Curated OER
Persuasion as Text: Organizational, Grammatical, and Lexical Moves in Barbara Jordan’s "All Together Now"
A thorough instructional activity on persuasive writing takes middle schoolers through several activities, including group discussion, collaborative posters, and independent writing. They compare historical speeches and analyze the...
PBS
The Symbolism of Castle's Bedroom in Ghost
To conclude a unit study of Jason Reynold's Ghost, class members examine how Castle's feeling about his bedroom change over the course of the novel. Groups use the provided graphic organizer to identify the plot of the novel and then use...
PBS
The Symbolism of Sneakers in Ghost
As part of a study of Jason Reynold's Ghost, readers take a close look at sneaker culture and how Reynold uses sneakers as a symbol in his award-winning young adult novel. Groups explore links to "Sneakerology 101", a Carnegie Mellon...
PBS
Figuring Out Figurative Language in The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders is well known for its relatable characters and plot, but don't forget how effective the book's figurative language can be! Check out an interactive resource that explores how figurative language comes alive...
PBS
Symbolism and Personification in The Outsiders
A shirt can't really swallow you—right? Readers find examples of symbolism and personification in S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders with two straightforward lessons.
Moore Public Schools
Lyric Poetry
Discover lyric poetry through a reading of Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar and analyze its meaning with three short-answer questions covering symbolism, personification, alliteration, metaphors, and similes.
Curriculum Corner
8th Grade ELA "I Can" Statement Posters
Eighth grades can master the ELA Common Core standards! Show your learners the connection between classroom activities and assignments and the standards with this set of "I Can" statement posters. Each standard has been rewritten as an...
Curriculum Corner
8th Grade ELA Common Core Checklists
How close are your eighth graders to mastering the ELA Common Core standards? Keep an eye on progress with these charts, which include every eighth grade identifier and full standard text. As you move through the year and teach, reteach,...
Curated OER
Persuasion in Historical Context: The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a powerful text. Use it to teach persuasion and the importance of word choice. The activity detailed here includes a scaffolded background knowledge activity that includes image analysis of photos from the Civil...
Curated OER
Ethos, Logos, and Pathos in Civil Rights Movement Speeches
Examine three speeches while teaching Aristotle's appeals. Over the course of three days, class members fill out a graphic organizer about ethos, pathos, and logos, complete an anticipatory guide, read speeches by Martin Luther King Jr.,...
Curated OER
Connotation and Denotation: How Word Choice Affects a Paragraph
Review the terms denotation, connotation, diction, and mood in paragraph writing. After defining the terms, middle schoolers practice writing examples of both connotation and denotation. They complete a connotation and denotation graphic...
Curated OER
What's In a Name?
Introduce your language arts class to connotation, denotation, and diction. Middle schoolers identify and differentiate between the connotative and denotative meanings of words by analyzing the fictitious sports team names. Learners...
ReadWriteThink
Read Write Think: Avalanche, Aztek, or Bravada? A Connotation Minilesson
Interesting lesson plan which stresses the importance of connotation in writing by examining car names. Students participate in an interactive lesson plan in which they learn the value of connotation and begin to master the technique.
Grammar Check
Grammar Check: 33 Commonly Misunderstood Words & Phrases (Infographic)
This infographic provides a list of words and phrases that are commonly misused in formal writing. Students will see different homonyms that are misused and find ways to discover them.
Other
A. Word. A. Day
Still another site offering you a word a day to build vocabulary and understanding of new words. You can subscribe for free, or check out the archives.
ABCya
Ab Cya: Synonyms and Antonyms Word Toss
Check your skills at identifying synonyms and antonyms with an alluring interactive game of word toss.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: Understanding Poetry
Learn how to find the meanings of words through analogy and other word relationships.
Merriam-Webster
Merriam Webster: Word of the Day
This daily resource gives the word for the day, definition, example sentence and a "Did you know?" about the word.
University of California
Can the English Language Survive?
Due to the "reliance on electronic media, rampant proliferation of homophonous misuses of the English language" has taken place. Test your knowledge on this quiz of homophones.
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago: Roget's Thesaurus Search Form
Enter any word and get tons of words that mean the same thing (or close to it)
The Write Place
Literacy Education Online: How to Use a Thesaurus
A good overview of what a thesaurus is and how best to use one. Also includes the difference between the two forms of thesauri and explains how to choose the correct synonym to use. L.9-10.4c References
Vocabulary.com
Vocabulary.com: 100 Sat Words Beginning With "A"
This site contains a list of 100 words from the SAT that begin with the letter "A". Teachers can digitally assign this list to their students to reinforce the spellings, pronunciations, and meanings of these words.
Grammarly
Grammarly Handbook: Appropriate Vocabulary
This page focuses on the choice of vocabulary in a paper: Is it clear and appropriate for the audience? Does the vocabulary fit the subject matter? W.11-12.2d Lang/Fig/Voc