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 (Grades 3–5)—McREL
• Is It Fact or Opinion? (Grades 6–8)—McREL
• Once Upon a Time... (Kindergarten–Grade 2)—McREL
• Two Sides, Same Coin (Grades 9–12)—McREL*

Decording/word identification

• There Was an Old Lady... (Grades 3–5)—McREL
• Antonyms (Grade 1)—Emily Peschel; Calhoun Elementary; South Carolina
• Compound Words (Grades 1–2)—Jill DeFelice; Anglo-American School of Moscow
• I Am a Word: Words as Names (Grades 1–2)—Paul Many; University of Toledo, Canada
• Learning Synonyms and Antonyms in Pairs (Grade 6)—Margaret Corley
  
  

Grammar and usage

• Jabberwocky (Gradfes 6–8)—McREL*
• Mad Lib: An Interactive Internet Session (Grade 5)—Melissa Gassman
• Mad Libs: Scream!!! (Grades 9–10)— Peri Sandifer; Haynesville High School; Haynesville, LA
• Sentence Game (Grades 1–4)—Shannon Wilkinson; University of Idaho, Moscow
• Shower of Adjectives (Grades 2–4)—April Caricofe; Senseny Road Elementary School; Winchester,VA
  

Literary genres

• Coyote and Anansi (Grades 3–5)—McREL
• Screenwriting 101 (Grades 9–12)—McREL*
• A Storytelling Festival (Grades 5–8)—Education Place®; Houghton Mifflin*
  

Literary style and techniques

• Creating an Anthology (Grades 9–12)—McREL
• Figurative Language (Grades 9–11)—Erica McIlnay; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown*
• Introducing Similes (Grades 1–2)—Catharine Goralski; Saint Joseph College; West Hartford, CT
• Still I Rise: Maya Angelou (Grades 9–12)—Carolyn Hopkins; Bethel High School
• William/William Mix-Up (Grade 12)—Krista M. Antonis-Wagner; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
• Writing with Alliteration (Grades 3–5)—Dorie Thurston; Chesterfield County Schools; Virginia
  

Personal response to written/spoken text

• Cinderella (Grades 9–12)—McREL

Reading fundamentals

• Reading Buddies' Book Tour (Prekindergarten)—McREL
• Letters Make Words (Kindergarten–Grade 2)—Barbara Root; Christenberry Elementary School
• Reinforcing Alphabet Names/Sounds (Kindergarten–Grade 1)—Julie Van Osdol; Pocatello, Idaho
  
  

Story/literary elements

• A New Point of view (Grades 6–8)—McREL
• Nibble, Nibble, Little Mouse (Grades 6–8)—McREL*
• Dear Character (Kindergarten–Grade 12)—Carolyn Creger; Natrona County Schools; Casper, WY
• Story Creation Magic: Character, Setting, and Plot (Kindergarten–Grade 6)—Ken Baker*
  

Style, diction, and voice

• Every Dog Has It's Day (Grades 6–8)—McREL
• Jabberwocky (Grades 6–8)—McREL*
• Style and Voice (Grades 9–12)—McREL

Writing

Informative writing

• Interview! Magazine (Grades 6–8)—McREL*
• Writing a Resume (Grades 9–12)—McREL
  

Literary/narrative writing

• A New Point of view (Grades 6–8)—McREL
• My Writing Portfolio (Kindergarten–Grade 2)—McREL
• Nibble, Nibble, Little Mouse (Grades 6–8)—McREL*
• Screenwriting 101 (Grades 9–12)—McREL*
• Zooming In, Zooming Out (Kindergarten–Grade 2)—McREL
• Figurative Language (Grades 9–10)—Erica McIlnay; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown*
• "Fill-in-the-Blank" Poetry (Grades 6–12)—Monica Wagner; Lutheran High School of Indianapolis
• How to Write a Biopoem (Grades 3–4)—Lisa Kermes; University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
• If Trees Could Speak, What Would They Say? (Grades 3–6)—Dawn Carlson; University at Buffalo, NY
• Monarch Haiku (Grades 2–3)—Jennifer Lindahl
• Pen Pals (Grades 5–8)—Marc Tedoff; Enrico Fermi Learning Laboratory
  
