Track your class's progress on all of the ELA Common Core standards with these handy charts. Along the left side, each seventh grade identifier is listed along with the full text of the standard. As you teach, reteach, assess,...

Do opposites really attract? The D Squad in The Homework Machine includes of a quad of opposites. The group, made up of a teacher's pet, a geek, a class clown, and a slacker, make use of a machine to do their homework. In response...

The forests of Minnesota provide middle schoolers with an integrated learning opportunity. They examine the three biomes and their histories, conduct experiments, read stories, and draw pictures. A lovely lesson plan about trees.

Students examine the wit of characters in two plays. In this drama lesson, students read The Shakespeare Stealer by Gary L. Blackwood and Twelfth Night by Shakespeare. Students analyze the puns used in both plays and write essays that...

Students read the newspaper.  In this newspaper lesson, students become familiar with the various parts of a newspaper. They read specific parts, highlight important information and summarize what they read. 

Students examine Shakespearean language. In this word study instructional activity, students investigate the meaning of words that Shakespeare invented. Students draw and pantomime with the words prior to writing short stories that...

Students study a man's life. In this values lesson, students read about Frederik De Klerk and answer discussion questions. Students discuss his values, especially integrity, and how they made a difference.

Students practice their reading comprehension by utilizing computers. In this education technology instructional activity, students utilize a drawing program such as Microsoft Paint to draw pictures based upon the story they read, The...

Students complete a vocabulary chart, review proper/common nouns, discuss and review comparative adjectives and make "self to text" connections before reading. In this language arts instructional activity, comprehension questions are...

Students complete an online study of art websites. In this art and technology activity, students explore the links and try the activities to learn about art online.

Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...

Can we do it? Yes we can! Your class can become Common Core masters with a fine set of posters that state each of the kindergarten literacy standards in a friendly "we can" statement. Each of the posters contains two standards, a "we...

Examine the genre of historical fiction while reading A Light in the Storm. They extract events in chronological order to make a timeline. Then, they use information in the book important to the characters to create a presentation of an...

Students at-risk in high school and primary grades pair up to read and write together. They create books modeled after authors and illustrators. They hold a parents' day to display their completed books.

Learners read, write about, and cook with rice in this home economics lesson. They reflect on the experience eating rice at home or in other ethnic foods.

Third graders complete a unit of lessons on the process of six trait writing. They identify good writing traits, read and evaluate poems, literature, and myths, utilize a rubric to evaluate their own writing, and evaluate classmates...

Students create a Mother's Day video gift by utilizing the latest video technology in class.  For this film making lesson, students utilize important photographs related to their mother and import them into a computer timeline using...

Students become familiar with the conventions of print as they recognize Mother Goose poems. In this Mother Goose lesson, students follow the words from left to right as they read Mother Goose poems. Students recognize rhyming words and...

Fourth graders demonstrate and evaluate the six traits of writing. They read and identify good writing and bad writing, utilize a rubric to self-evaluate their own writing, participate in a Reader's Theater, and publish a class book.

Students preparing for the GED test practice the components of reading for comprehension. Students complete a practice test activity and use a calculator to score the practice test.

Students examine how to choose books to read on their own and how to participate in reading discussions. They practice the two finger rule for choosing an independent reading book and how to look at the book's topic for personal...

Readers listen and critically read fictional prose to answer prediction questions at designated stopping points, and then they give a summary of the short story. This lesson is ideal for English language learners developing English...

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton is always a favorite for middle and high school readers because it addresses issues that hit home to them, decades after the book is set. Have learners fill out an anticipation guide that encourages them to...

How are music and emotion related? Using lesson plan two of four from the Changing One's Tune: A Music Therapy STEM Integrated Project Series, scholars explore the connection between the two topics. They learn to recognize different...