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...

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...

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...

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. 

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.

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...

Looking for a performance assessment that asks individuals to demonstrate their competency in writing about informational text? Use Frederick Douglass' essay "On the Dred Scott Decision," and an excerpt from Abraham Lincoln's 1857 speech...

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...

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...

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,...

Scritch, scratch, scritch. It's the sound of pupils writing poetry! Focus on sensory language and onomatopoeia with a writing instructional activity. After listening to some sounds, learners examine a couple of poems that include sound...

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...

What do images tell us about history? Dress, setting, and actions all convey cultural norms, and in essence, give reference to historical time and place. Learners compare and contrast Kunisada's Actor with Flute in Snow to Hokuei's...

Similes and metaphors are the focus of a poetry lesson complete with two exercises. Scholars read poetry excerpts, underline comparative phrases, then identify whether it contains a simile or metaphor. They then write five...

It's time to put pen to paper. Scholars complete the first part of the mid-unit 3 assessment, writing a short constructed response about international aid following a natural disaster. Next, pupils use informational texts and note...

"Friend, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..." Those words begin one of the most persuasive speeches in literature. Explore the elements of persuasion in a series of lessons related to William Shakespeare's Julius...

Explore poetry, personification, and multiple languages with a poetry reading and writing lesson. After the teacher reads the poem to the class, a discussion about personification follows. The class then writes a collaborative poem...

Using adjectives to create vivid descriptions is the focus of exercises in this resource. A cloze reading activity asks class members to add missing adjectives to passages from Mark Teague's The Lost and Found. They then read...

Discover alliteration found in picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Then, dive into a read aloud of Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak. This practice sets the stage for budding poets to create their own acrostic poem,...

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...

Examine homelessness through a series of writing and discussion activities and a short film. Learners first come up with their own stories based on images of characters in the film. They then watch the film and respond to a series of...

Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...

Use this lesson to reinforce the effect of passive and active voice in writing. First, middle schoolers write several sentences, and then use the attached worksheet to identify whether the sentences are written in active or passive voice.