Study the importance of word choice in informational text. Middle and high schoolers locate unfamiliar words and phrases in newspaper articles of their choosing, and use online word sites to explore the definitions and histories of each....

Following extensive modeling about how to apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to learn new words, partner teams create brief word presentations to teach new vocabulary to the class. Preselect words from upcoming social studies,...

What's the best resource to use when looking up words? Use Visual Thesaurus to see a word's meaning. The class accesses the interactive website and then compares and contrasts the difference between using a traditional dictionary and the...

Ready to tackle possessives with your young grammarians? The beauty of this presentation is in the links. After examining clear definitions and examples of the different forms of possession (singular possessive, plural possessive, joint...

Oh, what fun! Young logophiles and neologists create a dictionary-sounding definition for imaginary words and try to fool their classmates.

Explore words, definitions, their connotations and associations with brand names. Middle and high schoolers identify words used in commercials and determine their effect upon the consumer population. They explore how meanings are...

Tackle multiple-meaning words with your youngsters using this scaffolded lesson plan which features a detailed script. Begin with the word shoulder, using context clues to help scholars understand the meaning. Next, they observe a...

Review myths and the characters therein, connecting them to vocabulary words in the English language today. Begin by searching online for myths and character names. With at least ten names that are familiar English words, students use...

Tenth graders acquire the knowledge, attitude, interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. They participate in "Origins" as either group participants or judges. For each round, they give the common usage and...

Immaculate, accumulation, dissipation. Vocabulary drawn from chapter 16 of James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, can prove to be challenge for readers. To help kids understand the meaning of these words and what they add to the...

Ansible. Hegemony. Candor. Readers of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game create word squares for vocabulary words drawn from this award-winning science fiction novel.

Multiple meaning words is the focus of a instructional activity designed to reinforce the use of context clues. Scholars listen carefully to a variety of sentences using the words pool and cast to decide which definition...

When you come across an unfamiliar word in a text, do you skip it and move on? Practice using context clues to identify words you don't know with a thorough set of language arts lessons. The resource reinforces close reading and critical...

Fourth graders, after brainstorming what the word "guide" means, examine how to use guide words in a dictionary to locate words. They define "guide," identify guide words in a variety of dictionaries and locate words using guide words....

Students participate in creating a word wall using words important to them and design other organized displays to entice memory and assist in teaching. As a class, they clap out letters of words and solve mystery words from given clues....

Give your class the advantage of Thesaurus Power! They will use a thesaurus to understand word meanings and relationships. They focus on how a thesaurus functions and how it gives the entry word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and part...

Encourage your class to use a variety of strategies to learn and retain vocabulary words. The plan suggests that near the beginning of your reading of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead pupils should find words in the text that are...

Chanclas, muerto, cuando. Spanish words are plentiful in The House on Mango Street and may be unfamiliar to many readers. A vocabulary words squares activity will help kids remember the meaning of these words and add to their...

Looking for a good lesson plan on dictionary and word definition skills? The lesson plan presented here is for you! In it, learners utilize a worksheet, embedded in the plan, to record a word's definition(s), etymology, multiple...

Middle schoolers engage in a lesson which reminds them that root words indicate the base meaning of a word, and that those roots are found in many different words that have similar meanings. Pairs of pupils use construction paper and...

Affixes can change the entire meaning of a word! Pupils practice with three prefixes and three suffixes in this scaffolded word meaning resource. There are affix cards here you can display in a pocket chart as you review. Learners first...

Bring vocabulary to life with this SMARTboard activity! With a list of (linked) compound words, learners combine each part of the word to complete the compound word. They then read a narrative and identify the compound words. The last...

“Hope is a tissue, wiping away your problems and fears.” Use a Definition Poem Web worksheet to model for your class how to craft a free verse poem based on an emotion. After brainstorming topics, groups use the sheet to make comparisons...

Use literacy tools to select precise vocabulary. High schoolers respond to discussion questions that require them to consider the denotation and connotation of words. They then read non-fiction passages and identify words in the passages...