Sixth graders create a slide show presentation of a popular children's storybook. The story will be retold by the "villain" in an effort to explain his side of the story. This activity is based on "The True Story of The Three Little...

Young academics create a current events journal by skimming newspapers for articles that fit defined guidelines for informational texts. After cutting out two articles each week to add to their journals, they write a brief description of...

Before your high schoolers read Julius Caesar, have them complete this thought-provoking activity! To familiarize them with some of the play's most important lines, break the class into pairs and have them create a skit around...

O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is the classic example of irony in literature. Teach young writers about the ways irony can engage their readers with an activity in which they write scripts using dramatic irony, situational irony, and...

Stressed? Stressed students? Check out a lesson plan that includes a checklist of causes of stress, suggestions for ways to deal with stress, and a role-play activity. Definitely worth a look.

Compound words are the focus objective of the worksheet. Learners match the first and second part of each word that is written on index cards, along with the corresponding picture. Children develop 10 compound words that are listed on...

Using Microsoft Word and the blank "Jack and Jill" templates provided, class members find picture files of themselves and create a written photo ID document to be printed and lamented for the classroom. The lesson is divided into 4...

Why do readers need to know an author’s purpose? How do you figure out what that purpose is? Guide your pupils through a series of activities that show them how to identify various techniques and structures used in persuasive writing....

Teaching tools designed to support student-centered literature study. Geared toward homeschoolers reading Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird, I would use these in my classroom. The materials are applicable to any text: graphic...

Dander from the show Twisted Whiskers and characters from My Little Pony are featured in this three part lesson that explores using story pyramids to scaffold ideas, adding sensory details to enrich writing, and editing using common...

Kindergartenrs explore English by analyzing images in a picture book. This lesson on the parts of speech calls for young learners to view a picture book in class and describe characters, settings and objects with adjectives. Then, as a...

A great review of possesive nouns and how to add apostrophes. Clearly demonstrating where to place the apostrophe for different nouns, the resource also notes some tricky exceptions. Reinforce the concept with a little practice putting...

Review important grammatical rules. Focusing on the past tense, learners practice concepts that are used to form sentences in the past tense. This could a good activity at a center.

Put young grammarians to the test with an activity about adverbs. A five-paragraph passage prompts kids to find the adverbs and circle them, noting their purpose in context.

Encourage your class to create rules and regulations for cyberbullying. Learners explore civic participation by thinking about the rules and regulations already in place in their lives and studying Canada's Canada Gazette. As a final...

An introductory instructional activity shows learners how pervasive and influential advertising is in our culture; particularly, how teenagers are actively targeted by advertisers. As teenagers, your students already have all the...

This phonemic awareness activity would be great for morning meeting or circle time. Teacher calls out a word, s/he identifies the final phoneme. The class then take turns saying other simple or cvc words that also have the same ending...

Is, as Walt Whitman contends, America’s “almost maniacal appetite for wealth,” the heart of the American dream? Class members grapple with this question as they read David Brooks’ article “The Commercial Republic,” and quotes that...

Use the Schoolhouse Rock episode, "Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla," to introduce a study of pronouns. Learners consider antecedents, cases (nominative, objective and possessive), as well as types of pronouns, and then craft sentences using...

Point of View’s short film, “34x25x36” launches a study of how images presented by mannequins and advertisements influence body image. Class members read and discuss the fact sheet "Media's Effect on Girls: Body Image and Gender...

There's something about the classic volcano demonstration that can grab any learners' attention. Scholars begin with a reading and grand conversation about volcanoes, construct an erupting volcano using vinegar and baking soda, then...

To appreciate the value of seeing and hearing a poetry performance, groups prepare readings of selected poems and then compare and critique their interpretations and videotaped versions of the same poem. Included in the resource are...

Need a prereading activity in line with the Common Core Standards for Language? Although designed for grades 11 and 12, the procedure detailed in this resource could be used with most grade levels. Prior to reading, select 20 – 25 words...

“Words can be like x-rays if you use them properly—they’ll go through anything.” Readers of Brave New World will be pierced by an activity that asks them to use details from the text to craft a biopoem for one of the characters in Aldous...