"How tall are you?" "Who has the longest arms?" As part of a study of the names of various body parts, language learners use rulers and tapes to measure parts of the body.

Learners listen to poems to explain how poets use words to paint pictures. They use hands-on materials to practice using similies and figurative language to write a poem about snow.

Fourth graders create sentences in a quiz form that have a blank in it for their vocabulary word. In this vocabulary lesson plan, the other students in the class try to figure out which word goes in the sentences.

Learners examine the impact of sound devices in poetry, prose, and non-fiction. In this figurative language instructional activity, students read instructor-selected literature and identify uses of alliteration, repetition, consonance,...

Students use context clues to determine an understanding for vocabulary words in texts. In this vocabulary lesson plan, students recognize linguistic features in their readings to help them to figure out words.

Young scholars explore the definition and derivation of the popular usage of abbreviations in the English language. Using worksheets and lecture materials, students provide meanings for the abbreviation "prenup" when used as an word. ...

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...

Explore the tendency of the English language to change by reviewing the British idiom "bog standard." An audio talk is accessible via hyperlink and questions and worksheets are included for learners. The lesson plan is a good way to work...

Are your advanced learners reading authentic Latin this year? Whether you're teaching Caesar, Cicero or Virgil, use some of these strategies to map out your unit. What do you focus on? Consider taking small passages and making that the...

Students explore color terms and related meanings and metaphors in cultural and literary contexts. They use the main colors to explore synonymous color terms and related metaphorical meanings of color words. Students recognize the...

Connect social studies and language arts using this resource. After studying root words, have learners locate five words from their social studies book that have a prefix, suffix, or root word. This puts a new twist on practicing basic...

In this language arts lesson, 8th graders verify the meaning of a word in its context, even when its meaning is not directly stated. After a class discussion on how to use context clues, students pairs are given a worksheet of "mystery...

Discover the Virtual Thesaurus with your class. They use the Virtual Thesaurus to assist them in an inquiry-based approach to discovering the meanings of some common Latin and Greek roots. Each child then teaches a particular root and...

Practice makes perfect when it comes to learning grammar with this ESL resource. Offering a great way to teach about relative clauses, this lesson engages students with a series of partner, small group, and whole class speaking and...

Scholars analyze the poem My Puppy Punched Me in the Eye by Ken Nesbitt in order to locate examples of alliteration and assonance. After reading the poem, alliterative words are underlined and assonant words are circled. 

Third graders examine the use of idioms. In this vocabulary and reading lesson, 3rd graders explore what idioms are and make their own idiom cards to help them understand the use idioms in language.

Students review personification and alliteration. In this literary devices lesson, students use personification and alliteration in a sentence. Students draw a picture reflecting personification.

Fifth graders explore historical fiction. In this genre study lesson, 5th graders go on a text feature scavenger hunt to identify the parts of a historical fiction text. Additionally, students read the book, My Secret War and discuss...

This second lesson in a larger unit is perfect for the beginning of the year because it explicitly teaches 3rd graders how to use close reading skills by identifying unfamiliar words, figuring out the gist, and defining important...

Work on context clues with your ninth graders in this lesson, which focuses on identifying and analyzing clues to define unfamiliar words. They identify context clues in a passage to recognize words they haven't seen before, and then...

Write narratives that include ideas, observations, or memories of an event or experience, and be sure to use concrete sensory details! Groups utilize a few of the famous I Spy books in order to create narratives that utilize sensory...

In this foreign language worksheet, learners are given 10 sentences that use a body part in an idiomatic phrase. They select the word that best completes the idiom.

In this foreign language worksheet, young scholars fill in the blanks to complete ten sentences with idioms. Each sentence contains a blank space and three options to use.

Demonstrate strategies for tackling unfamiliar vocabulary words in preparation for the SAT. Using Visual Thesaurus computer software, middle and high schoolers interpret contextual clues, solve sample sentence completion questions, and...