How can word choice affect a political speech? Middle and high schoolers examine the text of the 1999 State of the Union Address, and then determine how newspaper articles and television reports describe and analyze the event. Use this...

Study the importance of word choice in informational text. Middle and high schoolers locate unfamiliar words and phrases in newspaper articles of their choosing, and use online word sites to explore the definitions and histories of each....

Can word choice affect a candidate's likeability? Use a New York Times lesson to explore how a presidential candidate's likeability factor can fluctuate in public opinion polls. Young readers choose a presidential election from their...

Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally, they...

Knock, knock, knock...Creep out your class with a critical thinking lesson focused on word relationships in Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart." They investigate  the relationship between word choice, mood, and interpretation of a...

A Six-Trait Writing instructional activity helps your middle schoolers liven up their word choice and shows them how to evaluate their own writing. Class members take a close look at the language used in poems by Shakespeare, Kipling,...

Engage critical and social thinking by exploring the value of language and word choice. The class considers the article "The Silence of the Historic Present" and analyzes several presidential speeches. They engage in class discussion,...

What a fantastic resource to guide youngsters in persuasive letter writing. They read a brief letter to the editor and answer question about the author's purpose, word choice, and structure. Next, scholars draft their own letter by...

Support your writers! Clear procedures and appropriate support make this a superb resource for elementary writing instruction. Ready your class to compose original descriptive paragraphs inspired by the episode in Roald Dahl's James and...

Dig deep into any piece of poetry with a set of analysis questions. Ponder the content, form, and language of poetry and provide some question for critique. The first two pages include general questions, and the remainder of the document...

While pupils often think that length is a mark of good writing, precision is often a more accurate indicator of sophisticated writing. Show them how to whittle down their phrases and have them practice on the eight sentence groups...

Getting tired of seeing went over and over again in student writing? Banish boring verbs with a list of 250 different substitutes for that mundane word went. Organized in alphabetical order, words such as bustled, inched, and tottered...

Assign a paragraph a day! For the first four days, class members will need to focus in order to improve a paragraph and make it their own. Revision suggestions are given for each prompt. On the fifth day, give writers the chance...

Add some variety to your middle schoolers' writing! Kids watch a slide show about strong verbs and precise word choice. Why use ate when you can use devoured? The first two pages are a great reference tool for your class when they get...

Improve word choice and descriptive details with one resource. Colorful slides take middle schoolers through the process of writing with their five senses, and choosing the best adjectives and verbs for their writing. Use the...

Explore vocabulary context clues with a prefix activity. Using the prefixes micro- and mega-, fourth graders complete sentence frames. They then make up their own word with the correct prefixes. Helpful as homework or during a writing...

Learning about antonyms can help learners build a diverse vocabulary and better understand word meaning and choice. They work through eight different sentences by determining which words are antonyms. This nicely designed presentation...

A good author can craft a plot full of twists and unexpected turns. Your class will read a twist-filled short story, analyze the writing technique and word choice employed by the author, and then attempt to write a mystery of their own....

The story of King Arthur is a fascinating one, and this retold excerpt offers an excellent example of narrative word choice in a dialogue. Learners read the text and examine the way the author uses synonyms for said. They write down all...

Have your class attend a funeral for the words they overuse in their writing. They develop a list of alternate words for those overused words, and make an effort to employ alternatives whenever possible. This is a great way to improve...

Investigate herbal medicine in the science or health classroom with this activity from the New York Times. After a discussion about class members beliefs about and experiences with herbal medicines, pupils read an article that might...

Use drawings as inspiration. Have learners doodle for 10 minutes before beginning the activity. Then, have them use their doodles to inspire a story. Several writing activities are included here to play with writing. One of my favorites...

Use this artistic activity in a unit about word choice or as part of your ongoing vocabulary development routine. Helpful for both narrative and informational text, the approach prompts middle schoolers to create art from words to...

Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...