What is a signal word? Recognizing these words is an important step in both reading and writing formal text. Review a list of signal words (provided and organized into specific categories), and then have your class play a game to...

Students focus on their required lessons in Spanish by integrating music and songs as they complete their assignments. They assess the vocabulary, grammar patterns and culture associated with music and various different songs. Each...

Don't let your pupils bite off more than they can chew! Comprehending idiomatic speech can be very perplexing to language learners. Readers must use context clues, common sense, and knowledge of the connotative and denotative meanings to...

Students explore the language of the Civil War time period. In this Civil War lesson, students work in groups to research the meanings of Civil War slang.

Identifying specific writing strategies while reading fiction helps to increase understanding of character development. This handout provides a template on which readers can record examples of figurative language and explain how it...

This online interactive quiz tests reading comprehension and asks a few questions about figurative language in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.

The format of a formal paper, according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Guide, is the focus of a text-heavy presentation that cites the rules but offers few examples. Consider adding additional slides or including a...

Your high schoolers explore the role of artists in society in a creative three-week unit. First they customize art supply bags using paint, embroidery, appliqué, and other media. They imagine their ideal artistic work space and...

Art in one form can inspire art in another. Use images to inspire writing in your English class. The lesson described here is not detailed; however, the idea is strong. An engaging way to get class members interested in writing, the...

Learners compare and contrast visual and tactile textures. They create a painting that highlights one or more textures. Students express these textures in a poem to accompany their art. They recognize that words can express the visual...

Explore fact and opinion in the newspaper with your high schoolers. they will read the newspaper and write down specific information they identify as fact and information that is an opinion.  Students draw an art project to...

If your class is gearing up to read MAUS by Art Spiegelman, consider having them complete this KWHL chart as a prereading activity. They record what they know, what they want to learn, how they will find the information, and what they...

After reading the introduction to Maus I, class members use A KWHL approach to determine what they know, what they want to know, and where they can find information about World War II, the Holocaust, and other topics associated with Art...

What were the changes in art during the Romantic period? The presentation starts by describing some of the common characteristics of Romanticism, and then several slides present examples from the era. Consider using this in an art or...

Read your class a folk tale from Romania then discuss it. As they listen they discover how the author sets the mood using English conventions such as foreshadowing, magical elements, and they look for descriptive language while looking...

Students identify words that rhyme and realize that this literacy skill is engaging. Then they prepare their own language game props. Students also monitor each other in following rules, erasing duplicate words, and scorekeeping....

In order to build discussion skills, English language learners use a activity with several questions regarding crime and punishment in the justice system. They interview fellow classmates, noting how each feels about a given topic. They...

An overview of the history and tradition of Ash Wednesday in 2 paragraphs is accompanied by an array of language activities: cloze exercise, phrase matching, word jumble, multiple choice, sequencing, interview, group presentation,...

Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. In this figurative language lesson, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.

Guide your learners to develop themes in Lewis Carroll's Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. Here is a handy resource that poses abundant higher-level thinking questions on topics in the books from...

If you are teaching a class about language, this presentation about names and -nyms might be helpful. It is long enough to be broken into several different class sessions and addresses place names, stage names, surnames, and naming...

Check specific recall of events and phrases from Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan. Questions focus on exact language, numbers, places, and character names. Be sure your readers know the book by giving them this...

Word roots can help your class find connections between vocabulary words and develop language skills. This resource asks learners to fill in a synonym and antonym for six words, keeping word roots in mind. There is a word bank for...

One of two epic poems attributed to Homer, The Odyssey is full of unfamiliar language. With this two-page activity, your class will study new words like victuals, forlorn, and pine. Unfortunately, the specific section these words come...