Most Recent

• Island of the Blue Dolphins Questions and Classroom Activities
  Imagine being alone on an island for eighteen years! This historical novel for readers aged 10-13 is based on a real person, the Lost Woman of San Nicolas Island. It is the story of a young girl's survival on an island in the early 1800's. How can she find food, shelter and protect herself?
• Teaching Suspense in Edgar Allan Poe's The Black Cat
  If you know someone who doesn't like Edgar Allan Poe, make fun of him; then, check out this lesson plan about teaching suspense using "The Black Cat".
• Language Arts Halloween Activities
  Visions of sugar-filled, disengaged students often lead teachers to brace themselves for Halloween. Struggling through lessons that fail to interest students the last week of October will be only a memory. These language arts activities for this time of year ensure students stay focused on learning.
• Divergent Review and Lesson Ideas -- If Your Students Liked Hunger Games or The Giver, They Will Enjoy Divergent
  The hot new young adult read by Veronica Roth [Katherine Tegen Books, 2011] is a page turner packed with one important choice and conflict at every turn. Divergent will leave you waiting for the next installment to this trilogy.
• How to Write Shape Poems - A Lesson For Middle School
  The trick to motivating middle school students to write poetry is to focus on their interests, hobbies, and passions. Making a shape or concrete poem that focuses on this interest is usually considered easy. To add a bit of difficulty to this lesson, students will learn about metaphors and similes
• Alliteration -- Poetry Lesson
  Poetry is difficult for some students to write. One fun poetry technique to discuss and to write is alliteration. It adds pizazz to any poem or prose. Once students learn it, they will love playing with words. The following lesson will teach the technique of alliteration.
• Ways to Use Music and Songs in an English Classroom
  Adding music to an English lesson stimulates student’s minds and grabs their attention. Students connect to the lesson through one of their interests. Engaging students in this manner increases their understanding and mastery of the topic.
• What Will Make Your Student's Top Five List? Find Out in this Creative Lesson
  When middle school students think about a book they like, they zone in on exciting or interesting scenes or episodes. This engaging activity allows students to create a top five list of their favorites and then graphically depict them.
• Give Speeches Instead of Writing Papers About Books
  Do your students groan when they hear that they have to complete another written book report? Give the assignment a new twist. Students can improve their public speaking skills and tell you about a cool new book by giving a speech instead of writing a paper.