"Ode to la Tortilla" and "Ode to Joy"? Sure! Use Gary Soto's poem to introduce learners to the ode format. After examining the descriptive words Soto uses, class members study a poster of Ludwig van Beethoven, suggest words that describe...

Readers of The Joy Luck Club, use a double-0entry journal to record and reflect on passages from Amy Tan's novel.

What challenges did Bosnian refugees face as they fled home during the Bosnian War? Scholars read an interview with four refugees and identify common themes that connect the universal refugee experience. They also engage in a...

Youngsters discover who the leaders in their community are and what it means to build a community in this four-lesson unit. 

How did the founding of the American colonies lead to a revolution? Use the essential question and sample activities to guide learners through a series of history lessons. Additionally, the packet includes effective strategies to...

While this lesson is connected to social studies curriculum that is not identified, the activity could be used as a template for a review of any material. The lesson focuses on a review of vocabulary relating to the economy. Pupils...

With What Do You See at the Pond?, young readers explore pond life and practice reading strategies. Learners first make predictions and then read the simple story independently. After a second read-through with a partner, kids come...

Readers make personal connections to Saturday Market by Patricia Grossman and answer comprehension questions while reading the book. Comparing and contrasting the different characters in a Venn diagram leads to a kinesthetic...

Do you think there are other planets similar to the earth? Assess your intermediate and advanced French readers with this interesting text about super-Earths. Following the reading are three activities: one focusing on vocabulary, a...

Watching is not the same as seeing. Transform viewers from passive watchers to active students of film with this 34-page packet, filled with lessons and activities that use Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to examine the technology, the...

What is a philanthropist? We can all be philanthropists! After assessing the needs of the school and listening to literature about how they can help others, primary learners develop a class project and maintain a journal of their...

Fifth graders use context clues to help them understand unknown words. For this context clues lesson, 5th graders practice identifying context clues on a worksheet, then work with a peer to write their own story. Stories are peer edited...

Second graders compare two books they have read, The Hat and The Mitten. In this compare and contrast lesson plan, 2nd graders review the author and illustrator of the books and discuss the main characters and problem. Students use Venn...

Fourth graders investigate visual imagery to aid reading comprehension. In this reading strategies lesson, 4th graders discover how visual imagery helps in comprehending a story. Students use a reader's notebook to record connections.

Third and fourth graders study literary devices and figurative language. They view a PowerPoint presentation (which you must create) to review hyperbole, idiom, simile, and metaphor. They read and discuss the book There's A Frog in...

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart can present challenges even for experienced readers. Here’s a schedule and corresponding guide that will help readers focus on and record important events. The packet includes fact-based, interpretative,...

Here is a rather esoteric resource that presents the archetypes found in “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” and would be appropriate for a college-level psychology or literature class, or as a teacher resource. Considered the “world’s oldest...

Have your scholars read a handout related to the foreign trade market and how there is an exchange of goods. They read the information as a research assignment and make connections as to how the market fits together.

Are you teaching a high school language arts class and stumped for writing topics? Five pages of writing prompts for all kinds of writing should help you out. Many of these prompts refer to texts that are not included in this resource,...

What are the elements of a personal narrative? Get your class talking by reading "The Necklace" and "A Dangerous Game." The lesson focuses primarily on defining certain vocabulary terms (like context clues, plot, conflict, climax, etc.)...

Students answer questions to a worksheet called Connect with Cultural Connections in order to read for meaning. In this read for meaning lesson plan, students read and answer 5 comprehension questions.

Students read library books daily for ten to fifteen minutes, log information on Free Reading Chart, giving a brief summary of what they just read, and write brief reactionary response to the reading.

Pupils read and reread decodable words in connected text. In this language arts lesson, students focus on improving their fluency to help them gain more meaning from the text. The story focused on is Arthur's Loose Tooth.