• Poetry Gifts (Grades 9–12)—Jamie A. Hughes; Valdosta State University, Georgia
• Story Creation Magic: Character, Setting, and Plot (Kindergarten–Grade 6)—Ken Baker*
• Student Biographers (Grades 5–8)—Dale R. Alger; Roundup Central Elementary; Roundup, MT
• Picture This! Building Photo-Based Writing Skills (Grades 6–12)—The Learning Network: Teaching & Learning With The New York Times; New York, NY
  

Paragraph development

• Scrambled Paragraphs (Grades 3–5)—McREL
• Successful Paragraphs (Grades 4–6)—Martha Adams; Jefferson Elementary; Everette, WA
  

Persuasive writing

• Emotion or Reason? (Grades 9–12)—McREL
• Persuade Me (Grades 6–8)—McREL
• Taxed Tempers Toss Tea To Tides (Grades 5–6)—McREL
• Convince Me! (Grades 5–6)—Alisha Cooney; Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven
  

Writing conventions/mechanics

• Eva's Code (Grades 3–5)—McREL
• Throw Capitals to the Wind (Grades 9–12)—McREL
• Abbreviations and Acronyms (Grades 4–6)—Educator's Reference Desk; Information Institute of Syracuse, New York
• The Alphabet Game (Grades 3–6)—Joyce Bean; Enid, OK
• Sparkle-A Spelling Game (Grades 1–5)—Terry Sayre; Tigard, OR
• Spelling Practice - Yawn! (Grade 3)—Vicki Jennings; Utah
• Types of Sentences (Grades 3–5)—Jeffrey L. Miller
  

Writing for audience and purpose

• A New Point of view (Grades 6–8)—McREL
• Two Sides, Same Coin (Grades 9–12)—McREL*
• Writing for Particular Audiences (Grades 3–5)—McREL

Writing process

• Become a Logophile (Grades 4–8)—Sandy Montgomery; Broken Arrow Public Schools; Broken Arrow, OK
• Creative Writing: Multi-Author Story Writing (Grades 1–12)—Twila Chambers; Front Elementary School; Chandler, AZ
• Proofreading/editing (Grades 3–5)—Heather Connelly and Scott Hendershot; Maple Hill Elementary School; Middletown, NY
  

Interactive activities for kids

• Hangman (Grades 1–10)—Kidscom.com

Viewing

Critical viewing

• Ad Appeal (Grades 3–5)—McREL
• Commercial Appeal (Grades 6–8)—McREL*
• 1984 Extension Project (Grades 10–12)—Kate Reid; Park View High School*
  

Media production

• Deconstructing Media Messages (Grades 3–5)—McREL
• Media Ownership and Control (Grades 9–12)—McREL
• Classroom Newsletter (Grades 5–12)—Kerrie D. Aven; Cassopolis Public Schools
• Creating a Class Newspaper (Grades 5–8)—Educator's Reference Desk; Information Institute of Syracuse, New York
• Exploration in Newspapers (Grades 7–9)—Suzanne M. Douma
  

Style and techniques in visual media

• Commercial Appeal (Grades 6–8)—McREL*
• 1984 Extension Project (Grades 10–12)—Kate Reid; Park View High School*

Speaking

Oral composition and presentation

• Adopting a Dress Code (Grades 7–12)—Troy L. McGowan; Mankato State University, Minnesota
• Delivering a Persuasive Speech (Grades 6–12)—Douglas Parker; Albany Academy; Albany, NY
• Effective Speaking in a Debate (Grades 9–12)—Patsy Kretsch; Weiser High School; Weiser, ID
• Four Corners Debate (Grades 7–12)—Lisa M. Shearer; Home Street Middle School; Bishop, CA
  

Locating sources/gathering information

• Interview! Magazine (Grades 6–8)—McREL*
• Use of materials, plagiarism, referencing (Grades 6-12)- Viper: the anti-plagiarism scanner; Nottingham, England

Organizing information and ideas

• Enigmas: Research and Creative Thinking (Grades 4–5)—Sandy Montgomery; Broken Arrow Public Schools; Broken Arrow, OK
  

ESL/ELL

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

General language arts resources

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

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