The star on the top of a Christmas tree can be beautiful, or it can be gold, or it can be shiny—or, in fact, it can be all three! A picture of a decorated Christmas tree encourages pupils to choose from a list of 18 adjectives to...

Eighth graders study the 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner.' They study the ballad and explore style and technique. Students use the internet and search previously identified news sites for current items of interest. They use images copied...

Students complete online exercises for synonyms. In this synonyms lesson, students work in pairs to find pictures around the room and choose one as the music plays. Students write a word to describe the picture and discuss their choices....

Students use the dictionary and thesaurus and are able to explain a definition in their own words.

Students create the sounds of a thunderstorm with a symphony of body percussion to compose a couplet about rain using Microsoft word to publish. They are introduced to rhyming dictionaries and thesauruses and use Internet sources for...

Fifth graders, in groups, explore the the type of reference sources are needed to answer a question. Each group identifies where the material was located, and the teacher records the guess.

Learners take notes on how to use a thesaurus using the VSPP strategy.  In this notetaking activity, students listen to a lecture on how to use a thesaurus.  Learners write down the main ideas of a lecture and jot these ideas...

Students write a story using their journey to school as the setting. In groups, they discuss their experiences and browse through books to get ideas for their story. They practice using a thesaurus to find new verbs or adjectives they...

Finding engaging ways to help your middle schoolers build their vocabulary is not easy to do. The lesson presented here offers a great way to motivate them to build vocabulary by making it into a game. Teams of pupils use a dictionary...

Young learners record observations about different coin denominations and create a song about coins to the traditional song, "The Wheels on the Bus." This lesson is based on the Tennessee Quarter Reverse, and has all sorts of excellent...

Young scholars investigate new vocabulary words with a fun, collaborative activity. Given a deck of word cards, pairs of students flip over one at a time and independently look up the term in a dictionary. They then take turns rolling a...

An extensive portfolio project encourages your kids to reflect on their personalities with multiple writing assignments. From activities on extended metaphors to writing about an important day in their lives, kids explore the way they...

Learners elucidate themselves by writing up to six entries in different formats. Some formatting choices include a dictionary, encyclopedia, or atlas entry, a magazine article, a newspaper article, and a table of contents. Some...

Practice word processing while writing different types of poems. First, elementary and middle schoolers use Word templates to write poetry. They use rhyming and descriptive words as they work with clipart, text wrapping, and picture...

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...

Use a Mad-Libs like activity to create modern poetry! Writers will identify different words and their parts of speech and study "The Red Wheelbarrow" by Williams Carlos Williams. Then, use the sheets attached to craft your own poem! An...

Students are introduced to different context clues.  In this context clues lesson, students analyze sentences to find the meaning of a word using context clues.

Here is a fine instructional activity on teaching ways to use context clues. Upper graders split up into groups and use sticky notes to cover up five words in a passage of text. The passages are rotated to the other groups, and learners...

Therefore! However! Furthermore! Explore the power of transition words and phrases. Signal your readers by suggesting the relationship between different thoughts or points. Help them demonstrate an understanding of word relationships. 

If you are interested in having a basic framework for teaching expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive writing, this resource may help; however, you will have to find information on the different forms of writing to share with...

Explore words, definitions, their connotations and associations with brand names. Middle and high schoolers identify words used in commercials and determine their effect upon the consumer population. They explore how meanings are...

Work on using transition words in context by prompting elementary and middle schoolers to write their own persuasive essays using transition words. They explore new forms of transition words and examine how they are used in an editorial...

One of the keys for successful teaching is connecting curriculum to real-life experiences. This lesson on blogging does this, by making writing, revising, and publishing a reality. Pupils create a character for a story, write about their...