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Prairie Poetry
Ninth graders take note of the ways in which word choice, rhythm, language and narrative voice, as well as point of view in a poem can be used to evoke a time and place. They use their insights to create a poem of their own.
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Comparing and Contrasting Heroes
Here is a language arts lesson that can be used with virtually any grade level. The only thing that changes is the reading level of the books. Learners compare and contrast different heroes and the characteristics they hold. They use a...
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Plot of a Short Story (SMART Board)
Using the SMART Board, teacher reviews the elements of a short story while students follow along in their notebook. Continuing with the SMART Board, teacher introduces the definition of plot and the five parts as students take notes....
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Ivan the Fool: Lesson 1
Students read and analyze a classic Eastern European folktale. In partners, they read the story, take notes, define vocabulary terms, and write a summary of the folktale.
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Images of Secession
Analyze political cartoons and historical events. Middle schoolers utilize primary resources to increase their comprehension of the topic of secession. They utilize graphic organizers to take notes, compare, and analyze political...
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Literary Analysis of The Minister's Black Veil
After reading The Minister's Black Veil, by Nathaniel Hawthorne as a homework assignment your class will complete a literary analysis. Learners will analyze important element of the story and take notes to help support their...
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Descriptive Writing-The Hobbit
Young readers write a descriptive paper on the fantasy characters in The Hobbit. They take notes as they read the novel in order to provide descriptions of the character traits of hobbits, dwarfs, trolls, wizards, and goblins. They...
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Monster: Guilty or Not Guilty
Is Steve Harmon innocent or guilty? Examine the evidence with a worksheet based on Monster by Walter Dean Myers. As kids read the book, they note particular passages that they believe indicate whether or not Steve committed the crime.
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Developing Listening Skills With Folktales
Students answer questions about a folktale that is read to them. For this listening skills lesson, students practice listening to folktales and answering questions about what they hear. They listen to repetitive readings of the same...
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Understanding Conflict
In this story conflict worksheet, students read Dragon of the Red Dawn and take notes on this page. This page contains space to write notes on the problems and solutions for Merlin, Fire and Samurai.
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What are the Components of a Good Interview?
Class members develop interview questions and then one volunteer interviews a new principal (the instructor) while the entire class watches and takes notes. Participants then individually consider an interesting angle from which the...
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The Outsiders: Directed Reading Thinking Activity
It can be difficult to begin a novel when you don't know what it's about. Take the opportunity to begin S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders slowly, making predictions and answering questions about the book's first nine pages.
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The Tell-Tale Heart
Bring Edgar Allan Poe's spooky story to life! After reading the short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," middle and high schoolers identify the theme, character traits, irony, and other story concepts. During pre-reading, they take notes,...
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George Winter Lesson Plan 3
Bring language arts and U.S. history together in this lesson, which prompts middle and high schoolers to gather biographical information about Abraham Lincoln. They compare and contrast information written about his childhood and discuss...
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Take Note: Five Lessons for Note Taking Fun
Students practice note-taking skills through a variety of activities and exercises.
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Language Arts: Quotation Marks Practice
After reviewing the eight rules for using quotation marks, class members complete worksheets as independent practice and review how these punctuation marks change the meaning of a sentence. Additional worksheets are provided for homework.
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Narrative Writing
A comprehensive presentation on narrative writing, this should be shown to a class before the writing process begins. There are not activities listed, so pupils can take notes on the elements of narrative writing and figurative language....
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Sentence Fragment Exercises #1
In this language arts worksheet, students read 16 sentences and mark a C if the sentence is complete and an F is there is a sentence fragment.
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Male Image Building Utilizing the Writing Process
Introduce your class to the techniques of proper writing. In groups, they brainstorm their ideas on family structures and discuss the importance of having a male figure in their lives. After listening to an African-American poem, they...
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Short Story Elements
Learners engage in a activity that investigates the elements that are necessary in a short story. Each element is covered separately while they take notes for each part. Then the teacher points out each element while reading a short...
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Oral Reading Fluency: Reading Text with Proper Expression
Kids practice reading fluently with expression. They listen closely as their teacher reads a short paragraph, take note as she points out how she read each sentence, and then read along with her. They read to passage several times until...
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How to Write a Mystery
Was it the teacher with the ruler in the supply closet? Find out when you read mystery stories inspired by this presentation. Show the slide show to your pupils to give them ideas that will help them get started with writing their own...
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Beowulf: Songs of Ancient Heroes
Introduce your class to epic heroes with these activities for Beowulf. After watching a video clip, taking notes on heroes, and tracking characteristics of heroism throughout Beowulf, class members retell an episode of Beowulf using a...
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James and the Giant Peach Character Study
Every book has a few great characters, but James and the Giant Peach is the only one whose characters travel in a piece of fruit. The class creates T-charts for the main characters of the novel, while reading the book. They write actions...