The value of this punctuation and grammar lesson is in the SMART board presentation, which takes pupils through the proofreading process. It would be a good way to introduce the idea of proofreading in your class before beginning a unit...

Famous quotations by American Presidents are the focus of this Six Trait writing activity, which could be used in a U.S. History class or in language arts. After reading the picture book Theodore by Frank Keating, have your 7th graders...

A great way to bring poetry and parody into your language arts classroom, this lesson mimics famous poems based on Jon Scieszka's Science Verse. The activity not only allows the class to see examples of poem parodies, but to create their...

Reciting poetry is a great way to build oral language skills and build classroom community. Pupils look at the text elements of poetry and choose a poem to read aloud. They focus on rhythm, fluency, and expression. This is a great way to...

Bring digital storytelling to your language arts class! To begin, learners select their own topic, such as a poem that reflects a life experience they had or a historical figure who interests them. Then they work to create a storyboard...

Lines from Shakespeare and from hip-hop artists provide learners with an opportunity to examine the literary devices these artists use to express their ideas about love. Groups use the provided lines to craft found poems, and then the...

The fourth standard for reading literature in the Common Core calls for young readers to be able to determine the figurative and connotative meanings of words and phrases. Use this resource, a continuation of a series of Common Core...

"A drum, a drum! Macbeth doth come."  The withered and wild witches of Shakespeare’s Scottish play launch an examination of the fantastical elements in Act I, scene iii, paying particular attention to the action, imagery,...

When you come across an unfamiliar word in a text, do you skip it and move on? Practice using context clues to identify words you don't know with a thorough set of language arts lessons. The resource reinforces close reading and critical...

The writing of Haiku poems is the focus of this language arts lesson. In it, the basic elements of Haiku poetry are presented, and then a step-by-step set of instructions on how to create a Haiku poem along with an illustration is...

Here is an engaging cross-curicular lesson which incorporates elements of language arts and heatlh. Groups of learners are assigned to one vowel sound. They work together to find pictures of food out of a booklet that have the long vowel...

Bring Internet research and social issues to your language arts class in this activity. After investigating the topic "Media Violence and How It Affects Teenagers" on the Internet, middle schoolers work in groups to compile their...

Young language arts learners write and illustrate a short fantasy story based on the book Corduroy. First, learners need to develop a character. Then, through their writing and illustrations, they take their characters on adventures...

Capital letters are the star of the show in a wonderful language arts lesson. After a teacher-led demonstration and discussion on capital letters, groups of pupils get together and work on the computer to fix the flashing letters that...

The proper use of the question mark, and how to correctly construct a sentence that is a question, are the two focuses in a wonderful language arts lesson. There is a terrific interactive online game that your kids can utilize to help...

Here is a wonderful online language arts activity for your emerging readers. Learners play an interactive game where they look at two characters who are engaging with each other. They must choose the word from a word bank that best...

Do your language arts students love to draw? Use this lesson to reinforce poetic techniques with illustration. After drawing what they think poem would look like with no words, middle and high schoolers work on several different...

Students generate more expressibe and receptive language by send emails to a friend. They improve their word processing and technology skills by sending and receiving emails. A rubric is included in this lesson plan for assessment purposes.

Aesop's Fables are the focus of this language arts lesson. Young philosophers study and discuss the morals found in the most famous of Aesop's Fables. They write an original fable that teaches a common moral. A "Fable Listening Library"...

Discuss movies and movie enjoyment with your middle school language arts class. They interpret movie review information, determine appropriate movies, and then write film reviews to share with the class. Focus on using context clues to...

Drill and practice phonemes, letter formations, written language, vowel correspondences, as well as consonant correspondences with youngsters. They will locate and identify the /b/ in written and spoken words from flash cards containing...

Identify common prefixes and suffixes used in the English language and categorize the different kinds of information provided in a dictionary entry. Learners will write at least five pieces of information that they learn about a word...

Explore objective and subjective writing in this interdisciplinary lesson, which brings language arts and visual art together. Middle and high school students examine the sculpture Head with Horns by Paul Gauguin. They then analyze the...

What is an auxiliary verb? Is that the same thing as a modal verb? Use this reference guide to explain each verb type to your emerging grammarians. While it is intended for native English speakers, you could use it with English language...