How does a new version of a Shakespearean play change in the adaptation process? Use this New York Times' Learning Network lesson to consider texts that have been produced in different media. Middle schoolers examine the latest...

Have your class explore active reading strategies! In this guided reading lesson, learners make personal connections to characters having a bad day as a prior knowledge activation discussion. After reading Gettin' Through Thursday, class...

Focusing on Doppo's "Unforgettable People" and late nineteenth century Japanese literature, this resource also leads to discussions of form being dictated by content. Explore the development of new literary styles first-hand by...

Noun: a person, place, or thing. Assess your middle schoolers knowledge of nouns (and which ones are capitalized) with this worksheet. It's set up great for independent learners; after every five sentences, learners are encouraged to...

Explore Japanese society and national identity. Class members share ideas about the Japanese economy and then investigate a series of resources, including an article, a film, a lecture, and a poem, to learn about Japan's Bubble Economy...

What do spiders' legs and an octopus's eyeball have to do with metaphors? The fourth lesson plan in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl uses disgusting foods to teach about metaphoric writing.

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.

Find the author's purpose in this review worksheet. Fourth graders read each of the three following paragraphs and decide whether the author's purpose is to persuade, inform, or entertain. You could use this activity as a class...

Looking for a Halloween-themed vocabulary lesson? Study words in context using Zoe Hall's story It's Pumpkin Time, an excellent informational text for budding readers. The spooky suggested words are: buds, gather, hollow,...

“Rikki-tikki-tavi” provides an opportunity to model for readers how to use background information to enrich understanding of a story. Class members observe animal behavior, listen to biographical background on Rudyard Kipling, study...

This lesson is so beneficial it makes any teacher's heart skip a beat! After readers identify words from Words by Heart, they break down unknown vocabulary with a handout detailing various prefixes and suffixes. Once they finish...

W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" provides plenty of foreshadowing which readers use to make predictions in this tightly composed, sound instructional plan. Your class reads the story, recording predictions and checking for veracity...

The pumpkin might be the single most amazing plant for youngsters. It's so big! It's leaves, it's stems, it's fruit! And it is easy to grow! This lesson describes all sorts of wonderful pumpkin ideas. Everything from pumpkin stories,...

An excellent lesson plan about pumpkins is designed for young learners! This thorough plan has terrific suggestions for activities to do using pumpkins, ideas for art projects, books to read, some nice coloring sheets, and a page of...

Students make painted hand prints to cut out and use as fall leaves.

Students observe the different colors in fall leaves. They create a multi-color fall leaf in the crayon-resist technique.

Students interpret what a similies and metaphors are. They give examples of similies and metaphors. Pupils write different similies and metaphors using fall or autumn descriptive words. Students base their comparisons on facts, once they...

Students create leaves for a fall bulletin board. In this shapes lesson, students use triangular construction paper shapes to make leaves for a classroom bulletin board.

In this fall tree worksheet, students cut and paste the leaf and apple shapes onto a tree made from their fingers. Students have 6 shapes to cut out.

Creating art from nature teaches learners how to appreciate the world around them while allowing them to practice artistic techniques. After observing and choosing fall leaves from outside, they create leaf prints. They press the painted...

Three short puzzles emphasize Latin roots grad, mot, and cad in English spelling and vocabulary. Learners choose words from a list and complete spellings in boxes with definitions for clues. A reading passage using the words is included....

Which character in Toni Morrison’s Beloved personifies evil? What does Seth overhear Schooteacher instruct his pupils to do? The 50 multiple choice and matching questions on this exam focus on points of plot; therefore, test takers could...

Students read the novel Falling Leaves. They evaluate the repeated story lines which compose the history of narration. They analyze and defend reasons why self-esteem affects the success or failure of characters.

Students illustrate a story after researching John Singleton Copley's paintings. In this John Singleton Copley lesson plan, students read the background of some of his paintings and then illustrate their own story and create a flip book...