Students read a chapter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and define new words for their dictionaries. In this vocabulary lesson students choose two or three assignment from a list of projects and complete it using...

Poems are meant to be heard. Hearing a poem being read enriches one’s understanding of the tone and mood of the piece. Introduce your class to the sounds of poetry with a packet that not only details how to use poetry recordings in the...

Introduce your middle schoolers to a performance and movement activity that uses their favorite stories from fairytales and folklore. They practice basic acting skills, create dialogues with a partner, and then as guided practice,...

Introduce middle schoolers to playwriting and the elements of drama with a six-session storytelling unit that encourages kids to expand their acting and writing skills. The 12-page packet includes overviews of the lessons,...

Use drama techniques to recreate the story, Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse by Leo Lionni. They engage in problem-solving as they identify the roles they will fufill in their groups for the performance. This is a motivating way to...

For many people, Barack Obama's presidency was the next step in Martin Luther King, Jr's dream of America's future. Explore the dreams of Americans past and present, as well as the young Americans in your class, with a set of activities...

Students listen carefully so they can say their "part" during a reading of a Cinderella story. In this listening and speaking activity, students saying their "part" on cue during a reading of a familiar story. They actively listen to the...

Students explore dramatization. For this literacy fluency and drama lesson, students listen to the story Mop Top by Don Freeman and add related sounds at the appropriate times. Students role play, pantomime, and add sounds to ...

Learners are introduced to various types of folk tales. During a read-aloud, they predict what they believe is going to happen next and practice following the story line. To end the lesson plan, they answer comprehension questions and...

Eighth graders read a book whose main character has a physical disability, and complete various related activities. They listen to a guest speaker, simulate experiences at school as a disabled individual through the use of wheelchairs,...

Students read a variety of literature from India, including folktales and fables. They then select a scene or story to script, work together to design and craft shadow puppets of characters and scenery, narrate a story, manipulate the...

Students participate in various activities to use movement and body awareness to expand vocabulary and word meaning.

Students investigate the quality of writing while focusing on the use of sensory words to convey meaning and ideas. The power of similes and metaphors is emphasized while they create and edit works of writing. The skill of descriptive...

Students use the Internet to research an article. When they find an article they like, it be printed and they highlight the important information and present to the class.

Students investigate acting and performing arts by portraying a story in class. In this pantomiming lesson, students read the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and discuss the characters amongst themselves. Students portray the 4...

Students are introduced to the technique of pantomime. In groups, they take a story and create a pantomime for it to perform in front of the class. They also practice ways to change their body posture and facial expressions to...

Students pantomime the story of The Great Kapok Tree for younger students.  In this The Great Kapok Tree lesson, students warm up with a game before volunteering for parts in the story. Students practice acting out the story in...

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

It's time to party like it's 1899! Incorporate a research-based celebration of the Victorian Era into your unit on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. After learners read the novella or view a production of the play, they craft a...

Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...

Fourth graders become familiar with the culture and history of Indiana.  For this James Whitcomb Riley lesson, 4th graders read poetry which includes the dialect of Indiana.  Students analyze the poem.  Groups memorize and...

Students discover the life of Benjamin Franklin by studying his inventions.  In this biography lesson, students identify the inventions of Benjamin Franklin and their impact on society today.  Students create a commercial in an...

Students explore poetry by completing a webquest in which they hear poets reading their own work. Later, they examine the dramatic impact of reading poetry out loud. Finally, they practice reading poetry aloud and performing.

Students recite the poem, "The Frog on the Log" paying particular attention to precise diction, pacing, projection, inflection, volume and rhythm.