Curated OER
Contractions
Shorten words with contractions. Second graders use apostrophes to shorten words, including harder ones like might not. Next, they write out the longer versions of various contractions. Have them write a story with these contractions for...
K12 Reader
The Important Apostrophe: Their, They’re, and There
They're going to be there with their family. Class members practice using and identifying the correct use of they're, there, and their with a skills practice worksheet. The top half of the worksheet gives brief background information on...
Curated OER
The Old Man and the Sea: Magic Squares
Review the vocabulary from Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea with a magic squares activity. To find the magic number, readers match the numbers on a grid with the words and definitions from the novel.
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Free Verse Poem
Budding poets compose an original free verse poem. Encouraged to use personification and alliteration, scholars read over three tips and examples then try their hand at drafting a poem of their own style.
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Diamante Poem
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.
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Repetition Poem
A repetition poem is the focus of a lesson that challenges scholars to compose an original piece. To add meaning to their poem, authors choose words to repeat at the start of most lines.
Curated OER
Speech! Speech!
Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National...
Curated OER
Those Fabulous Fables
A video leads off this activity on fables, introducing the class to this important form of traditional storytelling. The group defines fable and hears an explanation of the origin of this type of folk tale. They summarize the story they...
Curated OER
Found Poem Worksheet
If you're teaching your class about the cycle of life and want to include a poetry element, consider this exercise. It provides a link to a Found Poem (a poem created from others' words, but an original idea) that includes words...
Curated OER
Playing with Puns
"O pun" the door on this activity. Have your pupils compare the puns and word play in scenes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night to those in Gary Blackwood’s The Shakespeare Stealer. Warm up and introductory activities, as well as...
Curated OER
Encouraging Students to Embrace Their Inner Author
Everyone is a writer! Youngsters compose an original piece of writing. In this writing lesson, they come up with their own idea for a piece of writing, revise it, and then publish it with illustrations. This lesson includes three...
Curated OER
My Secret War: Lesson 4
Fifth graders write a speech. In 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.
Curated OER
Fill-In: Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj is a pop and fashion icon to today's youth. Here, they will read an article about her and what she wore to the MTV Music Awards. They read the article, then attempt to fill in the missing words from several of the paragraphs....
Curated OER
Sentence Completion 12: Low-Advanced SAT Level
Desiccate, despoil, devise, descry! You would be remiss if you did not use this sentence completion instructional activity to challenge even your best pundits. The SAT level words and the beautifully detailed explanations key would help...
Curated OER
Sentence Completion 13: High-Intermediate Level
Foreshadow, recant, impulsive are a few of the words your pupils must know to correctly respond to the eight problems on a sentence completion worksheet. The detailed answer key provides insight into the logic and strategies learners can...
Curated OER
My Antonia: Guided Imagery
Willa Cather's novel My Antonia is full of vivid imagery. Encourage your pupils to visualize and translate images from the text into original writing with this guided imagery activity. Learners listen to an excerpt, take a moment to...
ESL Flow
Parts of Speech Worksheet
How adept are your pupils with the parts of speech? Have them focus on verbs, nouns, adverbs, and adjectives for this parts of speech worksheet. Learners categorize a group of words by part of speech and then use these words in five...
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...
Orlando Shakes
A Christmas Carol: Study Guide
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens has delighted readers for generations. An in-depth study guide gives an overview of an adaptation of the classic story for the stage. Along with summaries of the plot and key characters, theater...
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Concrete or “Shape” Poem
Writers compose an original shape poem. Scholars choose a subject to write about and create a visual representation by forming a corresponding picture using the poem's words.
Poetry4kids
How to Write a Cinquain Poem
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.
Curated OER
"In God We Trust": The Camden Man Who Put the Missing Motto on the Dollar Bill
Here is a fascintating lesson which relates how the motto "In God We Trust" came to appear on all US currency. It turns out that a man from Arkansas came up with the idea and petioned his congressman and President Eisenhower himself to...
Curated OER
Poetry/Music: Let It Snow!
Young scholars create poems and sound compositions using instruments, sounds, and pictograph notation. After listening Debussy's Children's corner suite, they brainstorm a list of snow vocabulary words. Students write poems and in groups...
Curated OER
Building Sentences
Whether working with pupils in their primary language or language learners, the exercises included in this resource will encourage your pupils to build more complex sentences. Using color-coded cards of nouns, adjectives, verbs, and...