EngageNY
Analyzing Word Choice: Atticus’s Closing Speech (Chapters 20-21)
Choose your words carefully. Scholars begin by reading a line of Atticus's closing speech in To Kill A Mockingbird. Readers work independently on their note catchers, then complete a Think-Pair-Share activity with partners. They finish...
Curated OER
Idioms in Everyday Language
Students describe idioms and their use in everyday language. They describe the difference between literal and idiomatic meanings. In groups, students use iPhoto to create books that explain and illustrate a variety of idioms describing...
Curated OER
Theater Lesson: Modify My Action
Young scholars engage in a lesson that is about the meaning of a verb or adverb. They perform sketches with the subject matter of the words. The goal is for the actors to show the meaning of the verb or adverb with an action.
Education World
Public Speaking Lesson: The Impact of Bullying
It's one thing to prevent yourself from becoming a bully, but how do you convince others to follow suit? Take the first step in creating a better world with a public speaking lesson that prompts learners to write and present persuasive...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Person to Person: English Language Development Lessons (Theme 4)
Help language learners understand words and cultural concepts. The second installment in a series of three language development lessons designed to accompany Theme 4: Person to Person helps bridge the gap for language learners by...
EngageNY
Speech Structure: Unions as Agents of Change— Part 2
Scholars continue reading César Chávez's 1984 speech, "Address to the Commonwealth Club of California." Working with partners, they complete graphic organizers to determine a claim that Chávez makes about the UFW.
Curated OER
Speech! Speech!
Critical thinkers consider how word choice in speeches impacts the meaning and effectiveness of the message being presented. They examine and respond to some of the speeches made at the 2004 Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
Curated OER
Daily Academic Language Development
Five minute mini-lessons designed to expose learners to high-frequency academic language.
Curated OER
Setting the Tone with Figurative Language
Explore figurative language with your secondary class. Extending a language arts unit, the activity prompts middle schoolers to examine how an author's word choice establishes a story's tone, possibly using metaphors, similes,...
Curated OER
ASL Lesson 18
Have a discussion, review nouns, and practice speaking using ASL. Lesson 18 of 30+ extensive lessons on using American Sign Language covers classifiers, coded English, and asking questions. Each link embedded in the lesson provides a...
Curated OER
Figure of Speech
Examine the changing nature of language in the U.S. View and discuss excerpts from a PBS documentary with your class and then conduct Internet research, and complete a team project on the evolution of teen expressions.
Madison Public Schools
Journalism
Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Parts of Speech Pre-Test: The Building Blocks of Grammar
Help your learners get a good grasp on grammar. An insightful pre-test allows teachers to learn about their young writers' knowledge of the building blocks of grammar, so they can begin building a unit of study. It includes a...
Independence Middle School
Eight Parts of Speech Grammar Project
Young grammarians demonstrate their understanding of the eight parts of speech by creating a scrapbook that uses personal stories and photos to illustrate each term. After defining a term, individuals relate and illustrate a personal...
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Parts of Speech Verbs: Building Blocks of Grammar
Pupils begin with a brain teaser, take notes, and formatively check understanding with a Chinese proverb. In addition to parts of speech, the resource also includes information about parts of a sentence. Teachers may extend instruction...
Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program
A Mini lesson on Semicolons
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" serves as an exemplar for a mini-instructional activity on semicolons. Working alone or in small groups, class members first circle all the semicolons in the letter, and then...
One Stop English
A Lesson on Register
The classroom might not be the best place for informal language, but it's a great place to teach middle and high schoolers how to identify the correct language register for their audience. A short lesson on formal and informal language...
Curated OER
Variations of the Adjective Clause: Lesson 15
Help your students to vary their sentence structure with this presenation, which teaches them to use relative pronouns and adjective clauses to change the order of their sentences. The presentation details different ways to write the...
Curated OER
Writing - Direct Speech
The art of writing dialogue is the focus of this language arts resource. After a review of the rules of writing direct speech, youngsters try their hand at creating dialogue used by characters they create in their writing. They focus on...
Curated OER
"Their Eyes Were Watching God": Folk Speech and Figurative Language
Using or considering using Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God? Then this packet is a must for your curriculum library. The examination of how Hurston combines folklore and folk language to create the voice of her...
Curated OER
Hyperbole Lesson Plans: Ideas for the Art of Exaggeration
Hyperbole lesson plans and ideas that make figurative language instruction relevant to students' lives. Discover how to help learners better understand the figurative concept of hyperbole. A fantastic article which includes multiple web...
Curated OER
Examining the Form and Function of Campaign Speeches
An examination of stump speeches, one of the most important components of a presidential campaign, is made possible by accessing The New York Times Learning Network. After closely examining the form and function of stump speeches,...
Curated OER
Lesson: Paul Chan: Alternumeric Fonts
Learning to analyze language, symbols, and codes is part of becoming a deep and critical thinker. Young analysts consider their ability to see hidden messages as they analyze the work of Paul Chan. There are two fully developed...
Curated OER
Lesson: A Garden Party of My Own
Kids look at a beautiful work of art to practice grammar, make connections from life to art, and sketching. They identify all the parts of grammar they see in the image, discuss what they see and do on a picnic, and then draw an imaged...