Learners choose a book for reading. In this language arts lesson, students take steps to evaluate a book for free reading. Learners make a list of words found in the book that they are unfamiliar with.

How can you create an "English-free" classroom for your foreign language learners? This year, use some of these strategies to maximize your learners' opportunity to communicate in the language.

Here's a formal plan for what many effective teachers already do: Provide a week's worth of aphorisms and have learners choose one to write about in their journals each day. They reflect on the meaning of each aphorism and project how it...

Students examine how to choose books to read on their own and how to participate in reading discussions. They practice the two finger rule for choosing an independent reading book and how to look at the book's topic for personal...

Individually, words have power, but when added together, they can take on a whole other level of meaning. Readers learn about compound words in the 10th of 17 lessons of the Word Recognition and Fluency series. A script provides guidance...

Help your class transition into better writers with this instructional activity, which guides them through the process of adding transitions to increase sentence fluency and organization. The activity is designed for a classroom with a...

Students practice the strategy of reading independently to encourage them to read material on their own. They choose a book of their choice to read by themselves to have a positive effect on their comprehension, vocabulary and reading...

For this word recognition lesson, students use a karaoke program to read and sing songs, enhancing their sight word recognition. Students preform these songs to each other. This could also be a fun way to introduce new...

Sixth graders select a prose, poetry, or nonfiction excerpt from a book of their choice and share it by reading aloud to their classmates, who identify the genre and respond to related questions in their journals.

Third graders practice word recognition and vocabulary building. They find word cards in the classroom. Then they practice reading the words and using them in sentences. Additional practice is gained by writing the words and using them...

Student practice reading with fluency. They read In The Big Top and practice reading to improve their speed and fluency. Students discuss what it sounded like when they read the story at various speeds. Students time their reading and...

Old, ild, ind, and ost may sound like a foreign language, but they actually represent common final consonant blends. Help learners recognize and pronounce consonant blends with step-by-step instructions, including scripted conversations....

Understanding different verb tenses begins with knowing how to decode words. A lesson on the -ed suffix with unchanging base words introduces readers to the past tense. Teachers present the skill with oral reading and spelling...

How do cultural and historical background impact thought? To explore this essential question, class members view of portion of the film, The Passage to India, read an excerpt from The Magician’s Nephew, and Nissim Ezekiel’s...

Students use reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, written expression to write in journals as reading "Holes" by Louis Sachar. Some days are set aside for tests and/or food tasting.

Students creatively utilize a word processor in order to do daily journal writing. They explore with using simple, compound, and complex sentences in order to present ideas with clarity and precision. They gain computer skills while...

Is it do'nt or don't? How about doesn't or does'nt? A lesson on contractions helps learners identify, form, and use contractions. Components within the plan include direct instruction on decoding and encoding contractions, as well as...

Fourth graders read and take quizzes over the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Second graders utilize Microsoft Word to create stationery and letters to send to other children in their school building, expressing experiences in their daily lives. As the unit progresses, they create documents to send to other second...

Students are introduced to nonfiction text. For this five esson unti, students explore nonfiction as a genre. They identify the components and text structure of text structure of nonfiction text. Students read a nonfiction passage and...

Put on your pirate hat and get ready to teach r-controlled syllables. Learners practice using words that contain ar, or, er, ir, and ur. Instructors model how to decode words to isolate vowel teams, as well as combine r-controlled sounds...

Just like scholars plug something in to close a circuit, they must plug a consonant onto a word to make closed syllables. Help learners distinguish between open and closed syllables with a series of activities that emphasize open...

Use this resource as an evaluation tool, or have your class assess their own letter writing skills. They will use a checklist that they create during some interactive writing sessions as criteria for their self-evaluation. Teachers can...

Students identify the types of transformations in their lives. As a class, they determine the ones they have control over and which ones they do not. They practice solving problems in math and oral communication that they are faced with...