In small groups or pairs, learners explore the origins of each others' names. An awesome idea, but you'll need to do the initial research to gather your class's names and their origins. Or, consider having each member of your class...

Where did the Olympic Summer Games originate? The class takes a look at ancient origins of modern Olympic games. They research the Olympics and write a compare and contrast essay that describes how the Olympic Games have changed since...

Students list names of common products such as cars, and share ideas about how and why those names might have been selected. They find the origins of names for new products. Students create a chart of old and new names for familiar objects.

No wonder the ship was called the Titanic. An investigation of Norse, Roman, and Greek Mythology provides insight into mythological characters and corresponding words in the English language. A close look at roots, prefixes, and suffixes...

Understanding a word's etymology can really help with decoding and building vocabulary skills. Readers compare and contrast words of similar origins but with different difficulty levels. They focus on prefixes, suffixes, and affixes....

What a neat test! The class is asked to draw and color to create examples of eight elements of art. They focus on each element (line, value, shape, form, space, texture, primary and secondary color) by creating an original piece in each...

Stella Louella’s Runaway Book launches a study of point of view and storytelling. After reading the tale, class members retell the story from the point of view of another character. The scripted plan, developed by a teacher candidate,...

Cover both capitalization and the days of the week with a great kindergarten activity! Kids read each day of the week out loud, then write the name of the day on a line. They answer three questions about certain days of the week,...

While this resource was originally made to be used in conjunction with John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, it could be used for any literary text. A reference sheet for readers, the resource includes terminology related to figurative...

Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic...

A lovely guided reading lesson awaits you and your students. They read the book,Corn is Maize: The Gift of the Indians, by Aliki, summarize the important events of the story, and describe how corn has helped develop culture in America.

Some books are perfect for drawing connections between multiple subjects. The book Hill of Fire becomes the hub for three very different, yet related activity ideas. First the class hones their oral language skills by creating an...

Young scholars explore the relationship between names and certain cultures and locations. In this identity lesson, students create family migration or immigration maps. Young scholars read excerpts from When My Name was Keoko and Lost...

Arthur Miller's work of American tragedy and frustration is as relevant today as the first day it premiered on stage. Learners review character names and details from Death of a Salesman with a crossword puzzle that contains 27...

Boost understanding of the four types of sentences with several exercises. To start off, read through the provided information about the types of sentences together. This will prepare your class to practice their new knowledge. Then,...

Students explore English by completing an interactive language history activity. In this word recognition lesson, students discuss word formations and the phonetic relationship between letters. Students identify the origin of individual...

Bring the 1904 version of the classic kid's tale, The Story of the Three Little Pigs to your young readers. With original drawings by L. Leslie Brooke, young reader take a step into a world where pigs can talk and a wolf is big and bad.

Fourth graders read a Cherokee myth about the origin of strawberries. After reading the story, they add another chapter to it and read their additions to the class. Or, as a group activity, they each write a few sentences and then pass...

Are your readers ready for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Use a cloze procedure to determine if the reading level of Twain’s classic is appropriate for your pupils. The cloze passage, an answer key, as well as directions and a score...

Review myths and the characters therein, connecting them to vocabulary words in the English language today. Begin by searching online for myths and character names. With at least ten names that are familiar English words, students use...

"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson plan allows children to invent their own...

Students complete a study of Japanese culture through haiku. They read and interpret haiku poetry and write haiku of their own.

Students use Internet and library resources to select and examine the origins of phrases or words, particularly words that have origins in other languages.