Pair learners to define synonyms. They search flash cards to find a synonym partner. Then they chart pairs of synonyms on a synonym tree.

Middle schooler practice their dictionary and thesaurus skills with this vocabulary assignment.  Using the provided graphic organizer and the word list from Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech, readers define each word, and find a...

Dive into Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and determine what it means to conform in society, and discuss as a group with the thoughts and plans available in these documents. Included are multiple activities and brain targets that form the...

When it comes to reading and understanding a text, sometimes readers need extra help. The third and final resource in a series of guides to accompany Theme 4: Problem Solvers provides additional activities to help struggling learners....

Improve vocabulary by reviewing Greek and Latin roots with your ELA class! A fun and easy way for your class to memorize roots, groups are given a set of nine roots and nine definition cards which they must then match. Encourage groups...

Close reading is key to the analysis and interpretation of literature. A close reading of the title and the epigraph of “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” offers readers an opportunity to examine how even single words or names can...

Give your class the advantage of Thesaurus Power! They will use a thesaurus to understand word meanings and relationships. They focus on how a thesaurus functions and how it gives the entry word, definition, synonyms, antonyms, and part...

Analyze the depth and beauty of American Literature by reading Emily Dickinson's letters and poems. The class analyzes Dickinson's poetic style and discusses Thomas Wentworth Higginson's editorial relationship with Dickinson. They pay...

Use this poetry analysis worksheet to help your learners understand a poem of their or your choosing. This resource asks class members to summarize the poem and analyze it by looking at voice, word choice, imagery, and theme. The...

Analyze and make inferences from the information used by linguists to construct the evolution of languages. They research different dating techniques to explain how scientists infer age with evidence.

Looking to introduce some text-based questions into your ELA lessons? Practice the kinds of skills the Common Core demands with the seven text-based questions and the essay prompt provided here. Designed to be a three-day lesson, day one...

Water, water everywhere. Readers revisit paragraphs six through nine in the article "Water is Life" to answer text-dependent questions. They then pair up to reread the article focusing on its structure and record their thoughts on...

Strengthen your pupils' writing with this worksheet, which provides a reference guide to using strong verbs instead of forms of is and have. Learners then rewrite twelve sentences to make them stronger. This is a great activity to work...

Smart, intelligent, perceptive. Here's a worksheet that asks kids to use a thesaurus (an online one, perhaps?) to find a series of synonyms for the six words listed.

Consider complex numbers, roots, and quadratic equations. Use the discriminate as a way to determine the nature of a quadratic's roots. Then discuss the similarities and differences between quadratics with two, one, or no real roots....

Develop multiplication skills with your class. Youngsters will visualize multiplication as repeated addition. Then they will create a multiplication bug book and discover arrays as a strategy for multiplication problem solving....

Students learn the meaning of prepositions through movement. In this dance lesson, students choreograph a piece showing that they understand the meaning of various prepositions. 

Genocide. Scapegoat. Propaganda. Words are powerful. Words carry the weight of history. To prepare for a visit to The Museum of Tolerance, class members consider the weight of meaning in words related to intolerance.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this is no exception! The introductory photo shows a group of classmates lined up in height categories; females and males are in different colors, and the shape of the curve they create is...

When it comes to comparing and contrasting in an essay, looking at a chart and picking a random transition word may not do the trick. As explained in an informational writing handout, the words writers use to move from one idea to...

Reflection is the best teacher. Using the resource, scholars complete the final part of their end of unit assessment, the fourth section of their storyboard about an invention. Next, they track their progress using a self-reflection...

Scholars assess how word choice and linguistic patterns affect a presidential debate. They examine candidates' words for repetition and analyze what this repetition means. Then they locate countries that fit the expression free world. In...

Using The Life Cycle of an Emperor Penguin by Bobbie Kalman, second graders practice defining unfamilar words with context clues.  They come across new vocabulary words and read the entire sentence and the sentence before...

Who knew learning and practicing vocabulary for the SAT could be this absorbing? With 500 words to learn after an upgrade, and nine different games for practice, users are sure to feel prepared on testing day!