Although this vocabulary-in-context activity is focused on Judith Viorst's book Alexander, Who Use to Be Rich Last Sunday, the strategy can be applied to any book budding learners read with you. First, introduce the three...

Your class can increase their production of the target phoneme /sh/ through the use of video, the Internet, and hands-on activities listed here. Sound out the phoneme altogether, then model words that include  /sh/ at the beginning....

Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...

Young scholars play a memory-matching game to practice recognizing rhyming words and sounds. With picture cards, they flip over two cards and say the pictures' names. If the pair make a rhyming match, the learner keeps the cards. The...

Time to pick a side! Building on the Fishbowl activity from the previous instructional activity, scholars choose a position about whether the American Academy of Pediatrics should raise its screen time recommendations. Using notes,...

View the video "Global Citizens: Canadians Reaching out to the World" with high schoolers. They will use the internet to locate stories about activism (link provided) and write a summary of each. Additionally they will research careers...

After analyzing newspaper articles portraying different perspectives of the explosion of the Battleship USS Maine, your young historians will take a stand on which position is the most believable in both discussion and writing.

In a mock senate hearing regarding the development of ethanol as a fuel source, each person in the class is assigned a role to play and must uphold the stance of their character. Once the senate hearing is complete, each person writes a...

Set up a listening center, record the provided script, and see how well your class can manipulate phonemes based on the instructions you've provided. This center-based activity builds the phonological awareness and phoneme manipulation...

Statements can be taken out of context and interpreted or used to support a very different view than the one originally intended. Young journalists start thinking about leading questions, sentence structure, context, and how they all...

Scholars practice blending syllables by playing a matching game. Pairs flip two cards and blend syllables; if they create a word, the player writes it on a worksheet; if not, the cards return to the collection.

Reading readiness can be a fun skill to foster. Scholars manipulate phonemes to change one word into another. They pick picture cards, say the object's name on the card, then change the final phoneme to create a new word. They then find...

Grading essays after reading a novel written by a lyrical master (think Nabokov, Morrison, Chabon) is a deflating experience. Why can’t your student’s display the same skill in diction as your favorite writers? Because you did not use...

Increase your middle schoolers' physical education vocabulary and knowledge of the rules of different sports by posting on the word wall. You will have to do all the work and remember to laminate things, so you only have to do it once. A...

The rib bone's connected to the xiphiod! But, what two Greek words are related to xiphiod? And what do certain Latin terms mean? Build understanding of the bones in the human body as well as Latin and Greek vocabulary with a scavenger...

Help your students gain sensitivity and become aware of the implications of the words they see, hear, and use about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. After making lists of words or phrases they hear or use in school...

If you're in need of a fun, active game in the classroom for your youngsters on a rainy day or during a break, try the steps listed here. While all class members hop around the room, learners become searchers to identify a hidden...

Working with thermometers, sixth graders compare the value of positive and negative numbers. Plenty of teacher suggestions and independent practice ideas are presented. This website links to two more parts in this first of three integer...

Reinforce number sense with a collection of math lessons for kindergarteners through fifth graders. Young mathematicians take part in hands-on activities, learning games, and complete skills-based worksheets to enhance proficiency...

In this Be Positive - Do Something Day learning exercise, students complete activities such as reading a passage, phrase matching, fill in the blanks, correct words, multiple choice, spelling, sequencing, scrambled sentences, writing...

A big part of understanding mathematical concepts is by mastering the vocabulary associated with those concepts. Students identify and explore positional/directional words as they relate to math. Students answer eleven fill-in-the-blank...

While playing a long-term game of Goal-O Bingo, your class will practice replacing unkind words with kind ones. First, read Casey and Amazing Giant Green Shirt by Margaret Ross. Then have your class write down 25 goals they would...

Students listen for letter sounds.  In this phonics instructional activity, students read A Basket Full of Surprises, brainstorm items that start with the B sound, and complete a comprehension activity where they identify words with...

In this psychology worksheet, students answer 13 questions that are focused upon measuring the attitude of positive thinking and its influence upon learning.