An interesting and unusual topic for a news article, this resource from the New York Times website asks learners to take a moment and consider all the things they notice during a typical day. Based of the editorial piece "Things I...

Secondary etymologists assign synonyms and antonyms to six English words based on the Latin roots fin, sed, and fer. MyVocabulary.com ranks this as beginner-level, but the work is challenging. A 24-item word bank provides two acceptable...

Should Charlie undergo an operation to increase his intelligence? A mini-lesson for a unit on Daniel Keyes novel Flowers for Algernon uses a RAFT activity, which prompts learners to write a letter to Charlie's doctors explaining why they...

Add a worksheet about prepositions and context clues to your grammar unit. As kids read 20 sentences, they fill in the blanks based on what they read and the prepositions that fit the best.

To do something to someone or something or not to do something to someone. That is the question. And it is the source of the confusion between lie and lay. The strength of this worksheet is in the clear, cogent explanation for the...

Foreshadow, recant, impulsive are a few of the words your pupils must know to correctly respond to the eight problems on a sentence completion worksheet. The detailed answer key provides insight into the logic and strategies learners can...

The value in this Macbeth study guide is that it asks readers to not only chart events, but to also consider the significance of those events. The worksheets could be used as preparation for a full class discussion or the basis or a...

Hand out these project ideas when working with The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. Pupils can choose from six different options or propose their own. The idea is that they will complete more than one project to meet the point requirement. The...

Imagine a project that informs and entertains. Replace book reports with a bulletin board that highlights all the important elements of a novel. Readers research the author, create a timeline of events in the story, write a...

Practice using context clues with a worksheet about making inferences. Five prompts encourage kids to interpret where each event takes place based on the details in each passage.

The second part of a two-part instructional activity on irregular past tense verbs prompts language learners to add four more verbs to the list of twelve they have been working with.

“What are we? Humans? Or animals? Or savages?” Ah, the central question of Lord of the Flies. As part of their study of William Golding's riveting novel, readers complete an anticipation guide and respond to a series of survey...

Reporting the news is easy, right? Think again! Show young scholars the difficult choices journalists make every day through a lesson that includes reading, writing, and discussion elements. Individuals compare the language and sources...

Home is where the heart is. Saroo, a main character in Lion: A Long Way Home, desperately wants to be home. However, he is lost in a train station and has no way to contact family or get back to his home. Scholars learn new vocabulary,...

Students read and analyze a personal narrative written about a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English in Guinea-Bissau, Africa. They discuss the concept of crossing cultures, analyze maps, complete worksheets, and develop a writing...

The rich language of O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" is only appreciable if you understand the words. A short lesson reviews 13 words from the story and prompts class members to apply each word and its definition to other situations.

Use the platforms of the 2004 presidential candidates to bring persuasive writing to your class. Young voters identify the three issues most important to them in the election and research the issues and candidates' positions. They write...

"Plot the plot" of "The Adventures of the Speckled Band" with your young readers. Take a few days to read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story as a class or in pairs, having learners write down what they consider to be the most important...

Your class hears a Native American Indian point of view of Europeans' arrival in Louisiana. They assess how cultural perspectives (especially an insider's view) and native language can shape a story. Each pupil identifies the...

Help your middle schoolers identify personal experience narratives in their own lives through telling stories themselves and from family members or other adults. They study personal experience narratives in Swapping Stories and compare...

Add a comprehension resource to a unit on the Renaissance or music of the Renaissance period. Middle schoolers answer eight comprehension questions and complete ten additional questions in order to fill out a crossword...

Practice language convention usage with this brief proofreading exercise. Together your class can verbally correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about Ida B. Wells. Then individual learners can rewrite it or mark the hard...

Here's a clever way to introduce language learners to noun clauses. After a brief exercise that provides examples of different types of noun clauses, class members listen to the Association's "Never, My Love" and identify the clauses in...

A biography writing lesson plan with a tasty twist! Kids create a "visual biography" in which each pizza slice represents a paragraph, and toppings represent supporting details. They learn research techniques, note-taking skills, and how...