Start by watching a video entitled Do You Speak American? and respond to discussion questions about the various dialects showcased throughout the video to identify the regional linguistic styles throughout America. As a culminating...

Create a language mosaic to reveal the linguistic diversity in your community. Pupils interview a person with a home language other than English and contribute to a bulletin board display representing the variety of languages spoken. The...

In these English lesson plans, students use video, the Internet and non-fiction essays to research the history of the English language. They write a short research paper and design a PowerPoint presentation showcasing their findings.

Class pairs select a prompt from a provided list and tell (and record) their story to their partner. They then examine linguist William Labov's model for natural narratives, and apply his model to their tale. Next, class members watch...

Students apply the reading technique of scanning to real world texts. They look for specific information (time, date, place/location, etc.) from a bus schedule in order to communicate the necessary information to someone else.

Tenth graders define the term slang, explaining its various social, historical, and racial contexts, so as to articulate when it can be appropriately used as a means of effective communication. They use their own personal slang lexicon,...

Readers make personal connections to Saturday Market by Patricia Grossman and answer comprehension questions while reading the book. Comparing and contrasting the different characters in a Venn diagram leads to a kinesthetic...

Film poems? To concluded a poetry unit, writers select one of their own poems and create a film that brings to life the sounds and images of their work. Included with the detailed unit plan are daily lessons, student examples, a list of...

Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...

"i before e. . ."  Spelling is easier if kids know the eight basic spelling rules  contained in this resource packet.

Who doesn't love music? Poems and songs will engage your high school class in a discussion about irony. Use songs like "Rockin' in the Free World" or "Born in the U.S.A." to illustrate the ironic point of view. Print the lyrics so...

Media texts convey both overt and implied messages. As part of their study of media, class members analyze the language, form, techniques, and aesthetics in a variety of media texts.

Do students really need to be taught how to read cartoons, comic books, and comic strips? Yes. Just as they need to learn how to read other forms of graphic text such as diagrams, photos, timetables, maps, charts, and tables. Young...

Students explore how to make their language gender neutral.

In this ESL vocabulary worksheet, students match a set of 13 words with their correct definitions. Page has links to answers and additional activities.

Students create and solve haiku riddles.  In this haiku writing lesson, students work in groups to match a haiku to an illustration.  Students write haiku and assess themselves and their peers.

Teach your third graders how to find the meanings of words using context clues. Using this reading lesson, discuss how readers can find the meaning of a word by using the sentences around it. They then complete a worksheet in which they...

  Students define vocabulary words from the, The Pearl.  In this vocabulary instructional activity, students discuss their vocabulary words and create sentences for them.  Students also complete a worksheet with the most...

Your young architects use the Internet to research tall structures or sky scrapers to help in the design of their scale drawings. This is lesson one of three in which learners design, build, and test model skyscrapers for seismic safety....

Develop the fluency of beginning readers one sound at a time with this phonemic awareness instructional activity. Through a series of whole-class instruction, independent practice, and collaborative learning activities,...

Third graders practice replacing words in a sentence to make it more interesting. For this word choice lesson, 3rd graders listen to the story The Hard-Times Jar by Ethel Smothers and discuss the author's word choice. Students then...

Students examine the advances made in technology with regard to prosthetics and replacement organs and limbs. They describe the anatomy and functions of different organs and create their own artificial organ. They defend and present...

Learners read The Joy Luck Club and analyze the effect of having to translate from one culture into another. Students trace patterns that link mothers and daughters in the novel, and write an essay comparing personal experiences to those...

Learners sort out important information and create a visual framework for reviewing in the future. They organize a large quantity of information thus helping with learning and remembering details, cause and effect, comparison and...