Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular saying "get a life." Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the phrase when used in varying contexts. They also consider the dervation of each...

Students explore the definition and derivation of the popular saying "in your dreams." Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the phrase when used in varying contexts. They also consider the derivation of...

Third graders increase reading strategies while learning about Abigail Adams and her role in history. In this Abigail Adams lesson, 3rd graders read about the American Revolution and Abigail Adams using all the balanced literacy...

Third graders create sentences. In this sentences lesson students use onomatopoeia words to write sentences. They make a movement to match their onomatopoeia word. The students discuss why an author might use onomatopoeia in their writing.

Students are required to critically read two poems, answer factual questions concerning the pieces, and then discuss the different uses of breath as a metaphor. They use the samples as a starting point for their own creative efforts.

Students explore the use of onomatopoeia using comics. They develop a list of onomatopoeia examples, write sentences, complete a worksheet, and create a comic strip using onomatopoeias.

Students generate vocabulary words synonymous or related to "noise." In this literacy lesson, students listen to the book Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do You Hear? by Bill Martin and Eric Carle and discuss the meaning of vocabulary words...

Students describe colors. In this descriptive writing lesson, students brainstorm color descriptions using all of the senses except sight. Students write poems including similes, sensory images, and interesting word choice. Examples are...

Young scholars imagine and create their dream house.  In this comprehension and interpretation lesson, students read The Big Orange Splot, answer comprehension questions about the story and  complete a character traits...

Students create a haiku about the land formations they've studied.  In this haiku lesson, students identify the metaphor and meaning of a given haiku, brainstorm comparisons for a landform photo as a class and choose one to use in a...

Students write onomatopoeia poems. In this creative writing lesson, students listen to a picture book that introduces the concept of onomatopoeia. Students create their own list of words and write a short poem using onomatopoeia.

Students review figurative languages terms and examples. They read the first entry in the book, Out of the Dust, and discuss the images created by the author. Then they create an autobiographical poem using figurative language.

Students review basic knowledge of similes and engage with similes on a more abstract level. In this similes lesson, students define similes and identify examples. Students read and analyze the similes used in poetry by Derricotte,...

Students engage in a lesson which focuses on using conversational language and music to introduce the concept of similes, building language acquisition and helping create a positive attitude toward knowing and learning more than one...

Middle and high schoolers examine the impact of irony in poetry and prose. In this figurative language activity, they read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of irony. Then they discuss how irony enhances literature.

“. . .different men often see the same subject in different lights. . .” but the great orator Patrick Henry used all the skills at his command to craft a speech to convince listeners to see things as he did--that liberty was worth dying...

Clarify the setting, literary themes, and potential vocabulary issues with a concept analysis resource. With thoughtful explanations of many parts of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, the reference sheet will be a great...

Discover alliteration found in picture books by Pamela Duncan Edwards. Then, dive into a read aloud of Alligators All Around by Maurice Sendak. This practice sets the stage for budding poets to create their own acrostic poem,...

Water, water everywhere. Readers revisit paragraphs six through nine in the article "Water is Life" to answer text-dependent questions. They then pair up to reread the article focusing on its structure and record their thoughts on...

A collection of two lessons, kindergartners will identify two-dimensional shapes in solid shapes. They will develop basic knowledge of the components that make up a sphere, rectangular prism, pyramid, cylinder, cone, and cube. Young...

High school readers examine George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" for examples of symbolism, metaphor, connotation, and irony. They analyze how these literary tools convey the writer's main point and contribute to the persuasive...

Improve your young poets' descriptive writing with this lesson on personification. A SMART board and PowerPoint presentation guide your class through the process of identifying human qualities attributed to various non-human objects. A...

Kurt Vonnegut's short story "Harrison Bergeron" engages adolescents with its theme about the dangers of complete societal equality. Learners complete a graphic organizer to track literary elements in the story, as well as an inference...

Helpful for an American literature or history unit, this lesson prompts middle schoolers to examine slavery in the United States. They read slave narratives that were part of the Federal Writers' Project and then conduct their own...