In this first of four lessons on book design, students are introduced to the vocabulary of book design through the use of bookwalks and a non-linear PowerPoint presentation in game-show (Jeopardy!) format.

Students create a class book award. In this book award instructional activity, students review the book awards already created (Caldecott or Newbery) and look at books that have received these awards. They come up with their own award...

This mini-lesson about informal letter writing is packed with a lot of information about writing a friendly letter. Class members begin by working in pairs to answer questions after reviewing letter models. Then, take part in a grand...

A great companion assignment to your class lesson about Stone Soup, this set of storybook pages help your class to recall the tale in their own book. Each page provides a line of the story and a picture for kids to color.

Questioning a text is a very effective way for kids to develop their reading comprehension skills. Designed to engage all class members, a reading activity prompts pairs to develop and share their own questions about the ending of Neil...

Eliminate unnecessary nominalizations from your middle schoolers' writing! After reviewing a reference page for the -tion ending (and when it can be excessive in writing), students rewrite eight sentences to change nominalizations to a...

What doesn't break you makes you stronger. Katy, in What Katy Did, learns this lesson the hard way. After a terrible accident and a long recovery, Katy becomes what she always wanted to be—good and kind. Scholars learn about Katy's...

Scholars analyze the poem My Puppy Punched Me in the Eye by Ken Nesbitt in order to locate examples of alliteration and assonance. After reading the poem, alliterative words are underlined and assonant words are circled. 

As part of a study of  Sean Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens learners write autobiographical e-mails, hold discussions, create a collage, and compose a personal mission statement. Pupils then have a...

Surprise! is the theme of this series of ESL lessons. Cover an array of topics such as where we live, different times of day, shapes, the city and the country, what we do for fun, jobs, and games, all while practicing how...

Students explore a "table of contents." For this book researching lesson, students identify common elements of a "table of "contents" and complete a worksheet with questions about this topic.

Young scholars identify the features of fiction books. In this genre study lesson plan, students are introduced to the book Armadillo Rodeo and identify the cover, title, author, illustrator and title page. Young scholars discuss how the...

Students study the criteria used to select notable book awards, including the Caldecott Medal and the Newbery Medal. Then they develop their own Class Book Awards to bestow upon favorite books in the classroom library. They decide on...

An interesting way to incorporate pop culture and the elements that make a book good. Kids watch a clip from MTV Cribs, they discuss how good or bad books are similar to good or bad homes. They are all different and not everybody will...

Read and discuss a variety of books by different authors and have your class create their own book. They will identify the different parts of a book, then using a story they have already written, they enter their story and information...

Full of informative, helpful, and accessible activities, a language arts packet is sure to be a valuable part of your writing unit. It's versatile between reading levels and grade levels, and focuses on the most efficient ways for your...

In a multidisciplinary lesson plan, you will focus your instruction around the West African folktale, Anansi Goes to Lunch by Bobby and Sherry Norfolk while your little learners sing songs, play games, participate in a grand...

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,...

Give your class the advantage of Thesaurus Power! They will use a thesaurus to understand word meanings and relationships. They focus on how a thesaurus functions and how it gives the entry word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and part...

Tired of those blank stares after your class reads a particularly complex passage from a Shakespearean play? Help high schoolers untangle that prose with a literature circle activity. Ten different roles prompt class members to focus on...

You'll be a star at your next grade level meeting with an educational unit on Louis Sachar's Holes. Based on both the novel and film, the lessons include applications to language arts with character studies and movie reviews; social...

Wheels go around is the theme of the plethora of activities to aid in the language fluency of your scholars in this unit of ESL lessons. Learners can take part in a grand conversation focused on wheels, make their own steering wheel,...

Who said that? Scholars now learn how to cite evidence, give ideas proper credit, and work to understand the meaning of plagiarism. Part of the activity includes looking at an MLA Citation handbook, handy when pupils create their works...

Writers learn about using sensory details as they revise bland sentences with more vivid language. Next, they begin writing the first drafts of their children's books, completing storyboards to effectively plan their writing.