Here is a way to build your pupils' public speaking abilities. The lesson describes a reader's report chair, which is used each week by a student who has just finished reading a book. The featured reader sits in the chair and talks about...

Pupils review three true electrical stories, research true dangers involved in electrical discharges, identify and work to eliminate electrical hazards in their homes, and create electrical safety message to share with peers.

Analyze the writing of Edgar Allen Poe by reading and then writing in a similar style. Budding authors learn about the life of Poe and read one or more of his famous works online. Partner groups create an original piece of writing using...

Learners explore the world of African masks and storytelling. They create masks that tell stories of their own.

Where the Red Fern Grows provides the text for a study of the literary elements of plot, character, and setting. Discussion questions and vocabulary lists are referenced but not included.

Keep your class thinking about Seedfolks after they read each chapter by requiring them to keep a journal about the story. Hand out these journal entry prompts at the beginning of the story so that your learners know what to expect. For...

Students complete a full retelling of a play they have read in class. After reading each act of the play, students retell and summarize the major plot points of the play in small groups. Groups complete their review until they have...

Historical accounts of various events have proven to differ depending on the point of view of the person documenting the event. Learners read and analyze two first person accounts of acts of slave resistance seen at a southern...

Middle schoolers work on summarizing a story, and they determine if it is a legend, a myth, or a fable. Working in groups to read and summarize stories, they then list evidence whether the tale is a myth, fable, or...

Learners explore comprehension strategies as they listen to Zoom Broom by Margie Palatini. As the story is read, teacher and pupils will stop occasionally to make text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world connections. They also...

Identifying themes in literature is the focus of the language arts lesson plan presented here. Learners read short pieces of fiction and practice the skill of identifying the themes present in each one. The bulk of the lesson consists of...

English language development lessons are brought to you in poems, picture cards, and grand discussions in a We Can Do It! themed unit. Topics of discussion include daily challenges, parts of a whole, words that describe what we...

Students read a variety of Cinderella tales from different cultures. They discuss the differences in character, plot, and conflict resolution in the stories from different countries.

Students explore the use of voice and title in William Faulkner's, "As I Lay Dying". They identify and discuss the use of image, symbols and narrative voice in the story.

Explore how lack of access to water impacts peoples' lives in poor countries. Through text reading and discussion, middle schoolers are presented with the story of a young girl who lives and functions with limited water resources. They...

What can we find out about the data from the way it is shaped? Looking at displays that are familiar from previous grades, the class forms meaningful conjectures based upon the context of the data. The introductory lesson to...

The strategies associated with Reciprocal Reading are outlined in this language arts presentation. Pupils discover what it means to be the questioner, the summarizer, the predictor, and the clarifier. All four strategies lead to...

Help kids keep track of their reading and comprehend literary texts with a straightforward graphic organizer. Pupils note down the setting and characters as well as four events from the text.

Pupils explore the narrative structure of a piece of literary text, mapping out the plot structure of the Greek myth "Pyramus and Thisbe." Next, they use their completed graphic organizers to write story summaries.

Scholars use the Narrative Structure graphic organizer to analyze the structure of the smaller stories within To Kill a Mockingbird. They talk with a partner to discuss how the structure adds meaning.

Using the resource, scholars complete a mid-unit assessment to gauge their learning at the halfway point of the unit. Pupils read the myth "The Harvest That Never Came" and plot its narrative structure.

An efficient study guide for the first 10 chapters of Z for Zachariah that covers basic recall questions concerning the characters and the plot. It also includes short writing prompts for selected chapters that extend into the...

Identifying the theme or central idea of a text is a skill many young readers struggle with. It is also the second standard for reading literature in the Common Core. This resource, one from a series of Common Core lessons, can provide...

Did you know that Marie Curie's papers, as well as her cookbook, are radioactive and stored in lead-lined boxes? Did you know that Nikola Tesla developed a death ray? Famous scientists and inventors are the subjects featured in a series...