning of giving - and irony - with this activity about "The Gift of the Magi." Using textual analysis, details, and text organization, middle schoolers make predictions about future events in the story and determine the...

Focus on building suspense as well as evaluating web sites through creative writing. After introducing the idea of suspense and holding a discussion, class members complete a WebQuest, during which they find inspiration for their own...

Beverly Cleary is the fabulous author focused on, in this author study. Students conduct Internet Research in order to find out as much as they can about Ms. Cleary. They then use their findings and the Garageband program to create a...

Clichés, paradoxes, and equivocations are detailed in a short, animated video that defines and illustrates these writing traps. The resource also includes a quiz and the transcript for the video. Users can register to access free course...

Middle schoolers learn about words that have more than one meaning. They each create a PowerPoint presentation that has a word with multiple meanings at the top, then each of its definitions in the main body of the slide. They insert...

How do you reference information correctly? Avoid plagiarism by accurately summarizing a New York Times article with your middle or high schoolers. Young researchers then insert properly attributed quotations and paraphrases into their...

Students view a PowerPoint presentation in order to show the five jobs involved in a literature circle. The literature circle is to be used in the class for the reading of novels. A graphic organizer is also used to increase comprehension.

Second graders should be familiar with characters of a story and adjectives. The students should have some knowledge of Kidspiration. After reading a story, they will use Kidspiration and create a character web to describe a character in...

Engage in a lesson that is concerned with the concept of setting rules and procedures. The class learns how to engage in a discussion and talk about classroom chores. 

Students explain the steps to making a sandwich to their teacher while he/she completes the steps. After the demonstration, they identify any part of the process that could use clarification. They are introduced to the practice of...

Explore the literary concept of theme through the The Gift of the Magi. Starting with a class discussion, the concept of theme is explored through examples from famous stories and movies. Next, the class analyzes the possible themes of...

Practice your speaking skills! Using a chosen visual aid, pupils present a previously written essay to the class. During the oral presentation, the listeners identify and write down the author's purpose and a question for the author. At...