How can you tell if a sentence has alliteration? Use a short learning exercise to help kids identify examples of alliteration, complete sentences to create alliteration, and use nouns to write their own alliterative sentences.

How would you spend your last days with a loved one? The movie guide for The Fault in Our Stars prompts scholars to compare important scenes from the novel to the film and contains background information about the author, guided...

To appreciate the oratory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, scholars examine the rhetorical devices and influences that make the speech so famous. They examine background information, conduct a close reading of the...

Literature circles give learners a chance to explore a novel in a unique way. An educator's guide for the book Savvy uses literature circles as part of the novel study. Additional activities cover elements of figurative language and...

Celebrate poetry month all of April with a guide that uses six of Shel Silverstein's most famous books as a basis for the lessons. Discussion questions and writing activities are provided for each of Silverstein's books.

Examine the changing nature of language in the U.S. View and discuss excerpts from a PBS documentary with your class and then conduct Internet research, and complete a team project on the evolution of teen expressions. 

Work on narrative writing with this lesson plan, in which middle schoolers analyze the characters from a selected piece of literature and write narrative diary pieces as the character. They work to understand the point of view of the...

In this multiple English activities worksheet, learners complete a variety of assignments: write three onomatopoeia sentences, add ten endings to ten words, give the root words to eight words, play two rounds of word chess, find the...

Eighth graders analyze and interpret figurative language. They listen to some examples of poetry which use figurative language. Then, they divide into groups and attempt to find more examples. Finally, 8th graders write what the poet is...

Students identify figurative language and symbolism in poetry as well as prose. In this literary elements lesson, students read and discuss the role of symbolism in Yellow Man by Moonlight, A Christmas Carl, The House of Wings, and...

Bring the beauty of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost to middle school language arts. After learners read a copy of the poem, they follow an instructional sequence that focuses on sound, figurative language, and theme.

What is a homophone for aloud? Or right? Fifth graders complete a list of 24 homophones, choosing another word that sounds like a given word but has a different meaning. At the bottom of the page, they write punning sentences to practice...

Explore the folklore of Asia and the South Pacific with this language arts lesson series. Complementing a reading of Catching the Sun: Tales from Asia by Jan M. Mike, this resource supports learners with understanding cause and...

Put together an English language arts unit on the six traits of writing with this helpful collection of resources. From fun songs to differentiated writing exercises reinforcing each of the traits, great ideas are provided for...

Choose your words carefully. Scholars begin by reading a line of Atticus's closing speech in To Kill A Mockingbird. Readers work independently on their note catchers, then complete a Think-Pair-Share activity with partners. They finish...

Learn about the interesting life of George Washington Carver and his many accomplishments with this series of worksheets for primary grade learners. From coloring pages and word searches, to non-fiction reading passages and math skills...

Mr. and Mrs. Twit do not treat each other very nicely. The sixth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl explores the way the characters talk to and treat one another. Role play and writing activities...

A 15-page packet details three activities designed to engage scholars in Homer's The Odyssey. As they read, pupils use a graphic organizer to record examples of several literary terms found in The Odyssey and contemporary...

Students investigate writing techniques by analyzing a chart. For this figurative language lesson, students define similes, metaphors and identify the difference between them and personification. Students demonstrate their understanding...

Whether or not your school/state has adopted the Common Core standards, you will want to add this resource to your Of Mice and Men curriculum materials. The chapter-by-chapter activities ask readers to provide evidence from the novella...

Why is it important to use precise language? Participants explore this question in the fourth activity in a series of 15 on effective instruction. Perfect for all content areas, the activity promotes appropriate language choice through...

While music lyrics are often used to teach literary elements, the richness of this resource comes from the wealth of exercises, activities, and support materials provided in the packet.  Although designed for gifted learners, the...

A thorough lesson plan takes your first grade class through Jane Yolen's beautiful Owl Moon. It crafts the unit with clear objectives, high-level guiding questions, cloze activities and sentence frames, and extension...

Help your class find their writing voices with this activity which uses the work of Ralph Fletcher to guide a "Prompt in Reverse" activity. Using the chapter "First Pen" from Fletcher's Marshfield Dreams, learners decipher what they...