Patricia Polacco weaves an engaging tale for budding readers in her book Some Birthday!, an excellent resource for vocabulary in context. You can use this text to introduce the following words: investigate, snarl, and squawk....

Anyplace can become a beach! Budding readers explore Faith Ringgold's world of imagination in her book Tar Beach, which can be found on YouTube if you don't have it. What words will budding readers learn? They focus on the following...

Practice vocabulary skills with this word analysis lesson. Middle schoolers examine the roots of unfamiliar words and use their knowledge of roots to discern meaning through word analysis.

Before getting too far into The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, support your learners by introducing and practicing some vocabulary that might be unfamiliar to them. The vocabulary exercise here includes 16 words from the third and fourth...

Use primary text documents to learn word roots. Learners listen to a reading of the Declaration of Independence and highlight words they don't know. They compile these words and guess their meanings. They discuss roots, prefixes,...

Magic squares make learning fun! Seriously! Learners use the given square to review vocabulary terms from J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye. The 16 vocabulary terms are not divided by chapter, they represent the whole book. As learners...

Expand the vocabulary of young readers with this series of five activities based the children's book Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback. From playing bingo to group storytelling, a variety of different approaches are...

Before your class reads chapters three and four in Of Mice and Men, have them complete this magic squares activity to review some vocabulary in the upcoming chapters. Twenty-five words are introduced, and learners identify the correct...

Get ready for the big storm with a vocabulary activity! Using a word bank and context clues, young learners fill in the blanks in a passage about a day at the park that leads to stormy weather.

It is an out-of-body experience. Scholars take a look at the sidebars outside the body of the text in The Exterminator. They discuss the purpose of this type of text feature and work to determine the gist. Learners write unfamiliar...

Learn about how the seeing eye dog program began with a reading instructional activity about Eva Moore's chapter book, Buddy, The First Seeing Eye Dog. With vocabulary words, discussion questions, and extension resources, the...

If you'd always wanted an expensive swimming pool, how would you make the money to build it? Kids read a short passage about a quest to create a dream swimming pool, and use a list of words to fill in eight spaces throughout the...

Word builders. Scholars participate in a mini instructional activity about affixes. They then complete a research vocabulary organizer and share their definitions of the words with the class. They gather more evidence for their research...

That was a good talk. Scholars learn about how to conduct a good discussion. They use chart paper and markers to record and discuss  expectations for members when working in a group. They then take a look at vocabulary...

Love is in the air! Learn about Valentine's Day words and symbols with a series of vocabulary cards. Each half-page card features a picture of a holiday symbol, such as a card or a candy box, and the name for each item.

Class members analyze the details of a section of E. B. White’s Death of a Pig to determine a central idea. Learners use turn-and-talk to discuss the details and ideas they identify. They then work in groups to annotate the text, respond...

Walk in a winter wonderland with a set of picture word cards. Kids work on their seasonal vocabulary with 18 cards, which include both pictures and names of winter items and animals that live in the cold.

No wonder the ship was called the Titanic. An investigation of Norse, Roman, and Greek Mythology provides insight into mythological characters and corresponding words in the English language. A close look at roots, prefixes, and suffixes...

Take a walk on the wild side with a set of animal vocabulary cards! Each card includes a picture of an animal and its name in large print for kids to read.

When you get hurt, who are the people who help you? Learn about first responders, support services, and public health with a reading passage. Kids read the informational text and answer reading comprehension questions about the...

Explore vocabulary by participating in a word fluency game! Utilize a deck of flash cards with irregular words printed on them to play a game. As they show each other the cards, they collect points for each word they sound out correctly.

Early finishers beware! Here is a fun word game creative thinkers will really enjoy. They attempt to make as many words as they can using the word transport. Strict rules make this task a real challenge. Tip: Also great to use in a fun...

Explore the animals of the forest with a set of vocabulary cards. Each half-page card features the name of an animal with a corresponding photograph, as well as a few plants.

Spelling games are a fun way to get kids to think about the words they need to know. This game provides a series of 53 different WOW words (good vocabulary words). Learners must attempt to guess the word as it is spelled in reverse. Add...