Students define adjectives and use adjectives and descriptive phrases to write a descriptive paragraph. They write a description of a sensory item, and read and discuss a five senses chart. Students then complete a chart using adjectives...

What is on your pupils' "Bucket Lists" - the list of things they want to do before they die? Their choices of activities for this list could be very revealing, and is a great source of inspiration for a personal poem. The instructional...

What lengths will one go to for love? Louis, a swan in The Trumpet of The Swan, struggles to gain the attentions of a girl because he cannot trumpet. Thankfully, his father creates a plan that may work. Scholars discover Louis's attempts...

Elementary writers practice writing descriptive paragraphs by adding adjectives and sensory words to their writing. They use a picture of a monster for their descriptive paragraph. This 12-page instructional activity should increase your...

Students examine the use of adjectives and descriptive phrases to improve their written pieces. In this adjectives and descriptive phrases lesson, students look at demonstrative adjectives, common adjectives, and proper adjectives. They...

A lot of writers really struggle very much with adding a lot of qualifiers and intensifiers in their writing. Part of a larger series to improve writing skills, a handout on the topic provides tips to help reduce a reliance on these...

Identify and use prepositions to describe how objects relate to one another. Each child draws a house and then draws items in, around, on, and under the house to demonstrate different prepositions. Written descriptions accompany their...

When it comes to writing, cliches are as old as dirt. A handout on tired phrases provides examples of cliches, as well as a description of the negative effects they have on a paper. Writers discover specific words and phrases to avoid,...

As the saying goes, art often imitates life ... and literature! A series of activities designed to accompany a visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art encourage writers to find inspiration in various landscapes. The lesson includes a...

Scratching your head when it comes to engaging writing prompts? Check out a list of prompts designed for middle school classes, which includes topics for persuasive writing, expository writing, how-to essays, personal narratives, and...

Take a close look at both the definitions and uses of commas, colons, and semicolons. Commas set off clear parts of sentences, colons come before an explanation, and semicolons join two complete thoughts. Review these types of...

These functional slides first show a list of parts of speech then a few sentences. In each subsequent slide, nouns are first highlighted, then pronouns on the next slide, and articles on the next slide, all using the same basic...

Introduce middle schoolers to free verse poetry with a lesson that has young poets read two free verse poems and list the common characteristics of the form. They then read a passage from Cesar Chavez's biography and a free verse poem...

Blackberry pie, blackberry cobbler ... what other recipes use blackberries? Scholars hunt for an interesting blackberry recipe to copy and share with friends after using the novel study for A Taste of Blackberries by Doris Buchanan...

Many people face the struggle between tradition and desire to forget their own paths. A study guide for the novel Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan discusses the issue of adhering to tradition from the perspective of a protagonist who...

Have you every known someone that marches to the beat of a different drum? That is exactly what Pippi from Astrid Lindgren's Pippi Longstocking does! Scholars complete a worksheet packet as they read about Pippi's outrageous...

Explore the works of Dr. Seuss, such as Horton Hears a Who, Horton Hatches and Egg, The Sneetches and Other Stories, The Lorax, The Butter Battle Book, and Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories. Each story lesson includes reading...

Scholars read about Hollis, an orphan in Pictures of Hollis Woods, and complete worksheet activities. Activities include using vocabulary words to complete sentences, answering comprehension questions, and writing poetry.

"Can the connotation of a word or phrase create bias or prejudice?" The activities in this SMART Board lesson are directed toward this question, which will be sure to incite lots of opinions and ideas. The SMART Board file guides them...

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...

Narrative essay writing is the focus of a series of exercises that model for learners how to not only read a narrative, but how to also examine the techniques fiction writers use to create a setting, develop their characters, represent...

Figures of speech, sensory details, and academic language are all targeted while reading Chapter Two of J. Ferris’ Go Free or Die. First, learners engage in an exercise to practice describing with detail. Then, partners use a...

The Bradys, the Flintstones, and the Simpsons are some of pop culture's most memorable families. So how do the Applewhites stack up? Using a novel study for Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan, scholars answer text-based...

What kind of shoe is this person? What time of day is this person? Aspiring poets’ responses to a list of questions provide descriptive words and phrases that can be crafted into a blank verse poem. A link to sample poems is provided.