Readers of "The Palace Thief" continue examining Ethan Canin’s short story and consider how the narrator's actions develop the central idea of how one's expectations and the expectations of others influence behavior.

Do our childhood circumstances significantly shape us? As the close reading of “The Palace Thief” continues, groups examine how the results of the first "Mr. Julius Caesar" competition influenced the development of the characters in...

"Everybody is guilty of something." As class members continue their close reading of Walter Mosley's essay, they examine how Mosley develops and supports his central ideas about Western civilization's relationship to guilt.

Madness, violence, despair—the titular character of Shakespeare's Macbeth is spiraling out of control. Pupils first explore the topic with a collaborative jigsaw discussion. At the end of the instructional activity, they write about how...

How does a soliloquy differ from a monologue? Scholars read the first soliloquy from Shakespeare's Hamlet and compare it to Claudius's monologue. They also engage in a group discussion about Hamlet's character development.

How does the theme of gender inequality develop in Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own and Shakespeare's Hamlet? Pupils craft a multi-paragraph response to analyze the relationship between the texts. They use evidence from both works to...

Class members consider how technology affects social interactions as they continue reading an article about the digital revolution and adolescent brain development. Then, working in pairs, scholars answer text-dependent questions and...

In this reading and vocabulary worksheet, students read a passage and complete multiple choice questions on the vocabulary of that passage. Students complete 10 questions total.

In this vocabulary skills worksheet, students write their own sentences that show exaggeration using the 7 sets of ideas provided.

In this similar sentences worksheet, students read 8 sentences. From three choices, students circle the letter of the sentence that has the same meaning as the first sentence.

  Students define vocabulary words from the, The Pearl.  In this vocabulary lesson plan, students discuss their vocabulary words and create sentences for them.  Students also complete a worksheet with the most important...

For this vocabulary development worksheet, students use their language skills to examine 10 groups of words and select the word in each group that names a vegetable.

Learners practice looking up the definitions of words using a dictionary. They put the defintion of the word into their own words. They create a PowerPoint slideshow to show illustrations related to their vocabulary words. Using the...

Break down the connection between word roots and words with similar meanings with this resource. Learners use a list of words, a brief definition of each word, and twelve word roots with blanks next to them to fill in. They then fill in...

Writers explore storytelling and focus in on verb tenses. They will work with a partner to generate a story and then switch partners and retell the story. They also complete past perfect continuous and past continuous verb tense worksheets.

Using a word bank and context clues, scholars fill in the blanks in 12 sentences. This resource is slightly unique because of the focus on word roots. There is information about each root involved in the activity on the webpage. Also,...

Young scholars utilize various sources to build and refine their vocabulary skills. They work together to solve a crypto-quote and daily puzzle from the newspaper.

Is your class struggling with synonyms and antonyms? This resource asks learners to identify a synonym and an antonym for six given words. There are various scaffolds in place for pupils including: a word bank, information on word roots,...

Use the list-group-label strategy to introduce your class to In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. The teacher begins by writing a word on the board (dictatorship is suggested here), and then the kids write as many words...

Guide your class in learning and applying Latin roots with this online activity. Learners use definitions and word roots to fill in the given blanks. This web page has features three different word roots to practice: PLIC, FAC-FIC, and...

Available in both printable and interactive online formats, this true/false quiz is one of many activities at MyVocabulary.com that provide practice with Latin roots nat, tract, and sequ/secu. Young etymologists agree or disagree with...

Here is a great idea that incorporates cooking, recipe reading, content specific vocabulary, and culture. The class defines cooking related vocabulary, discusses the food they eat, then develop a recipe of their own. This is a great...

A quick exercise clarifies antonyms and synonyms and their connection to word roots. Using a word bank, pupils fill in an antonym and a synonym for each of six words. This resource is online and delivers immediate feedback.

Learners examine the procedures that writers utilize to obtain and develop ideas for writing. Journal writing is fostered as a primary step in the writing process. Learners are encouraged to pay careful attention to using complete...