National Endowment for the Humanities
Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Ethic in Text and Film
Young scholars research the social context of Elizabethan England for Shakespeare's "Hamlet". They identify cultural influences on the play focusing on the theme of revenge and then analyze and compare film interpretations of the play.
Curated OER
Video Game Violence: Explore Possible Impacts
Introduce middle schoolers to the issue of video game violence with a multifaceted approach. Learners complete a gaming survey, as well as read and discuss a news feature about violent video game sales and a handout on stimulus...
Curated OER
Find the Main Idea
Can your class find the main idea for the short passages provided here? Not only do they identify the main idea out of four selections, but they must also write a supporting idea for their choice. The answer sheet provides example...
Curated OER
Malapropisms
What's the difference between an allegory and an alligator? Fifth graders work with malapropisms to determine the meanings of words that sound alike. Five sentences challenge them to find the malapropism and change it to the correct...
Curated OER
Punctuating a Paragraph
Do your fourth graders need a little help with punctuation? Use this run-on paragraph to demonstrate proofreading for capitalization, punctuation, and separating ideas into separate paragraphs. At the end of the activity, learners...
Curated OER
Making the Old New Again
How does a new version of a Shakespearean play change in the adaptation process? Use this New York Times' Learning Network lesson to consider texts that have been produced in different media. Middle schoolers examine the latest...
Curated OER
Agriculture Awareness Through Poetry
Whether you are viewing a landscape painting of a farm, examining a still-life portrait of a bowl of fruit, or reading a descriptive poem about cultivating food, you can't deny that agriculture plays a major role in visual and language...
Curated OER
Ain't Gonna Rain No More
In this creative writing lesson, pupils listen to the song "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More", read the book adaptation titled I Ain't Gonna Paint No More!, and pay close attention to the rhyming scheme, punctuation and illustrations. ...
Curated OER
M.C. Bard: Hip-Hop and Shakespeare
What is poetry? Does hip-hop qualify as poetry? Do Shakespeare's monologues qualify as poetry? Class members grapple with these questions as they examine the poetic elements and themes presented in different texts. Groups of four study...
BBC
The Sound Monster - Words That Make Sounds
There are words in the English language that actually make sounds, such as vroom, and, buzz. Here is a clever lesson which introduces young readers to these sound-making words. They play an interactive game on the computer that has...
Curated OER
My Community Book
Young learners examine different places in their neighborhood using informational texts. First they identify a place that they like to play and predict if it will be in the nonfiction book Community at Play.They will share their favorite...
Curated OER
Audio Aesop: Listen to the Lesson!
Aesop's Fables are the focus of this language arts lesson. Young philosophers study and discuss the morals found in the most famous of Aesop's Fables. They write an original fable that teaches a common moral. A "Fable Listening Library"...
Curated OER
What Makes Jokes Funny?
Explore how language is used for comic effect. Middle schoolers determine which of the three formulas for jokes (double meanings, unexpected outcome, humorous mental image) make each of 18 classic, corny examples funny. They complete a...
Curated OER
Richie's New Brother by Linda Owens
In this reading comprehension worksheet, students read a short story, answer five comprehension questions and then write about a baby they like to help take care of.
Curated OER
A Way with Words or Say What?
Students explore the language of Shakespeare. In this literature activity, students examine words invented by Shakespeare as they interpret their meanings in drawings. Students pantomime the meanings and then write a short story...
Curated OER
Syllable Challenge Ball Game
Toss the ball! Help readers listen for the number of syllables in a word. They play an interactive ball game where they toss the ball to a peer and state a word using the number of syllables called out by the teacher. This is a great...
Curated OER
Mystery Word
Help spellers hear words that have the same beginning letter in them and guess the letter. Each speller has a piece of paper where they are to write down the letter once they have identified it. For instance, the teacher will say, "may,...
Curated OER
Flowers for Algernon: RAFT
Should Charlie undergo an operation to increase his intelligence? A mini-instructional activity for a unit on Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon uses a RAFT activity, which prompts learners to write a letter to Charlie's doctors...
Curated OER
Casting Doubt: "Color-blind" and Nontraditional Casting Decisions
In his article about color-blind casting entitled, "Willy Loman Is Lost, Still Looking for Stimulus Plan and Some Dignity," Charles Isherwood quotes August Wilson as saying, "To mount an all-black production of a 'Death of a...
ESL Kid Stuff
Adverbs
Run quickly. Walk slowly. Jump high. As part of their study of English parts of speech, language learners engage in a series of activities designed to introduce them to the descriptive power of adverbs.
Orlando Shakes
The Hound of the Baskervilles: Study Guide
Sherlock Holmes may have been the greatest detective in literary history. A study guide for The Hound of the Baskervilles introduces a story featuring the famous detective before sharing activities related to the text. Readers...
BBC
The Patchworker - Sentences Making Sense
An entertaining and educationally sound lesson on sentence structure is here for you. Young readers play an online game called "The Patchwork Game" where they must patch together a series of words in order to create a complete sentence....
Azar Grammar
Song Lessons: Never, My Love
Here's a clever way to introduce language learners to noun clauses. After a brief exercise that provides examples of different types of noun clauses, class members listen to the Association's "Never, My Love" and identify the clauses in...
Curated OER
Subject and Object Pronouns: Challenges
Enhance problem solving skills while refining grammar proficiency with a learning game focused on subject and object pronouns. With playing cards in hand, class members create a dialogue in which one presents a problem while the other...