Take My Word For It

Grow vocabulary skills with an understanding of affixes and word roots. Included here are a few activities and plenty of materials you can use to support your learners as the focus on building vocabulary.

When you come across an unfamiliar word in a text, do you skip it and move on? Practice using context clues to identify words you don't know with a thorough set of language arts lessons. The resource reinforces close reading and critical...

You've got a few minutes left at the end of class to practice vocabulary, but what can you do other than call out a word and ask for definitions? Play one of these 12 quick games! Each game is explained in detail and easy to modify for...

In poetry, every word matters. Poets like Edgar Allan Poe make conscious choices when composing. Pupils take a close look at his poem "Romance," taking older word meanings into consideration during analysis and discussion. After a class...

The four common types of context clues—examples, synonyms, antonyms, and a general sense of the sentence or passage—are the focus of a resource that provides clear explanations, examples, and opportunities for readers to practice the...

Disguises and role playing are the focus of a resource that uses Shakespeare’s As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and Henry IV, Part I, to demonstrate how we all play many parts in our lives; how we all are “merely players.” The many...

Help your pupils discover the power of context clues by teaching the this vocabulary strategy. Designed to go with words from Willa Cather's My Antonia, this exercise focuses on having individuals use their own words to define new...

Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally, they...

Words, words, words. The function of words in persuasive writing is the focus of a group activity that asks members to analyze how words advertisers use are designed to influence targeted audiences.

Can word choice affect a candidate's likeability? Use a New York Times activity to explore how a presidential candidate's likeability factor can fluctuate in public opinion polls. Young readers choose a presidential election from their...