These lesson plans and activities are organized under topics. Click the found next to the topic to see the related knowledge and skill statements from Content Knowledge, 4th edition.

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Reading

Critical reading | Decording/word identification | Grammar usage | Literary genres | Literary style and techniques | Personal response to written/spoken text | Reading fundamentals | Story/literary elements | Style, diction, and voice

Writing

Informative writing | Literary/narrative writing | Paragraph development | Persuasive writing | Writing conventions/mechanics | Writing for audience and purpose | Writing process | Interactive activities for kids

Viewing

Critical viewing | Media production | Style and techniques in visual media

Speaking

Oral composition and presentation

Research and Reference

Locating sources/gathering information | Organizing information and ideas

ESL/ELL

General Language Arts Resources

Reading

Critical reading

• Building a Case for Clues - McREL
• Is It Fact or Opinion? - McREL
• Once Upon a Time... - McREL
• Two Sides, Same Coin - McREL*

Decording/word identification

• There Was an Old Lady... - McREL
• Antonyms - Emily Peschel; Calhoun Elementary; South Carolina
• Compound Words - Jill DeFelice; Anglo-American School of Moscow
• I Am a Word: Words as Names - Paul Many; University of Toledo, Canada
• Learning Synonyms and Antonyms in Pairs - Margaret Corley
  
  

Grammar and usage

• Jabberwocky - McREL*
• Mad Lib: An Interactive Internet Session - Melissa Gassman
• Mad Libs: Scream!!! - Peri Sandifer; Haynesville High School; Haynesville, LA
• Sentence Game - Shannon Wilkinson; University of Idaho, Moscow
• Shower of Adjectives- April Caricofe; Senseny Road Elementary School; Winchester,VA
  

Literary genres

• Coyote and Anansi - McREL
• Screenwriting 101 - McREL*
• A Storytelling Festival - Education Place®; Houghton Mifflin*
  

Literary style and techniques

• Creating an Anthology - McREL
• Figurative Language - Erica McIlnay; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown*
• Introducing Similes - Catharine Goralski; Saint Joseph College; West Hartford, CT
• Still I Rise: Maya Angelou- Carolyn Hopkins; Bethel High School
• William/William Mix-Up - Krista M. Antonis-Wagner; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
• Writing with Alliteration- Dorie Thurston; Chesterfield County Schools; Virginia
  

Personal response to written/spoken text

• Cinderella - McREL

Reading fundamentals

• Reading Buddies' Book Tour - McREL
• Letters Make Words - Barbara Root; Christenberry Elementary School
• Reinforcing Alphabet Names/Sounds - Julie Van Osdol; Pocatello, Idaho
  
  

Story/literary elements

• Nibble, Nibble, Little Mouse - McREL*
• Dear Character - Carolyn Creger; Natrona County Schools; Casper, WY
  
• Story Creation Magic: Character, Setting, and Plot - Ken Baker*
  

Style, diction, and voice

• Every Dog Has It's Day - McREL
• Jabberwocky - McREL*
• Style and Voice - McREL

Writing

Informative writing

• Interview! Magazine - McREL*
• Writing a Resume - McREL
  

Literary/narrative writing

• My Writing Portfolio - McREL
  
• Nibble, Nibble, Little Mouse - McREL*
• Screenwriting 101 - McREL*
• Zooming In, Zooming Out - McREL
• Figurative Language - Erica McIlnay; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown*
• "Fill-in-the-Blank" Poetry - Monica Wagner; Lutheran High School of Indianapolis
• How to Write a Biopoem - Lisa Kermes; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
• If Trees Could Speak, What Would They Say? - Dawn Carlson; University at Buffalo, NY
• Monarch Haiku - Jennifer Lindahl
• Pen Pals - Marc Tedoff; Enrico Fermi Learning Laboratory
  
• Poetry Gifts - Jamie A. Hughes; Valdosta State University, Georgia
• Story Creation Magic: Character, Setting, and Plot - Ken Baker*
• Student Biographers - Dale R. Alger; Roundup Central Elementary; Roundup, MT
  

