Seasons--Autumn (fall)

Here's a richly detailed unit, designed for second graders, that focuses on decoding figurative language, including similes, metaphors, personification and idioms.

In pairs, scholars draw cards, read the word, and identify its root. Learners place the card on a tree-themed worksheet to sort words by their roots.

Explore the multiple meanings of common homographs with this fun language arts activity. Given a series of word webs and a pile of definition cards, pupils complete each web by matching four different definitions to each target word.

Similes and metaphors make writing more beautiful and detailed, but can be a little harder to decipher during a first reading. Use a passage from The Man Who Loved Words to show young readers how to think through passages that...

An affix plus a base word equals what? A new word! Invite your class members to discover words using affixes and base words. Learners then write sentences using the real words that they put together.

Oh, what fun! Young logophiles and neologists create a dictionary-sounding definition for imaginary words and try to fool their classmates.

Scholars demonstrate their knowledge of root words aqua and aud, and develop vocabulary skills by completing of a chart, handout, and worksheet using creative thinking skills, a dictionary, and a thesaurus.   

Reinforce understanding of five literary terms with a single-slide flow chart. Learners figure out if various words and phrases are examples of simile, metaphor, hyperbole, understatement, or personification. 

Here is a charming worksheet on the seasons. Young learners watch a video about Winnie the Pooh and seasons which is embedded in the worksheet. They read sentences, fill in the blanks, and identify seasons based on the Winnie the Pooh...

There is no better sight to see than a classroom full of eager young adults, hands raised high, eager to jump into a class discussion. Get your class identifying and discussing rhetorical strategies and then debating long into the night...