Here's a richly detailed unit, designed for second graders, that focuses on decoding figurative language, including similes, metaphors, personification and idioms.

A rich series of activities introduces learners to the concept of culture by closely examining the behaviors, practices, and art of three distinct peoples: the Highland Maya of Guatemala, the Hmong of China and Southeast...

Students will work in teams of 2 to read and discuss a case study. In this probability lesson, students will learn the formula for finding the probability of two events occurring together. Students will learn the meaning of independent...

Students use reading searchlights to work out new words and make sense of what they read. They compose own poetic sentences.

Students apply word-level skills through shared and guided reading. They use poems of parts of poems as models for own writing. They read texts aloud with pace and expression.

Students remember that the main purpose of reading is to comprehend what they have read as they read a section in their history book with the expectation that they answer questions at the end. They answer comprehension questions using...

Students look at the primary sources that emerged from the Exodus (the Ten Commandments) and the War of Independence (the Declaration of Independence) and examine how each attempts to construct a free society and a definition of freedom....

In this Liberty Bell worksheet, students read for information and comprehension. In this short answer worksheet, students answer ten questions.

In this graphing activity, students read about independent and dependant variables and learn how to determine speed from the slope of a position vs. time graph. This activity has 4 matching, 17 fill in the blank, and 2 problems to solve.

Fifth graders identify strategies to assist in choosing a book. In this book selection activity, 5th graders discuss ways to determine if a book is the right reading level or on a topic of interest. Students preview several books and...

Students examine one woman's impact on a nation. In this suffragette lesson, students are introduced to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and examine her involvement in both the anti-slavery and woman's movement. Students compare the Declaration...

Students discuss the 2006 midterm elections. They read an article about exit polls. They create a scavenger hunt using articles of the New York Times. They write a paper about the importance of midterm elections.

Learners create an acrostic poem about winter. In this lesson about acrostic poems, students explore acrostic poetry. Learners read an acrostic poem as an example. As a class, students come up with an acrostic poem for the word "CLASS"....

Students listen to the story A Is For America and make predictions before reading and recall details after reading. In this America lesson, students listen to this story and learn important facts about America.

Students read selections from the Declaration of Independence, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Wilmot Proviso of 1846. They contrast the maps of 1820 and 1854 to analyze developments in the national debate over slavery. They...

Students use context clues to determine an understanding for vocabulary words in texts. In this vocabulary lesson plan, students recognize linguistic features in their readings to help them to figure out words.

Students examine the use of the Underground Railroad. In this Underground Railroad lesson, students determine the meaning of the word slavery. They study the Underground Railroad through the use of literature and Internet websites. They...

First graders use pictures and letters to create a rebus. In this writing sentences lessons, 1st graders analyze sample rebuses as a class and read a rice rebus independently. Students make three rebus sentences. Students play a...

Students determine the story elements of typical mystery stories including characters and plot structure. They look at vocabulary that is common to mystery stories before reading and responding to mystery chapter books. Working in guided...

Students read and compare and contrast a variety of books by their favorite authors. They sort books from various authors and identify themes and patterns in writing and drawings. They also create their own book in the style of their...

Students examine the wartime killing of civilians in Vietnam through discussion, close reading and research.

Students define and discuss colonialism and self-determination. After reading the European's view on the topic, they analyze a map of imperialism in 1914. They watch excerpts of a video and take notes on various United Nations...

In these comprehension worksheets, students complete activities after reading "Romeo and Juliet," "Macbeth," and "King Lear." Activities include matching characters with descriptions, short answer and true/false questions. Activities are...

Students practice language. In this vocabulary expansion lesson, students match words on a sentence strip. They work independently to recognize and correlate words in a sentence to individual words out of sequence. This lesson includes...