Curated OER
Writing Process- Expository Writing
Expository writing is the focus of the language arts lesson presented here. In it, young writers review what expository writing is through a class discussion and teacher demonstration. Then, learners write expository text that describes...
Curated OER
Context Skills
Here is a fine lesson on teaching ways to use context clues. Upper graders split up into groups and use sticky notes to cover up five words in a passage of text. The passages are rotated to the other groups, and learners must use their...
Curated OER
Use Digital Photos of Scary Things to Inspire Poetry Writing
There's nothing like a provocative image to inspire a creative writing session. In the language arts instructional activity presented here, middle schoolers bring in digital photos of scary objects, such as a big spider, or a hornet's...
Oxford University Press
The Jungle Book
Most every teacher dreams of a ready-to-teach and print book study. Well, here it is! The Jungle Book novel resource includes 12 complete lessons studying poetry, author's craft, themes, characters, and more. Scholars role play,...
EngageNY
Establishing Structures for Reading: Getting the Gist (Chapter 1)
Class members review expectations for successful discussions before reading chapter one of A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. They engage in a think-pair-share to discuss the gist of the text and add their thoughts to their Readers'...
EngageNY
Introducing Module 2: Working Conditions—Then and Now
Let's get visual! Scholars embark on a gallery walk around the classroom to view quotes, images, and videos about historical and modern working conditions in various professions. They consider how working conditions have changed over...
EngageNY
End of Unit Assessment: Analyzing the Structure of Chávez’s Wrath of Grapes Speech
César Chávez gave his 1986 "Wrath of Grapes" speech to educate consumers about pesticide use. Scholars complete an end of unit 2 assessment, applying what they learned throughout the unit to a new text. They then analyze the structure of...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Nature: Friend and Foe: Extra Support Lessons (Theme 6)
Breaking down words into syllables has two benefits: it improves vocabulary and it improves understanding of a text. The third and final resource in a series of materials designed to be used with Nature: Friend or Foe offers extra...
Curated OER
Test Review Sheet: Irony, Comma Rules, and Sentence Variety,
Covering vocabulary, literary analysis, and grammar, this worksheet would be a great study guide or homework assignment for an eighth-grade Language Arts class. Though the five stories by Edgar Allan Poe, O. Henry, and Oscar Wilde are...
Curated OER
Whom, Who, and Whose
Who can tell the difference? Teach your class how to use who, whom, and whose - once and for all! One page provides an easy-to-understand instruction sheet, and the second page prompts learners to practice their grammar with thirteen...
EngageNY
Determining Main Idea Using Text and Illustrations: Accessing Books Around the World
Ease into informational text with the lesson suggested here. Part of a unit series, the lesson draws from previous lessons and acts as a natural moment to add in informational text. Class members read one section of My Librarian is a...
EngageNY
Inferring from a Primary Source: Close Read of Colonial Times Inventory
Teach your class about colonial America through an examination of primary documents. First though, start vocabulary notebooks for content-specific and academic vocabulary. Pupils can keep this record during the entire module. Once this...
Ontario
Critical Literacy—Media Texts
Media texts convey both overt and implied messages. As part of their study of media, class members analyze the language, form, techniques, and aesthetics in a variety of media texts.
EngageNY
Establishing Structures for Reading: Gathering Evidence about Salva’s and Nya’s Points of View (Reread Chapters 1 and 2)
Readers practice gathering textual evidence to support their understanding of character point of view in A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. Working with partners, they complete a Gathering Evidence graphic organizer and engage in...
EngageNY
Reading Closely and Introducing Rhetoric Toolbox: Unions as Agents of Change—Part 1
Scholars explore the question of whether labor unions are the agents of change as they continue reading César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." They discuss rhetoric in Chávez's speech and discover...
EngageNY
Close Reading: Excerpt 3 of “The Digital Revolution and the Adolescent Brain Evolution”
It's time to level up and discover how video games affect the brain. Pupils explore the topic as they continue reading excerpts from an article about adolescent brain development and the digital revolution. Scholars also participate in a...
EngageNY
Forming a Research-Based Claim: Cascading Consequences Charts
Life is all about choices and consequences. Using a Cascading Consequences chart, scholars create a visual map of the effects of a particular choice or action related to water management. With their researcher's notebooks and copies of...
EngageNY
Performance Task Preparation: Peer Critique and Mini-Lesson Addressing Common Errors: Revising Draft Essay to Inform
Time to revise! Using a writing evaluation rubric, scholars participate in a peer editing process to provide feedback on each others' informative essays. Next, pupils begin revising their drafts based on the feedback they receive.
EngageNY
Learning from the Narrator’s Point of View: Introducing Dragonwings
Journey into the past with Laurence Yep's Dragonwings. Scholars complete anchor charts to analyze techniques the author uses to develop the narrator's point of view in his novel. As they read, pupils also complete word catchers to...
EngageNY
Researching Facts
How did the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire affect the city's inhabitants? Scholars embark on a quest to discover the answer as they work in small groups to research articles about the event. They finish by completing a jigsaw...
Curated OER
Musical Poetry
Learners analyze lyrics of their favorite songs as examples of alliteration, metaphor, Onomatopoeia, personification, rhyme, and simile to determine the purpose of these devices in poetry. They use their analysis to create a presentation...
Curated OER
What's In a Name?
Introduce your language arts class to connotation, denotation, and diction. Middle schoolers identify and differentiate between the connotative and denotative meanings of words by analyzing the fictitious sports team names....
Scholastic
Persausive Writing
A unit on persuasive writing guides elementary learners through the writing process. The first part examines the elements of persuasive writing, including expressing an opinion, connecting ideas, using supporting facts, and writing...
Curated OER
Learning Inference
Making inferences can be a tricky proposition for middle schoolers. In the activity presented here, pupils practice the skill of drawing a conclusion and making a judgment - which are what making an inference is all about! There are five...