Here's a lesson that adds some zip to a study of parts of speech. Class members read two versions of the same article, one loaded with evocative nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, while the other is missing this sensory language....

How do you describe a jellyfish? Individuals write adjectives for Nomura's jellyfish, take notes, and check understanding with a formative assessment. Notes include the definition for adjectives, guiding questions to help writers...

Of all the amendments found in The Bill of Rights, the First Amendment contains some of the most important freedoms for American citizens. A unit plan on the First Amendment features interactive lesson plans designed to teach about those...

A fun and quirky painting is analyzed for details in an art/literacy lesson. Youngsters look for colors, shadows, and details and then describe them using vivid language. They use the words from discussion to complete a fun Mad Lib-style...

To understand the importance of the wording of the articles of the First Amendment (freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the press, and freedom to assembly and petition), teams argue before a jury for draft amendments of one...

Thirty pages of grammar activities? Your young grammarians will be well versed in the parts of speech, basic verb tenses, and much more after completing even a handful of these exercises. 

As part of a series of lessons focusing on the parts of speech, language learners engage in games and exercises that encourage them to use adjectives to describe people.

Run quickly. Walk slowly. Jump high. As part of their study of English parts of speech, language learners engage in a series of activities designed to introduce them to the descriptive power of adverbs.

Can schools ban t-shirts picturing musical groups or bands? Your young citizens will find out with this resource, which includes a summary of a United States Supreme Court case from the 1960s about a similar dispute over learners wearing...

Should democracies include hate speech as a protected right? Scholars analyze the rights found under the First Amendment to the Constitution through researching evidence. Freedom of expression becomes the focal point of the...

After examining different perspectives on book banning, scholars select a book from a list of frequently banned books and research the controversies surrounding it. They then craft an argument about their chosen book, including arguments...

Not all news in a newspaper comes in the form of a traditional article; photographs, charts, and even editorial cartoons help spread important information, too. A civics-based unit describes the parts of the newspaper as tools for...

Dander from the show Twisted Whiskers and characters from My Little Pony are featured in this three part instructional activity that explores using story pyramids to scaffold ideas, adding sensory details to enrich writing, and editing...

Learners prepare for the end-of-unit task by evaluating previous homework and writing sentences with parallel structure and various phrases. Scholars do this by closely examining E.B. White's Death of a Pig. They examine the structure of...

Freedom of speech is not always free. Scholars investigate how the First Amendment provides for the right to express opinions. Through the court case Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier, they analyze free speech using primary documents—and hopefully...

Students complete a review of the parts of speech using a jabberwocky poem format. In this parts of speech and poetry lesson, students read a jabberwocky poem and identify parts of speech in the poem. Students list adjectives, verbs, and...

The perfect resource for a beginning journalism teacher or someone designing a journalism unit, this activity prompts students to write a newspaper article. It covers all aspects of the writing process, such as a guided warm-up...

Scholars take a close look at the life of Louie in Unbroken. They discuss events considered turning points in their life and use several graphic organizers and guides to help direct their thinking. After thinking about their responses,...

Designed as a supplement to the study of the Freedom Riders, this resource uses primary sources to reveal the views of those who opposed the Freedom Riders. After careful study of the arguments presented by the members of the Montgomery...

As a part of a study of the First Amendment, high schoolers research a current news story that seems to involve one of the freedoms granted by the First Amendment. Investigators decide whether they think the action presented in the story...

It is just a figure of speech. Readers look for figurative language as they read Taggot, the Blacksmith’s Daughter. They complete a Figurative Language graphic organizer by recording and identifying the types of figurative...

Abraham Lincoln is responsible for uniting the states during the most tumultuous periods in American history, and for his elegant oratory that kept the Union believing in its cause. Young histoians analyze various speeches by America's...

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...

A short film about music is the inspiration for a well-sequenced lesson that includes discussion, group work, and writing. After the whole class converses about music, small groups write narratives about a still from the film. Pupils...