Language Arts

Ongoing Greek and Latin Word Part Activities

Part 1 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Rather than just memorizing word parts, students will use those word parts to create four possible products.

Paragraphs: Systems of Sentences

Part 1 of Mixed Up Paragraphs

Want students to understand how a paragraph fits together? Explode one and make them reassemble it using the clues in each sentence! I even wrote a little app to bust a paragraph up for you.

Building Creative Analogies

We'll take two seemingly unrelated pieces of content (say volcanoes and the human body) and then build analogies to connect the two ideas. In the end, students can create a skit, comic, or story relating the two concepts.

Showing A Character’s Trait

We tell students to "show, not tell" in their writing, but this advice isn't effective until they experience the difference. In this video, we'll put a famous character (of students' choosing) into a mundane situation and develop a fun scene to show off their main traits.

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 1

Part 1 of Ways To Start Sentences

"Add more variety!" I'd say to my class. But I never really knew what this actually meant. Suprise! This bad advice never improved students' writing. In these videos, students learn nine specific ways to add variety just by changing the beginning of their sentences. This was easily one of my students' favorite writing tools - because it actually helped them.

Analyze Character Change with Depth and Complexity

Your students will use Depth and Complexity to note how a character's main trait changes across a story.

Jabberwocky and Context Clues

Context clues lessons can be a disaster. Here, we expose students to a delightful classic packed with nonsense words ("Jabberwocky") and ask them to decipher the meanings and parts of speech. Then, it's only natural for students to write their own nonsense poems.

Better Stories Part 4: Character Archetypes

Part 4 of Writing Better Stories

Are students' characters a bit flat? Archetypes give them a strong foundation on which to build their own characters as well as a tool to analyze existing stories.

Upgrade Research Questions With Depth and Complexity

Ever ask students to create research questions? Were their ideas a bit… blah? My own students had a very hard time writing questions they didn't already know the answer to! This video is how I solved that problem: upgrade research questions with depth and complexity.

Multiple Meaning Matcher – Introduction

Part 1 of Multiple Meaning Matchers

Your students will try to match up definitions that belong to the same homophone in this brain-boggling vocab puzzle.

Greek and Latin Dinosaur Names

Let's create a new dinosaur using Greek and Latin stems!

Writing Seuss Style Poetry

Sure, Dr. Seuss wrote for young students, but can older students analyze his writing and learn to mimic his style? THEN, they can produce Seuss-style poetry about any topic: Ancient China, the electromagnetic spectrum, Pride and Prejudice, and (yes) fraction division!

Introduce Symbolism with Pixel Art

Create a pixelated icon that represents the essence of a character!

Identifying Author’s Voice

What if... Edgar Allen Poe wrote Alice's Adventures in Wonderland?

Punctuation Power

In a sentence, punctuation may seem meek when compared to those mighty words, but punctuation has incredible power over the meaning of a sentence. Students will try re-punctuating sentences to find new meanings - without changing a single word!

Writing Summaries in Haiku

Let's write a summary. A very short summary. With VERY strict rules.

Simile or Metaphor – Concept Attainment

Can your students puzzle out the differences in these types of figurative language - without any instruction!?

Characters’ Talents and Multiple Intelligences

How do characters from novels line up with Gardner's Multiple Intelligences?

Virtue or Vice?

Aristotle noted that positive traits and negative traits are often the same thing, but just in different amounts. The right amount is a virtue, but too much or too little and it's a vice.

Better Stories Part 1: The Big Idea

Part 1 of Writing Better Stories

We open our unit on narrative writing with a big idea: "structure increases creativity." I show how this is true by bringing in examples from across all disciplines.

Motivation and Moral Development

Can someone do the right thing, but for the wrong reason?

Analyze Characters Using Philosophy

What is the Brick Pig's philosophy? How would he apply it to the characters in Harry Potter?

Better Stories Part 5: Plot Structure

Part 5 of Writing Better Stories

Ever read a student's story that was just event after event after event and then a very sudden ending? They lack an understanding of a plot's structure. With the help of Finding Nemo, I break down how to set up a well-structured plot.

Improving Presentations 1: Watching The Greats

Part 1 of Better Presentations

Get better at giving presentations by studying the greats!

Better Stories Part 3: Literary Themes

Part 3 of Writing Better Stories

A typical student narrative includes plot and characters but lacks a larger idea to hold it all together. This is where a lesson on themes comes in…

Synonym Graphs

So, which is happiest: happy, joyful, or ecstatic? Which is most temporary?

