Curated OER
Book: Finland
Students, after reading Chapter One in the book, "Finland," design and create in the computer lab a wildlife journal from an imaginary trip to Finland. They include different animals and plants that live in Finland as well as describing...
Curated OER
Home in the Desert: Lesson for Use with This House is Made of Mud
Third graders examine how a family modifies their environment to create a home out of mud. They read the book "This House is Made of Mud" by Ken Buchanan, and write a description of their own home that compares the home of mud to their...
Curated OER
Fifteen Seconds of Fame
A reading of Panic in Paris launches a review of the elements of narrative writing. Class members work in groups to find narrative devices in the book and record their findings on a provided worksheet. Using the completed pages,...
Curated OER
MLA Citation practice
Do your writers have a hard time properly citing their sources in MLA style? Use this SMART board activity to practice these skills in a fun, interactive way. After debating a topic in class (the instructional activity uses "random drug...
Curated OER
What Did You Do?
English learners practice using the past tense by participating in a time description activity. They identify the differences between verbs when they are used to describe current events or past events. Learners answer questions using...
Curated OER
Technopoet - Poetry Lesson Plans
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...
Curated OER
Kip Pix Studio Deluxe
After reading The Sign of the Beaver, learners utilize Kid Pix Studio Deluxe to draw a picture from one scene in the story. They also compose a description to accompany their scene. A minimum of two paragraphs must be written, using at...
Curated OER
Elements of Drama: Vocabulary
Introduce your young thespians to the elements of drama! Key vocabulary helps them through their first week of class. The presentation outlines parts of a script, stage direction, and strategies for reading a script. Tip: The strategies...
Curated OER
Bud, Not Buddy: Guided Imagery Exercise
Develop readers’ awareness of the visual power of language with a guided imagery exercise. Set the stage and create the mood with dim lights, soft music and potpourri. Then read the provided section of Bud, Not Buddy. Next, invite...
Curated OER
Writing Process- Expository Writing
Expository writing is the focus of the language arts lesson presented here. In it, young writers review what expository writing is through a class discussion and teacher demonstration. Then, learners write expository text that describes...
Florida Center for Reading Research
Vocabulary: Word Analysis, Meaning Map
Lead young learners to understand new vocabulary with this series of word maps. The first of these organizers asks children to determine the definition and provide examples and descriptions of each word with the help of dictionaries,...
Curated OER
Shakespeare: Julius Caesar
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...
Curated OER
Audio Aesop: Listen to the Lesson!
Aesop's Fables are the focus of this language arts instructional activity. Young philosophers study and discuss the morals found in the most famous of Aesop's Fables. They write an original fable that teaches a common moral. A "Fable...
Curated OER
Impersonating Great Poets Using "Science Verse" by Jon Scieszka
A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this lesson mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but to create their...
New York Public Library
What's for Lunch?: New York City Restaurant Menus
Do you remember the days when a cup of coffee cost five cents? At A.W. Dennett restaurant in 1894, you could buy a five-cent cup of coffee and as well as a five-cent slice of pie to accompany it. The menu from that year is a primary...
Institute for the Professional Development of Adult Educators
Using Context Clues with Signal Words
When you come across an unfamiliar word in a text, do you skip it and move on? Practice using context clues to identify words you don't know with a thorough set of language arts lessons. The resource reinforces close reading and critical...
Reed Novel Studies
Johnny Tremain: Novel Study
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Scholars read Johnny Tremain to see how Johnny's terrible accident helped him become a part of history. Learners write two poems, analyze characters by matching descriptions, and create...
Reed Novel Studies
Paperboy: Novel Study
Little Man, in Vince Vawter's Paperboy, is a great baseball player, but due to stuttering he'd rather not speak to a soul. Scholars read how Little Man deals with his fears as they use vocabulary words to complete sentences,...
Curated OER
Create a Playbill!
Seventh graders explore the various elements found in the advertisement of a dramatic experience. Playbills are created that reflect the plot without revealing the climax of the play. Costumes, set construction, and character description...
Curated OER
Memoir
After reading and analyzing two narrative memoirs, middle schoolers engage in a variety of activities, including writing an essay, developing a story map, and creating character charts. They then compare and contrast story maps, and...
Edgate
Journal Maps
Inspire your class to look at their environments as if they were seeing them for the first time in order to gain a better understanding of the concept of perspective. After exploring their communities and keeping a journal of major...
Curated OER
Note Taking By Crayon
Skim a brief biography of Amelia Earhart with your class, and then assign groups of researchers one of four topics listed: Amelia's family life, important airplane flights during Amelia's life, turning points in Amelia's life, and...
Curated OER
Elements of a Short Story (SMART Board)
Seventh graders view a PowerPoint presentation about short story elements. They complete a plot diagram using a previously read short story. Students brainstorm events in the story. They discuss the difference between major and less...
Curated OER
Random Acts of Kindness For Kids
Develop a world-wide, email chain on which class members can showcase their acts of kindness. After defining the meaning of random acts of kindness through discussion and through a reading of Random Acts of Kindness,...