Get your kids moving as they learn about the history of the United States National Anthem. Scholars examine the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key, and the meaning behind The Star Spangled Banner as they listen to an 18-minute...

The final chapters of Canyons (chapters 17-24) present readers with more challenging vocabulary. Two activities provide readers with an opportunity to figure out what they know, and then to use what they know to complete a word search...

Reinforce the actions, emotions, and characteristics that determine what a character is like by having your middle schoolers create a biopoem using the model presented here. You could engage them first by having them write a poem about...

Sometimes the best way to understand a concept is to break it down. Young vocabulary pupils work with word parts in a hands-on activity that prompts them to connect flash cards with affixes to their root and base words....

Students watch the movie Jane Eyre and complete a viewing log. They take a test on their findings.

Students are able to read and analyze the essential parts of two specific types of documents, the informed consent document and the position paper, used by scientists to communicate information about their research to two different kinds...

Students explore imagery in poetry. In this poetry activity, students examine how the use of metaphors and similes aid in reading comprehension. Multiple resources are provided.

Students read the novel, Music from a Place Called Half Moon. They are assigned chapters to analyze for literary elements and to assign titles to the book chapters.

Middle schoolers develop strategies for what to do when they come upon words in a text that they don't know. After a class discussion, pupils are given a selection of text that contains some very difficult words. They are instructed to...

Students preparing for the GED test practice the components of reading for comprehension. Students complete a practice test activity and use a calculator to score the practice test.

Relate literary works and authors to the major themes of English literature from the Anglo-Saxon period through the 20th century. Working in groups, high schoolers will evaluate period philosophy, religion, and politics that influenced...

Engaging and fun, this lesson is a good way to reinforce context clues with this lesson, in which middle schoolers investigate literary puzzles. They apply critical thinking skills to codes in order to solve them. They use a variety of...

Students create a timeline of events during the Revolutionary War and conduct research of historical figures. They construct acrostics or diamantes of the figures' names. They evaluate the involvement of Europeans in the war.

Fourth graders experience a dress rehearsal of timed demand writing. This lesson allows students to prepare for a timed writing test in which they don't know the prompt. This lesson includes writing prompts and rubrics imbedded in the plan.

Second graders create puppets out of pipe cleaners and, in groups, put on a puppet show based on a section of a story they have read from their readers.

Develop the writing skills of your high school class. Writers consider their personal style and voice, read selections by other authors, and then write pieces that challenge them to experiment with their own style.

Young scholars compare and contrast statements made by people in "Man on the Streets." They are interviewing them on the current war in Iraq and how they felt on Sept. 11th. These interviews are tape recorded. To see what kinds of...

Students study Chinese New Year traditions while investigating the concepts of percent and loan interest. They apply the concepts to calculate the total debt on monies borrowed.

Although the ideas on how to implement the skill RI.9-10.2 are lacking, the assessment would work well for challenging learners to summarize, and identify the main ideas of presidential speeches that are of similar topics. One could use...

Class members use e-mail and the merry-go-round story format to create a science fiction story. Each writer begins by selecting one of three prompts, crafting the introductory paragraph and sending the paragraph to the next person on the...

Sixth graders play a powerpoint jeopardy game. This can be used as a test or as a way to review information. This is a culminating test for our unit on Ancient Worlds. The jeopardy game is based on goals in math, language arts, and...

Eighth graders are introduced to new vocabulary associated with communication. In groups, they discuss how they memorize vocabulary words and the importance of a large vocabulary. To end the instructional activity, they complete a...

In this literacy worksheet, 4th graders increase reading fluency, vocabulary, and spelling through the reading of sight words. The sheet is used for a pretest and post test.

Students recognize the short vowel e in written and spoken language. Through matching activities, they discriminate the short vowel /e/ from other vowel phonemes. Students associate the /e/ with its letter representation and identify the...