Add a strong poetry instructional activity to your literature unit. Middle and high schoolers investigate their writing voices with journaling and group discussion, then choose a famous poet to study. They write letters to their chosen...

Break down a quick conversation in Spanish. After the teacher presents the vocabulary, the class heads to the computer lab, where class members can watch a brief interactive video. The visual is one clip separated into four clearly...

Have you ever felt trapped in your own body? That is likely how Melody in Sharon M. Draper's Out of My Mind feels. As scholars read to find out how Melody finally expresses herself, they complete sentences with new words, describe...

Introduce your middle schoolers to a performance and movement activity that uses their favorite stories from fairytales and folklore. They practice basic acting skills, create dialogues with a partner, and then as guided practice,...

Young scholars explore scenes from Katherine Paterson's book, Bridge to Terabithia. In this visualization lesson plan, students listen to the story read aloud. The young scholars then choose words and phrases that paint a picture in...

This PowerPoint provides a summary, comprehension questions, vocabulary words, and links for independent activities related to the story "The Swimming Hole" by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Age-appropriate definitions of such literacy elements...

Middle schoolers are likely very familiar with the concept of bullying and cliques. Discuss their experiences and brainstorm ways to handle peer conflict and feelings of exclusion with a poem that focuses on bullying, and a second lesson...

Practice makes proficient! Using a journal of their choice, authors organize pages, then begin their writing journey of on-going writing practice in which they compose all poetic forms including diamante, limerick, free verse, and more!

Working on analogies in your language arts class? Use this straightforward worksheet to address common techniques and strategies used to solve analogies. This activity is a great way to review vocabulary and to reinforce logical thinking...

Combine art, math, language arts, drama, and delicious Jell-o with a instructional activity based on the African folktale Anansi and the Tug o' War. Kids make predictions and discuss plot points of the story before joining in...

Students examine World War I poetry for historical context, poetic devices, and participate in a class discussion. They write an analysis of the poetry's form and its content.

Should organized prayer be prohibited at high school sporting events? Students explore their own feelings about prayer in school-sponsored events, before discussing the recent Supreme Court decision banning public prayer at high school...

Are you are considering a unit on Beowulf or Superman, on myths, or tricksters? Here's a great overview you can use to launch a study of universal themes and archetypes. The focus here is on the oral tradition, but the concepts apply to...

Originally designed for those studying for the GRE, you could also use this worksheet in your advanced eleventh or twelfth grade English classroom. Learners study word pair analogies and then write a sentence explaining why they chose...

Writing is tough to perfect. Help your class improve their writing skills by studying different sentence problems. This reference guide covers sentence fragments, run-ons, and misplaced modifiers, but that's just to start! There's a...

Learning how to deliver good literacy instruction is key to becoming a successful teacher. This resource isn't so much a instructional activity as it is a guide to leading children in an interactive read-aloud session to increase...

Here is an inventive, and educationally rich way to conduct a literature study of the book, The Midwife's Apprentice. After the book has been read, learners get into three groups. One group is assigned the task of being the writers....

A strong essay eliminates weak or unnecessary material. Determining what information contributes to an essay and what information should be deleted is a skill readers and writers of informational text must develop. Class members practice...

The right to vote and freedom of expression are democratic principles that fall under the study of political science. A handout describes writing assignments that are common in political science college classes and gives tips and...

Here is a mid-unit assessment for a group of lessons studying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The first half of this instructional activity calls for several forms of review. Your class will review the content of the...

Young drama pupils will perform a number of expressive speaking exercises as they consider the themes of responsibility, consequences, and justice in the very modern Australian play The Stones. With a lot of role playing and...

Kids use poetry and contemporary art to start thinking about logic and personal expression. They read Sylvia Plath's poem "Metaphor," and critically examine the art of Urs Fischer. After working though a few logic problems they write...

“Should same-sex marriage be allowed?” As part of a study of recognizing logical fallacies learners read John Stemberger’s April 12, 2012 argument against same-sex marriage published on the opinion page of the Orlando Sentinel. They then...

Close up your study of Touching Spirit Bear with any of these assessment options. Each of the four project options is described in detail. Also included is a page that learners can use to portion out their time to make sure they fulfill...