A lesson begins with a description of a diamante poem and the rules to follow while writing one. Scholars examine the ins and outs of synonym and antonym diamantes, then compose an original poem using their newfound knowledge. 

Compose a Valentine's Day poem! Practicing their rhyming skills, scholars follow the traditional format to create a happy poem for a friend or family member. 

What could be better than a play within a play? A study guide for "The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of 'A Christmas Carol'" has theater-goers share their thoughts on the comedic...

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address provides the text for a series of close reading exercises that model for instructors how carefully crafted guiding questions can help readers think critically about what they read, thus developing...

Here's a great idea for writing portfolios. Kids decorate all four sides of their portfolio, introducing themselves, their families, goals, dreams, and favorite things. Detailed directions for all four panels and a rubric are included in...

A lesson challenges scholars to create a cinquain poem. Writers begin by choosing a topic and brainstorm details, then compose their original poem making sure to count syllables. 

Test your pupils' skills with indoor decorating while finding out how well they understand prepositions of place. After practicing living room vocabulary, pairs furnish a room by drawing in items. They then present their room to the...

Discover the nutritional wonders of apples and get to know Johnny Appleseed with a plethora of learning experiences that cover subjects math, history, English language arts, health, and arts and crafts. Activities include an apple...

Learning to read is not a simple task, but there are methods for assisting pupils as they develop literacy skills. The first four pages of this resource include information about language development and reading development, as well as...

Sad, depressed, miserable, inconsolable, forlorn: so many synonyms have a lot of variety with their connotations. Through the guided imagery activity, writers explore the use of connotation and its influence on imagery and description by...

Celebrate poetry month all of April with a guide that uses six of Shel Silverstein's most famous books as a basis for the lessons. Discussion questions and writing activities are provided for each of Silverstein's books.

Build understanding of theme with an activity designed for The Cay and the Common Core. Small groups or pairs use graphic organizers to determine themes, find and record related details from the text, and formulate theme statements. In...

A little bit complicated, but a whole lot of fun. Show your class an episode of the British television game show Just a Minute. After an explanation of the rules (no repetition, hesitation, or deviation) groups develop topics, based on...

Poetic language is abundant in Natalie Babbitt's beautiful novel, Tuck Everlasting. Learners note the examples of similes, metaphors, and personification they find as they read, and illustrate how the language creates a sensory...

Designed for teachers, this resource provides an overview of Pearl S. Buck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Good Earth. Information about the organizational pattern of the story, issues and themes addressed, historical background on...

The opening chapters of Mark Twain's masterpiece, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, can be daunting for some readers. A reader's theater assignment divides the second chapter of the novel into a seven-role script, allowing...

How do people solve problems in healthy ways? Writers explore a topic of interest in their multi-genre writing assignment exploring Zach's Lie. The final resource in a series of seven includes multiple scaffolds and organizers for...

What happens first in Tuck Everlasting? What happens after that? Prompt readers to create a timeline of the events in Natalie Babbitt's novel, detailing both story sequence and character relationships.

Uncover the exciting world of the Roaring Twenties with The Great Gatsby study guide. Individuals become critics as they write a review of the production. Scholars also read historical information and analyze the differences between the...

What experiences lead people to change and how do they do it? After reading about Cole's encounter with Touching Spirit Bear, readers complete the second out of a series of five activities to predict future events in the text. The...

Support young scholars with studying new vocabulary using this foldable resource. By cutting and folding the included template, learners can record definitions, examples, and a sentence for four different words.

What do Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, and Frosty the Snowman have in common? They're all characters from beloved holiday movies that viewers revisit in the play Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some!). Scholars conduct research...

Explore the works of Dr. Seuss, such as Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches and Egg, The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Lorax, The Butter Battle Book, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Each story lesson includes reading...

Look back at the third chapter of The Cay with your class. Pupils will conduct a close reading, taking a second look at a chunk of text and responding to a series of text-dependent questions. Wrap up with an analytical writing prompt...