Paragraph development

• Scrambled Paragraphs - McREL
• Successful Paragraphs - Martha Adams; Jefferson Elementary; Everette, WA
  

Persuasive writing

• Emotion or Reason? - McREL
• Persuade Me - McREL
• Taxed Tempers Toss Tea To Tides - McREL
• Convince Me! - Alisha Cooney; Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven
  

Writing conventions/mechanics

• Eva's Code - McREL
• Throw Capitals to the Wind - McREL
  
• Abbreviations and Acronyms - Educator's Reference Desk; Information Institute of Syracuse, New York
• The Alphabet Game - Joyce Bean; Enid, OK
  
• Mrs. Brooks' Spelling Lessons - Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee
• Sparkle-A Spelling Game - Terry Sayre; Tigard, OR
• Spelling Practice - Yawn! - Vicki Jennings; Utah
• Types of Sentences - Jeffrey L. Miller
  

Writing for audience and purpose

• Two Sides, Same Coin - McREL*
• Writing for Particular Audiences - McREL

Writing process

• Become a Logophile - Sandy Montgomery; Broken Arrow Public Schools; Broken Arrow, OK
• Creative Writing: Multi-Author Story Writing - Twila Chambers; Front Elementary School; Chandler, AZ
• Proofreading/editing - Heather Connelly and Scott Hendershot; Maple Hill Elementary School; Middletown, NY
  

Interactive activities for kids

• Hangman - Justin Fitzdam

Viewing

Critical viewing

• Ad Appeal - McREL
• Commercial Appeal - McREL*
• 1984 Extension Project - Kate Reid; Park View High School*
  

Media production

• Deconstructing Media Messages - McREL
• Media Ownership and Control - McREL
• Classroom Newsletter - Kerrie D. Aven; Cassopolis Public Schools
• Creating a Class Newspaper - Educator's Reference Desk; Information Institute of Syracuse, New York
• Exploration in Newspapers - Suzanne M. Douma
  

Style and techniques in visual media

• Commercial Appeal - McREL*
• 1984 Extension Project - Kate Reid; Park View High School*

Speaking

Oral composition and presentation

• Adopting a Dress Code - Troy L. McGowan; Mankato State University, Minnesota
  
• Delivering a Persuasive Speech - Douglas Parker; Albany Academy; Albany, NY
  
• Effective Speaking in a Debate - Patsy Kretsch; Weiser High School; Weiser, ID
• Four Corners Debate - Lisa M. Shearer; Home Street Middle School; Bishop, CA
  

Locating sources/gathering information

• I Always Wanted to Know... - McREL
• Interview! Magazine - McREL*

Organizing information and ideas

• Enigmas: Research and Creative Thinking - Sandy Montgomery; Broken Arrow Public Schools; Broken Arrow, OK
  

ESL/ELL

• ESL Lesson Plans - Educator's Reference Desk; Information Institute of Syracuse, New York
• PIZZAZ! Creative Writing & Storytelling Ideas for ESL - Leslie Opp-Beckman; University of Oregon, Eugene

General language arts resources

• English Language Arts K to 7 - British Columbia Ministry of Education, Canada
• English Language Arts 8 to 10 - British Columbia Ministry of Education, Canada
• English Language Arts 11 and 12 - British Columbia Ministry of Education, Canada
• K-12 Language Arts Lesson Plans - Columbia Education Center; Portland, OR
• K-12 Language Arts Lesson Plans - Dr. Scott Mandel; Teachers Helping Teachers
• Language Arts Lesson Plans - Educator's Reference Desk; Information Institute of Syracuse, New York
• Lesson Plans: Literature, Writing, Poetry & Library Skills - Ray Saitz; Outta Ray's Head
• Literature CyberGuides - Schools of California Online Resources for Education
• PBS TeacherSource - PBS Online®

Note: An asterisk (*) denotes an activity that is listed under more than one topic.