K12 Reader
Christmas Tree Add an Adjective
The star on the top of a Christmas tree can be beautiful, or it can be gold, or it can be shiny—or, in fact, it can be all three! A picture of a decorated Christmas tree encourages pupils to choose from a list of 18 adjectives to...
Curated OER
My Secret War: Lesson 4
Fifth graders write a speech. For this history lesson, 5th graders define the word infamy and listen to a speech by FDR. Students work in groups to summarize his speech and rewrite sections of the speech.
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Estuary
Students discuss how the meanings of words can change over time. Through discussion, lecture, and activities, they identify how words can have multiple meanings and how those meanings can be changed over time. Lesson resources are...
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The Relatedness of Languages
Young scholars use Internet and library resources to select and examine the origins of phrases or words, particularly words that have origins in other languages.
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Breaking News English: Podcast is 2005 Word of the Year
In this English worksheet, students read "Podcast is 2005 Word of the Year," and then respond to 47 fill in the blank, 7 short answer, 20 matching, and 8 true or false questions about the selection.
Curated OER
Proof of the Primate-ive Roots of AIDS
Students explore recent breakthroughs in H.I.V. and AIDS research, as well as research various epidemics that have devastated the world population at various points in history.
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Words That Will Haunt You
Students create taxonomies of Halloween-related terms. Drawing from their compiled vocabulary lists and previous reading, they compose personal essays of their own memories of the holiday. Students present their essays at a...
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Ancient Greece
Students explore the origins of modern language. In this etymology lesson, students discuss the cultural influences of Ancient Greece on modern society. Students design and complete charts that demonstrate the original and contemporary...
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Vocabulary Strategy: Call of the Wild
Here is a strategy for groups to contribute to whole class vocabulary development. Teams (based on seating rows) work together to look up dictionary definitions of words from upcoming sections of the book (though previous sections seem...
Curated OER
Negative Prefixes
Although only three slides long, this presentation does a good job in introducing negative prefixes to upper elementary writers. Pupils are encouraged to use a dictionary and a thesaurus in order to help them come up with the proper...
Bright Hub Education
Jabberwocky - A Creative Writing Lesson Plan
Make some sense out of Lewis Carroll's famous nonsense poem "Jabberwocky." After reading through the poem, introduce the word portmanteau and send small groups off to alter the original poem.
Curated OER
Weather and Dialect
What's the difference between an accent and a dialect? Examine the difference between the two with your scholars. In groups, they compile a dialect dictionary. They interview adults to gather information about accents and ethnic words....
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Mini Beasts and Dialect
Discover the differences in dialect. Inquisitive minds read poems and discuss how words or phrases are different in standard English and other dialects. Using a dictionary, class members locate the definition of each word, find...
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Vocab-u-lous! Build a Fabulous Vocab
In this vocabulary worksheet, students select the best word choice to complete the sentence. The words all correspond to the theme of Valentine's Day.
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Vocab-u-lous! Build a Fabulous Vocab
In this vocabulary activity, students select the best word choice to complete the sentence. All words correspond to the theme of Memorial Day.
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Not Just for Gods and Goddesses:
Students use dictionaries, encyclopedias, art, computers, and books to study the Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece. In this Ancient Greece lesson plan, students research maps, stories, Olympic games, and more about Ancient Greece.
Curated OER
Old English: Pirate Slang
Learners review a list of slang used by pirates and then compile a list of slang that they use in their everyday language. They discuss which examples of slang should be included in the dictionary and in which contexts slang is appropriate.
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
“Double Double Speak Speak”
Bilateral suborbital hematoma? Call an audible? 404? Have fun with “the twittering or warbling of birds,” or as 14th century French speakers would say, have fun with “jargon.” Groups match specialized jargon with plain speech, decode...
Curated OER
The Spanish Alphabet
Teach your language learners all about the Spanish alphabet with a lesson, presentation, and graphic representation. The lesson portion is mostly information, and doesn't include an instructional sequence. Class members can visit the...
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Out of the Box
Students brainstorm unique and unusual words associated with a given topic.
They then work together in groups to check their work against lists created by the teacher. Finally, they keep score of the points they receive for matching...
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An International Menu
Students research etymologies using dictionaries. They explore the diverse origins of the common foods they eat after making a list of their favorite foods.
Curated OER
Code Talkers
Students investigate the Navajo code talkers contributions to World War II. They read and discuss a fact sheet, and create and decode secret messages using a Navajo code talkers' dictionary.
Curated OER
Veterans Day Newspaper
Students examine the reasons for and origins of the Veterans Day holiday. They define key vocabulary terms, read and discuss the article "The Origins of Veterans Day," conduct research and complete a worksheet, and create a class...
Curated OER
Learning through The Duke
Students examine the important contributions made by Duke Ellington to the field of jazz, as well as some of the factors that led to his involvement in the field. As they explore the language of the 1920's, connections will be drawn...