Focus English language learners' attention on word stress and phrase stress with a pronunciation chart that breaks the sounds into moving and non-moving vowel sounds. The chart tool uses colors and key words to indicate...

Hi! How are you? Join the conversation with a straightforward exercise on English greetings. After translating common greetings into their first languages, class members practice greeting each other and note the appropriate responses.

How do you do? Guide learners through the basics of conversational English with an extensive set of discussion questions. Class members ask partners more about themselves, including their favorite hobbies, music, and time of day, as well...

Pupils participate in a drama circle to read Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream aloud. They work with partners to discuss Shakespeare's use of language and analyze how specific lines of dialogue within the play help propel the...

Watch your language! Scholars work on an end-of-unit assessment in which they demonstrate the language skills they learned. Questions ask readers to work with different types of verbs and moods all about the text in Unbroken.

Interpret current events using editorial cartoons and other print media. Middle schoolers explore the meanings of literary and artistic terms such as satire, irony, and caricature. They visit internet sites to develop an understanding of...

Young writers hunt for examples of figurative language in their reading. The hunt requires pupils to cite  their sources, record a quoted example for each type of figurative language, and an explanation of what they think the...

Here's a resource that deserves a place in your curriculum library, whether or not your school has adopted the Common Core. Designed for middle and high school language arts classes, the packet is packed with teaching tips, materials,...

To make the point that there are many forms of language, each with its own purpose, class members select 10 lines from Doescher's play, translate these lines first into contemporary English and then into "SMS/Tweet." 

Following extensive modeling about how to apply word analysis and vocabulary skills to learn new words, partner teams create brief word presentations to teach new vocabulary to the class. Preselect words from upcoming social studies,...

Whether you are new to teaching language learners or an experienced pro you will find much to like in this massive tool kit. The 195-page packets contains teaching tips and tools, sample lesson plans and activities, worksheets and...

Create a language mosaic to reveal the linguistic diversity in your community. Pupils interview a person with a home language other than English and contribute to a bulletin board display representing the variety of languages spoken. The...

While this resource was originally made to be used in conjunction with John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, it could be used for any literary text. A reference sheet for readers, the resource includes terminology related to figurative...

What is the difference between formal and informal language? Pupils rewrite their position speeches to adapt them for an audience of adults. Next, they present their speeches in small groups, attempting to answer the question, "Which...

An uncountable noun? (Water) The Royal Order of Adjectives? (possession, quantity, quality, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material). Although this presentation on the English parts of speech is designed for language learners, the...

As teachers, it is our job to encourage learners to stand up for what they believe in and help them learn lessons from life's events. A set of practice questions designed for the ELA MCAS assessment features passages that teach positive...

Eighth graders select ordinary objects, determine their uses, and write poems about them. Once they select an object, they create a web about its uses to serve as an outline. Once they have written their own odes, 8th graders meet in...

Illuminate your playground with chaulk images. Young aratists use the web to research the work of Keith Haring. Groups then design their own piece of visual art and recreate their images on the school sidewalks of blacktop.

Identify and analyze the use of figurative language used in select pieces of writing. These pieces of literature will represent at least two pieces by one writer and at least two pieces by different writers. This lesson would be a great...

Focus on synonyms, antonyms, and context clues with a vocabulary worksheet. Kids study ten words and match them to their definitions before putting the words in context.

Practice ten vocabulary words with a series of critical thinking activities. After reviewing each word in context and matching them to their definitions, kids complete analogies and find antonyms to complete the assignment.

Write with the senses! Try using art to inspire writers to consider all of the senses. Here, the class is divided in half. Each group looks at one of two images, imagines the senses that would be engaged, and records answers to five...

Put together an English language arts unit on the six traits of writing with this helpful collection of resources. From fun songs to differentiated writing exercises reinforcing each of the traits, great ideas are provided for...

Are your pupils' essays full of long, wordy sentences? Help them to write more concise sentences with this practice worksheet, which provides twenty long sentences for your young editors to proofread. Use the activity as a homework...