Start a activity on poetic voice with a peer to peer discussion on what characterizes the strength in the voice with which a writer chooses to express himself/herself. In pairs, readers are tasked with reading and creating T-charts for...

Middle schoolers complete a unit of lessons that explore the poetic voice of Langston Hughes. They define voice, read and analyze various poems by Langston Hughes, and complete journal entries for each instructional activity.

Conduct a written literary discussion and diminish stress about public writing. Class members, already arranged into literature circles, compose and post responses to novels, signing with initials or class number. The process continues...

Running an election campaign takes money. Class groups must effectively budget money in order to design and purchase sufficient advertising aimed at procuring classmates' votes. After completing an online tutorial, they also write and...

Practice outlining and evaluating expository writing in this lesson. After discussing main ideas and seeing examples, young writers go through a sample outline and discuss the way to properly format a piece of writing. They then create...

Learners recognize and identify onomatopoeia. They will read the book All Aboard! A True Train Story, by Susan Kuklin. After reading the book, they list and illustrate examples of onomatopoeia. Then they write a poem or...

Do your young grammarians have a hard time keeping their point of view consistent in writing? Use this resource to help them keep their point of view straight. After reading the reference sheet and instructions, learners rewrite eight...

Suggested to accompany a class reading of The Great Gatsby, this plan begins with a discussion emphasizing the reputation of Vanderbilt University. Then, after the class has a working knowledge of the wealth associated with the school,...

A great student reference tool and graphic organizer in one worksheet! Young writers can read a detailed description of each section of a standard five-paragraph essay before completing a graphic organized with their own writing. The...

Pronouns are the most helpful parts of speech! Model the ways that interrogative, indefinite, personal, and demonstrative pronouns can specify meaning and enhance writing with a hands-on activity.

Students compare and contrast a classic fairy tale with a fractured one. They write an advertisement that would entice a witch and a resume for a frog prince who is hiring. They publish their completed work.

Students design and illustrate a pop-up book of their original writing after studying the book, The Jolly Postman: Or Other People's Letter's. They present their book and complete a self-assessment rubric.

Individuals complete a pre-assessment to gauge their ability to determine the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They examine a new piece of nonfiction reading by looking at the table of contents, headings, and index...

Learners write a personification poem and identify its use. They make a pattern worksheet and then use Photoshop Elements skills to illustrate their poem. Students use layer styles with the text to highlight the poetry.

Discover fashion terms with your class, they will design details while examining the top designers and world fashion centers. Among the topics discussed are: marketing, specializing, and designer labeling. To complete the assignments,...

Students explore the language of Shakespeare. In this literature lesson, students examine words invented by Shakespeare as they interpret their meanings in drawings. Students pantomime the meanings and then write a short story...

Looking for a winter-themed vocabulary activity? Provide each learner with several templates of a snowflake (you need to provide this), and have them write one vocabulary word on the middle of each snowflake. Then, after doing some...

Young scholars edit written work about a fashion show.  In this fashion show lesson, students write a presentation piece and works in groups of 4,6, or 8 to edit what they have written.  Young scholars rehearse by pair sharing...

Differentiate instruction with this crafty approach to demonstrating comprehension. Learners choose a fictional book at their reading level, and afterward create a quilt square. The square is "decorated" with words, illustrations, and...

Fifth graders determine how freedom comes with rights and responsibilities through literature and poetry about World War II. In this World War II activity, 5th graders use the letters in the word "infamy" to write an acrostic poem. They...

Youngsters review nouns, adjectives and verbs. In this poetry lesson, readers choose a set of antonyms and create a list of synonyms, verbs and adjective for each. Young scholars use the words to write a Diamante poem.

After reading a selection on the life of Handel, learners utilize worksheets embedded in the packet in order to write a synopsis of his life's story. There is also a quiz on his life with questions such as: What kinds of music did Handel...

What word is it? Build fluency with sight words using this sounding out strategy which enforces silent reading techniques. There are more than enough words included here on index card templates, but you can use this idea with any set...

Discover that Kenyan children aren't much different from your young scholars as they read Kelly Cunnane's story For You are a Kenyan Child. This story is an excellent resource for vocabulary in context, and introduces new words...