Curated OER
Spell, Shoot, Score!
Games are great ways to motivate. The class is split into two teams; each team earns points by correctly spelling given words. To score bonus points, teams get to shoot baskets with a small ball. Tip: This game could be used to reinforce...
Curated OER
Gary Paulsen's Canyons, Chapter 9 "The Raid" List-Group-Label
Class members categorize and then label a list of words drawn from "The Raid," chapter nine of Gary Paulsen's Canyons. Individuals explain the rationale for their word groupings.
Curated OER
Icky Insect Is In Icky Sticky Ink
Practice the strategy of letter-sound correspondence when identifying the short vowel /i/ sound in written and spoken words. The teacher recites the tongue twister "Icky insect is in icky sticky ink," while listeners repeat. Letter boxes...
Reading Resource
Tic-Tac-Toe
Who can match three words first? Using a tic-tac-toe template, kids fill in nine words from their vocabulary word wall, and listen for the teacher to call out words that match their game boards. The first to get three in a row wins!
Curated OER
Word Roots 6: Plic, Fac, Cogn Beginner-Context-Story 1
Hear a variety of vocabulary words incorporated into one paragraph. Click on the "Cinny Nym" character image to hear the passage via audio clip. A transcription of the paragraph is available below. Familiarize your readers with a list of...
Curated OER
Making More Words With "at"
Students explore phonetics by identifying words with one specific sound. In this rhyming words instructional activity, students discuss the sound "at" and the many words that contain the same sound. Students utilize index cards to...
Curated OER
Words with the Ending -ight
Focus on the -ight ending using this resource. Learners read and discuss a list of words with the -ight ending. This is a great way to reinforce both reading and spelling skills. While this presentation features the -ight ending, this...
Curated OER
Connect the Dots and Write: Classroom
Beginning readers and writers connect the dots from images to words while practicing printing. A second activity requires that they determine what letter(s) is missing from the same list of words.
Curated OER
Reading List: Can
In this reading and writing worksheet, learners read and write the word can in simple sentences. Students trace the word 4 times, and read 5 simple sentences.
Curated OER
Heart of Darkness: List Group Label Strategy
Heart of Darkness can challenge even the best readers. Here's a pre-reading strategy that will engage class members and provide background and context for Conrad's study of racism, savagery and imperialism. Class members brainstorm,...
Curated OER
Phineas Gage: Notecard Vocabulary Strategy
Understanding the vocabulary in a text, especially a text like Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science that includes quite a few technical terms, can be the key to understanding the text as a whole. Learners focus on...
Scholastic
Frindle Lesson Plan
"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own terms for common classroom objects,...
Novelinks
The Cure: Vocabulary Bingo
As part of their study of the vocabulary used in Sonia Levitin's The Cure, class members create a card, filling in words from the novel, and then engage in a bingo game.
University of Florida
The Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip
Energize a shared reading of the Magic School Bus and the Electric Field Trip with this collection of supplemental materials. Whether your looking for discussion questions, reading comprehension worksheets, or writing prompts, this...
Curated OER
The Red Badge of Courage: Vocabulary Bingo!
To reinforce recognition of vocabulary words drawn from Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, readers engage in a vocabulary bingo game.
Museum of Disability
Buddy, The First Seeing Eye Dog
Learn about how the seeing eye dog program began with a reading lesson about Eva Moore's chapter book, Buddy, The First Seeing Eye Dog. With vocabulary words, discussion questions, and extension resources, the lesson is a great way for...
Novelinks
Zach’s Lie: Magic Squares
Individuals match vocabulary words within a magic square, a concept that ties in nicely with math class. The words are all located in Zach's Lie and were specifically selected to increase comprehension of the text. Fifth in a series of...
Curated OER
The Metamorphosis: Herber Readiness Activity
Delve into Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis before opening the book with a lesson on literary themes. High schoolers engage in a word association activity before reading a list of statements based on the book's themes. Then, in groups,...
Curated OER
Tangerine: Vocabulary
Here's a great way to make vocabulary words drawn from Edward Bloor's novel Tangerine memorable. Kids create a word square, and in one quadrant write the word. A picture goes in a second quadrant, the definition in a third, and a...
Curated OER
Running Out of Time: Vocabulary Strategies
Review concepts and terms after reading Running Out of Time. Learners each come up with a few terms that they think are important and then participate in a list-group-label exercise, paying close attention to the two main years featured...
Curated OER
Unwind: Vocabulary Strategy, Creating an Unwind Glossary
Prior to reading Unwind, Neal Shusterman's 2007 young adult science fiction novel, class members research the common definition of words drawn from the novel that will come to have a very different meaning to them as they are drawn into...
Prestwick House
The Help
Kathryn Stockett's The Help opened up a rich, vivid world of strong female characters and stark societal injustices. As high schoolers read the novel, they complete a crossword puzzle that includes clues from all chapters of the book.
University of North Carolina
Poetry Explications
Explication may sound like a fancy word, but it's just a fancy way to say analysis. Using a handout on poetry explications, part of a larger series on specific writing assignments, writers learn how to break down and analyze a poem. The...
College Board
The Departure
Scholars learn about the Hero's Journey as they read Ray Bradbury's "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh." They analyze the story's structure and narrative techniques. Finally, they write summaries of the text's central idea and use their...