Here is an outstanding series of lessons on journalism, writing newspaper articles, and writing editorials. This type of writing has long-been neglected in our schools, so this collection of writing activities is most-valuable. Along...

Looking for a way to review and practice spelling words that's fun and creative? Use this spelling relay activity for any grade level. Using three spelling lists, ranging in difficulty, teams of young spellers choose words from the lists...

Assess your new learners' writing abilities and knowledge of literary terms with these diagnostic activities. Part of a back-to-school unit, this is meant to provide the teacher with information about the ability levels of their class....

Discover the meaning of Columbus Day and/or Thanksgiving by creating art from food. This activity focuses on making edible ships using easy to find food items. The class will investigate the journeys that were taken for either of these...

Students explore English by completing an interactive language history activity. In this word recognition lesson, students discuss word formations and the phonetic relationship between letters. Students identify the origin of individual...

When we play music, we count beats both high and low. This introductory music activity explores tempo and rhythm. Learners will follow along as they clap to the beat, they clap high in the air and low. A very good introductory lesson.

Inspire your class to write about role models and personal heroes with this resource from The Learning Network. Class members read a New York Times article excerpt about basketball star Jeremy Lin and how he inspired the author. After...

A series of activities help middle- and high-schoolers identify and explore gender stereotypes and how they can lead to violence and abuse. Use think-pair-share to activate whole class brainstorming about what it means to "be a man" and...

Foster class discussion about body image with the resources and questions provided here. Focus on Special K's "look good on your own terms" ad campaign. Learners start by reading about this campaign and analyze a series of print ads,...

Model for young readers how to make the shift from passive to active reading by making text-to-self and text-to-text connections. After a series of activities that provide guided practice, the focus shifts to making text-to-words...

As an introductory activity to Mississippi Trial, 1955, class members use color-coded dots to respond anonymously to a series of statements about prejudice and responsibility to their fellow-man that are posted about the room. The...

Employ this resource to expand efficient ideas on how to present and organize activities that describe how researchers can implement their research by using direct quotes, paraphrasing, and summarizing—without plagiarizing. Activities...

Focus on similarities and differences with a jigsaw activity that requires pupils to compare Waiting for the Biblioburro to other texts they have read. To prepare, class members first respond to text-dependent questions, moving on to...

It can be difficult to find the theme of a book or story if you don't know the questions to ask. Teach your kids to discern the universal theme in works of literature with a set of activities that promote critical thinking and...

This abstract for an instructional unit using three-minute mysteries, stories by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle, and Edgar Allan Poe includes a short history of detective fiction, sample plans, and suggestions for exercises and activities...

Quotation marks are the focus of this resource. In it, youngsters discover how to correctly use punctuation marks. It is meant to be carried out over a three-day period. You could shorten it, but I wouldn't. The activities are...

Teasing happens in school. It's a fact. So, teaching your children about the evils of teasing, and also how to cope with it when it happens to them, is a very important. Pupils talk about how it feels to be teased, and they work together...

Patricia MacLachlan’s award-winning novel, Sarah, Plain and Tall, is the focus of a comprehensive study guide. For each chapter, readers answer fact-based and interpretative questions, define and use vocabulary words in a sentence, and...

Here is an amazing lesson on story writing for young writers. After listening to a history of chocolate, learners utilize the many worksheets embedded in the plan to construct their own stories about chocolate. They must cut out the...

In pairs, learners describe and use guide words to locate words in a dictionary. This is a timed activity, where points can be earned by completing the goal first. Tip: Have kids look up weird words in the dictionary, and then come up...

Show youngsters how objects can tell a story! Here your class will learn about Cuban salsa dancer Celia Cruz by analyzing pictures of her dress, her shoes, and her marriage certificate. After describing Cruz's items and imagining what...

Develop a mystery character using clues from a bag. This engaging activity will help learners understand character traits. They develop a list of the items from the bag, discuss and develop the character with a partner, and create a...

Eighth graders participate in a variety of activities to examine the meanings and roots of word derivatives and the meanings of words. Using context clues, they determine the meanings of words omitted from a passage and complete a prefix...

"How can a magazine reflect a particular time and culture?" Using this prompt, your class explores the Victorian Era as it relates to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. They can also play the "Victorian Women's Rights" game for the year 1840...