Use these study questions to test your class on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. These mostly higher-level questions have the potential to be test questions, discussion questions, homework questions, or essay questions. The...

Get everyone up and participating! High schoolers reading Mythology, by Edith Hamilton, complete a graphic organizer independently, and then record one of their thoughts on the white board for a silent discussion. Decide how you're going...

As the saying goes: there are no new stories. Standard 9 for reading literature in the Common Core addresses this fact and requires that students be able to analyze how authors use the themes, stories, and characters of earlier works....

Just because it's summertime, doesn't mean that learning has to stop. Support children with continuing to develop their reading fluency with this extensive collection of literacy activities.

Both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have proud moments, but who is more prideful? Explore Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a discussion web that compares both characters in a brainstorming graphic organizer. Each side provides...

Identifying an author’s choice, especially choices that concern craft and literary devices, is a difficult skill to teach. Here's an activity that will make your job easier. The resource breaks down how to teach the skill to novice,...

Identifying the theme or central idea of a text is a skill many young readers struggle with. It is also the second standard for reading literature in the Common Core. This resource, one from a series of Common Core lessons, can provide...

Use this resource's pairings of classical literature and paintings to practice the skill of comparing different artistic mediums with your ELA class. Addressing standard 7 for literature in the Common Core, the resource encourages your...

Being able to identify and understand the point of view of fictional characters across a wide range of time periods, places, and cultures is a skill that is necessary for becoming a proficient reader. It is also a skill identified in the...

Focus on complex characters with a lesson from a series that teaches individual skills from the Common Core. Specifically, this resource provides practice with standard RL.9-10.3. Get pupils thinking and talking about characters with the...

Perfect fine motor skills and hone shape-matching skills with a hands-on activity. Youngsters cut out each school-related image along the dotted lines and then paste the images into the correct places on the following page.

Historically, members of the upper class provide plenty of fodder for comedic writers. Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest is no exception, and a study guide for the classic play discusses some of the Victorian social...

This discussion guide accompanies the fiction book Midnight Magic written by Avi, enforces story elements, inferences, and theme/plot. Have the class work on it over time, it will engage even your reluctant readers. 

Study allusions with a research and presentation project. Pupils are assigned a specific allusion, the phoenix for example. They research the origins, compose a summary, explain the concept, and explore this allusion within various...

Explore the history and scope of the English language with this presentation. With discussion points on the roots of English, its various forms around the world, and its status as a global language, this slide show would be a good...

What do the words pizza, broccoli, and ciao have in common? Why they are all English words that originally came from Italian. Ask your middle schoolers to guess the origins of a list of words by matching the word with the language from...

In order to build discussion skills, English language learners use a worksheet with several questions regarding crime and punishment in the justice system. They interview fellow classmates, noting how each feels about a given topic. They...

Review and discuss literary devices using this resource, a PowerPoint about personification, simile, and metaphor. Learners can talk about metaphors, similes, and personification. This could a part of a more in-depth discussion of these...

Does your language arts class have a hard time with writing transitions? Use this organizational writing instructional activity to create three effective transition sentences that middle schoolers will use in their research of renewable...

The classroom might not be the best place for informal language, but it's a great place to teach middle and high schoolers how to identify the correct language register for their audience. A short lesson on formal and informal language...

Identify and analyze the use of figurative language used in select pieces of writing. These pieces of literature will represent at least two pieces by one writer and at least two pieces by different writers. This lesson would be a great...

Thirty pages of grammar activities? Your young grammarians will be well versed in the parts of speech, basic verb tenses, and much more after completing even a handful of these exercises. 

This 13-page assignment was designed for English language learners. It includes a one-page reading on the comedic actor Rowan Atkinson and 10 activities/exercises that focus on listening and reading comprehension, speaking, vocabulary...

Enhance the reading experience with a set of lessons designed to improve textual analysis. Seventh graders use guiding questions to read both informational text and literature closely in the first part of the unit. Next, they work on...