A lesson on the holiday known as Boxing Day is here for you. In it, middle schoolers read a passage about the history of the holiday, then complete some reading comprehension worksheets embedded in the plan to reinforce what they have...

Engage in an activity that focuses on the concepts of formal and informal language use. Middle and high schoolers compare and contrast each style by using a Venn diagram that includes some examples. They read and hear a passage of lyrics...

Analyze the components of precise wording and vivid language in this language arts lesson plan. Middle school writers illustrate a passage from Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and write a response to a Norman Rockwell print....

Work on characterization with a narrative writing lesson, in which middle schoolers interpret a character's perspective. They discuss family traditions and examine how culture can influence a character's perspective. Next, they read...

Interpreting text is vital. Middle schoolers read a 1 page passage describing why Europe was so interested in colonizing India. After reading, they answer 8 comprehension questions. 

What's theme, and can texts of every length have one? Explore the themes of fives short reading passages with your middle school class. Encourage them to highlight specific places in the text where they recognized the theme. 

Middle schoolers demonstrate their ability to summarize by crafting a summary of a passage from Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. Oh that Dickens should be so laconic.

Both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy have proud moments, but who is more prideful? Explore Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice with a discussion web that compares both characters in a brainstorming graphic organizer. Each side provides...

Through watching several classic air pressure demonstrations, middle schoolers determine that high pressure areas move toward lower pressure areas, heated air causes a drop in pressure, and forces exist when pressures are unequal....

What did segregation look like in the beginning of the 20th century? Middle and high schoolers view images of segregated areas, read passages by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois, and come to conclusions about how the influence of...

William Shakespeare penned some of the richest and most fascinating works of literature—or did he? Middle schoolers read three brief informative passages and conduct additional research to evaluate the claim that Shakespeare did not...

Did you know that more than three million people fought in the Civil War? Through artifacts, graphics, and passages class members learn about the stark divide between North and South that led to the war, as well as about the events...

Ever felt stuck in the middle? Some characters do. Scholars choose a novel or play and write essays describing how a character is stuck between cultures. Writers also analyze the techniques used in a passage from We Were the Mulvaneys...

Did you know that mastaba means bench in Arabic? Learn why a mastaba was so important to ancient Egyptian architecture. Middle and high schoolers alike stay entertained while reading a passage that describes the virtual tour of...

The Navajo would disagree with Shakespeare that the naming of things is irrelevant. Navajo people have to earn their names. Middle schoolers learn about the cultural significance of Navajo names in a lesson that uses a video and reading...

"Yuns betta outten the lights!" Colloquial language is the focus of a lesson that asks middle schoolers to consider the pros and cons of using idioms. They read articles, match expressions with their meaning and place of origin, and...

Need a quick assessment of your middle schoolers' reading comprehension skills? The four questions on this quiz ask readers to identify the likely source of the article, define words based on context, and identify the main idea of the...

Discuss the concept of main idea in a story or other reading material. Middle schoolers identify the main idea in a passage using a technique that eliminates unnecessary words not relevant to the main idea.

To better understand how to compose a clear and well-organized paper, learners read short passages, write summaries, and make colored graphic organizers. This is a fully developed three-day lesson with suggested assessments.

Intermediate level ESL classes could benefit from this worksheet that requires reading a passage and correcting the identified errors. The mistakes include verb tense, spelling, and syntax. This might also prove useful for middle schoolers.

An advocate of the cloze procedure to determine what learners already know about a topic?  Class members listen to an excerpt from The Call of the Wild and then fill in the blanks on their cloze copy of the passage.  Directions...

Middle schoolers have years of experience when it comes to how their bodies work. Surely they have some questions as well. Here is an opportunity for them to practice the scientific method in an attempt to answer some of those questions....

Read to learn! Middle Schoolers read a short passage on Mesopotamia then answer seven comprehension questions. This would be ideal as homework or for early finishers.

Readers answer 8 multiple choice questions by selecting the correct revisions to the paragraph provided. The focus is on prepositions, syntax, and parts of speech. A good, quick exercise for ELL classes or review for middle schoolers.