Display this list of commonly misspelled and frequently confused words for your learners. Though there is no interactive component, this handout is a great reference tool comparing many homophones such as sole and soul. One tip...

Step into the hopeful and tragic world of Anne Frank with this lesson on reading in context. After complete a variety of activities related to the first two scenes of The Diary of Anne Frank, eighth graders participate in a read...

Useful in an Of Mice and Men unit, or in a unit that focuses on descriptive writing, this lesson prompts young authors to impersonate John Steinbeck's writing style in the opening passages of the novel. A Six Trait writing activity...

Encourage kids to think deeply about what they are reading with five thought-provoking questions about one passage. After choosing a passage that is intriguing or confusing to them, learners write a summary, explain what they like or...

The language of the Constitution can feel quite ominous to young learners, but there are a variety of strategies you can utilize to help your class grasp the important concepts and ideals in our nation's founding document. This lesson...

Explore Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" in this literature analysis lesson. Middle schoolers read and summarize the plot of the story. They then adapt passages for a contemporary audience and analyze the...

To conclude a study of A Raisin in the Sun and to prepare for a visit to the Lewis Museum, class members analyze Langston Hughes' poem "Harlem." Learners then draw connections to characters in the play and to their own experiences...

It's all well and good when you're asked to identify a speaker's tone using his or her body language, facial expression, and pitch and emphasis. Identifying the tone of a written passage is another challenge entirely. Check out an...

Why is personification such a popular literary device for many authors? Learners answer the question as they engage in activities from the novel study for the classic Of Mice and Men. They also scan the novel to find examples of the...

Many turtle species can retreat their heads into their shells when threatened by predators. With the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing novel study, pupils conduct research to uncover other interesting turtle facts. As they explore Judy...

Give your class an example of vocabulary words in a paragraph. Once your learners know the definition of the twelve vocabulary words used here, hearing the words in context can help round out their understanding of how to use the words....

Ready to interpret the Declaration of Independence and understand its meaning? The resource divides scholars into pairs, where they work as a team to match translations with excerpts from the declaration. The class then engages in...

Can you really knock the sense into someone? It seems that the bump on Billy's head changed his perspective on things in The Year of Billy Miller. Readers discover that after his injury, Billy appreciates his parents more and is nicer to...

Part of the MyVocabulary.com word roots study program, this short reading provides appropriate usage of words containing the Latin roots spect, sta, and vert at the intermediate level. No audio is available to accompany it as of press...

Read this passage to illustrate the vocabulary words in context. Have your class attempt to define the words here before they receive the definitions.

Promote understanding of vocabulary words with this audio recording. You or your learners click on a character image to hear a vocabulary passage read out loud. The audio recording repeats each bold word twice, giving your class a chance...

Three short puzzles emphasize Latin roots grad, mot, and cad in English spelling and vocabulary. Learners choose words from a list and complete spellings in boxes with definitions for clues. A reading passage using the words is included....

Read this paragraph out loud to your class to demonstrate pronunciation of and introduce context for the given vocabulary words. You might also use this as a cloze activity and have class members read each vocabulary word or repeat each...

An interesting twist on vocabulary exercises, these word puzzles use word roots to show connections between different vocabulary words. This resource is complete with information about each Latin root used, a word bank, and a definition...

Sad, depressed, miserable, inconsolable, forlorn: so many synonyms have a lot of variety with their connotations. Through the guided imagery activity, writers explore the use of connotation and its influence on imagery and description by...

Common Core testing is approaching, so why not provide your pupils with appropriate practice? This practice assessment includes both literary and informational passages for class members to examine and answer questions about. Also...

What better way to prepare your class for Common Core testing than with a practice test? The practice test includes several reading passages, both literary and informational, and learners respond to multiple choice questions...

Take one giant leap for mankind with a reading passage about the moon. Kids learn about the lunar cycle with context clues and reading comprehension questions, making it a good informational text for your language arts lesson.

Help kids understand problem-solving strategies by focusing on academic language in a reading comprehension activity. After reading paragraphs about the words solve and evaluate, learners answer five reading comprehension...