Your pupils will be expected to determine the meaning of words and how those words affect the meaning of a text. Help them master this skill with the ideas listed here. First, look over the two activities that could be used for your...

Celebrate Opposite Day by using a Visual Thesaurus to match words to their antonyms. They match a list of vocabulary words to their antonym counterparts using the Visual Thesaurus, and then they play Antonym Bingo with the words from...

Put it together piece by piece. Scholars read pages 13-16 of The Most Beautiful Roof in the World by dividing it into chunks. They analyze each chunk for gist and word meaning. Individuals then create a matching game by writing...

Explore the meaning of unknown words! Read All I See with your class, having them complete the inference chart provided while reading. They select unknown words, guess their meanings, and identify what other words or pictures helped them...

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...

Fourth graders investigate eponyms in the English language. In this eponym lesson, 4th graders participate in a teacher led lesson on the definition of an eponym. They complete a worksheet in which they determine which eponym became part...

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.

Students listen to Jane Yolen's, All Those Secrets of the World. They engage in activities to find word meanings without using a dictionary. They practice using a vocabulary mapping handout.

Bring dictionaries back into your classroom! Although it's often preferred to look up a word's definition on a computer or smart phone, we still need to practice this important skill. Middle and high schoolers investigate how to use the...

Besides the dictionary definition, words also carry the added weight of meanings that are inferred or implied, meanings conferred on words, or connotations. To gain an understanding the importance of connotation, class members...

Although this vocabulary-in-context activity is focused on Judith Viorst's book Alexander, Who Use to Be Rich Last Sunday, the strategy can be applied to any book budding learners read with you. First, introduce the three...

It's all about a bit of give and take. Scholars silently read War in the Pacific and circle any unfamiliar words. Using context clues, they write each word on a strip of paper along with the inferred definition. After looking the word up...

The story of Helen Keller is a fascinating one for young scholars; use it to practice reading comprehension and new vocabulary as learners listen to you read David Adler's picture book (hint: this strategy can be applied to any book)....

Learn new words as you read Marc Brown's story, Arthur's New Puppy. This is focused as a vocabulary-in-context activity (though this strategy could be used with any book and set of words). Introduce the new words you will focus on:...

A new baby means a lot of changes for Peter! Ezra Jack Keats presents this common childhood experience in his story Peter's Chair, the context of a detailed vocabulary study. Before you read, introduce the three new words scholars...

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....

Examine and distinguish between words that have similar definitions but different connotations. Middle schoolers define connotation and denotation and participate in a "shades of meaning" contest in small groups. Groups use the...

Middle schoolers develop strategies for what to do when they come upon words in a text that they don't know. After a class discussion, pupils are given a selection of text that contains some very difficult words. They are instructed to...

Define the meaning of a cognate and use the concept to help Spanish-speaking ELLs connect their first language to English. Middle schoolers explore Latin roots to find cognates in both languages. They relate the Spanish and English word...

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...

Middle and high schoolers identify how to discover a word's meaning by exploring context clues and any pictures, diagrams, photographs, and charts that might be included. They continue this process with other examples and locate one on...

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...