Synonym dominoes, anyone? As part of the activities designed for kids who have mastered the basic concepts in the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic unit That's Amazing! kids are offered a variety of activities that include...

Younsters are exposed to classic stories of Arkansas Folklore including The Arkansas Traveller, and Davy Crockett. They discuss if the stories they hear are examples of folklore, or some other kind of story. Then, each puil is required...

During read-aloud of Kindergarten Count to 100 by Jacqueline Rogers, children listen for context clues about vocabulary that includes the words "first," "second," and "third." I love the way vocabulary development skills are integrated...

Have your scholars ever known someone who was a copycat? Approach this issue as you study vocabulary in context by reading Peggy Rathmann's book Ruby the Copycat. Proposed focus words are: recite, murmur,...

Focus on a passage about the new year with your English language learners. You can start with reading the passage aloud to your class, and then launch into the related activities. Pupils match phrases, complete cloze-style activities,...

This packet, the first in the series of support materials for the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt thematic units on our earth, contains enrichment activities for learners who have mastered the basic concepts of the lessons. Kids...

An open discussion starts this instructional activity off. The class takes a critical look at five works of art that demonstrate the impact and purpose of identity through collections or archives. They then write a list or draw 10-15...

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...

Who doesn't love this book? A Pocket for Corduroy provides excellent vocabulary practice in context for budding readers (although this strategy could be used with any text). Before reading it aloud, go over the new...

Get to know the bugs around us with emerging readers who use Jerry Pallotta's informative book Icky Bug Colors to learn vocabulary in context. Address terms before reading the text aloud, preparing kids to listen for them later....

Do any of your budding readers have parents who work the night shift? Eileen Spinelli's book Night Shift Daddy, which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it, examines this family dynamic in a positive light and is an...

The apostrophe is a punctuation mark that is often incorrectly-used. This short, but effective, presentation addresses that fact. One way to use them is when showing possession in writing. Learners are coached on when to use possessive...

In this Julius Caesar worksheet, students determine character traits of Julius Caesar and Brutus from quotations given.  Students are given 13 quotations about or by Julius Caesar and 8 quotations about or by Brutus.

Fifth graders will learn about various perspectives around events. They will need to take on the perspectives of various key people during the September 11 attack. Then they will write in their journals about the incident. They read...

Seventh graders write scripts for scenarios to be "re-solutioned". One re-solution scenario will be role played for whole class. They also identify what personal responsibility means and who is responsible in taking personal...

Students write about themselves. In this personal writing instructional activity, students write their name vertically down a sheet of paper and think of a self descriptive word that matches each letter of their name. Students write a...

In this writing worksheet, 4th graders identify the 5 Ws in each of 9 sentences (who, what, where, when and why). A sample sentence is provided.

In this interview worksheet, students follow directions on how to write an interview and then fill out questions for a reflection on it. Students complete 11 steps in the checklist and 3 questions in the reflection.

Students complete a research activity about themselves. They access an article on brainstorming and identifying personality traits. Students brainstorm about their personality traits and view a related PowerPoint. Students create their...

Students examine the letter 'i'. Through instruction and modeling they explore the sound the letter makes, how the letter is written, words that contain the letter, etc. They use letterboxes to write 'i' words and read stories containing...

High-interest content captures your most reluctant readers and class participants. Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, in collaboration with Harvard University, seeks to nurture a culture of kindness and reduce bullying. Excerpts from...

Students examine various careers and character traits. They create an Affinity Chart using career survey results, compare/contrast personality traits and character traits, and discuss why character traits are important for jobs.

Students explore the possible relationships between characters in a novel. They read the novel 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' and answer all the questions on each chapter so that the characters and events are familiar to the students.

Students research the life and art of Andy Warhol and create a digitally manipulated photographic self-portrait. Students conclude the assignment by writing a poem to describe the point-of-view taken in their digital photo.