Fancier Figurative Language: Start with a Cliche

Part 1 of Fancier Figurative Language

We'll start with the cliché "as cold as ice" and go somewhere much more interesting.

Sets of Idioms

Part 1 of Idioms

An ongoing series to expose students to five related idioms.

Propaganda and Logical Fallacies

Let's see how propaganda techniques can make even something great seem bad.

Upgrading Compare and Contrast Writing

Upgrade compare and contrast writing with just a couple of key words.

“Its Big Day” – A Children’s Story About Its and It’s

Let's spice up a typically dull lesson about the difference between "its" and "it's" by asking students to write a children's story about the adventures of a critter named It.

Teach Non-Fiction Writing Structure With Fractals

Did you ever notice that the structure of an essay is very similar to the structure of a paragraph? Hmm…

Better Stories Part 2: Types of Conflict

Part 2 of Writing Better Stories

If your students' stories are packed with endless ninja fights or arguments between frenemies, it's time to expose them to a wider range of conflicts.

Ways to Start a Sentence – Level 2

Part 2 of Ways To Start Sentences

We'll show students how to add more variety to their writing by starting sentences with a reason, a prepositional phrase, and a simile.

Run On or Not? – Concept Attainment

Can your students puzzle out the differences in these sentences - without any instruction!?

Unclear Pronouns: Too Many Antecedents

What happens when a pronoun could refer to more than one noun? Big problems!

Academic Love Letters

What if Kylo Ren wrote a love letter to Abe Lincoln or the Sahara Desert wrote one to the Moon?

Changing Coordinating Conjunctions

What happens when we switch out a "but" with a "so"? An "and" with a "for"? How can such tiny words make such big differences?

Writing Clear Directions

Can you write directions so clear that a group of kids can put a toy together with no illustrations?

Common English Words From Other Languages

Bored with typical spelling studies? Let's dig into the origins of common English words from other languages!

Do Narrators Have Too Much Power?

Imagine being a character in a story. Are you worried that your story's narrator may inaccurately describe you? What if they reveal something you wanted to be kept secret? Do narrators have too much power!?

Plurals: An Inductive Spelling Lesson

Plural nouns in English are deliciously fascinating. Yet most plural lessons are so dull! In this experience, students are given a pile of plurals and then inductively create groups and pull out rules and patterns.

Advanced Alliteration and Consonance

Part 5 of Fancier Figurative Language

When students learn about alliteration, it's hard to steer them away from goofy tongue-twisters. Certainly, there must be more powerful and practical ways of using alliteration. In this lesson, I draw on delicious examples from Shakespeare to show how a very advanced writer used alliteration. Then, I break those ideas down so students can try them out.

Ways to Start a Sentence – Part 3

Part 3 of Ways To Start Sentences

We'll show students how to add more variety to their writing by starting sentences with gerunds, participle phrases, and absolute phrases.

Studying and Remixing “The Raven”

Ready to push kids beyond the boring, old ABAB rhyme scheme and into something a bit more complex?

Literary Technique: Juxtaposition

Put a grumpy character next to a joyful one and they make each other stand out even more. Opposites are powerful!

Simple or Compound Sentences – Concept Attainment

Can your students puzzle out the differences in these two types of sentences - without any instruction!?

Elements of The Fantasy Genre

Parts of Speech Party: Introduction (Check)

Part 1 of Parts of Speech Party

How many ways can we use "check" in a paragraph? And can your students spot when it's a verb, or a noun, or an adjective?

Independent or Dependent Clauses – Concept Attainment

What would Poetry think about Prose?

Imagine that Poetry and Prose meet for the first time at a party? What would they say to each other? How would they feel? In this video, I guide kids through the process of writing a script in which these two forms of writing interact.

Complex or Compound – Concept Attainment

Can your students puzzle out the difference between these two types of sentences without any instruction!?

Passive to Active Voice

n this lesson, students will not just fix passive sentences, but break active sentences as they learn to put the star of the sentence first.

Fixing Shakespearean Run-Ons

Can your students help The Bard? We'll fix five Shakespearean run-ons in three different ways.

Writing Technique: Contrast With Synonyms

Part 1 of Spice Up Your Writing

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We'll be contrasting two ideas using synonyms.

Writing Technique: 3 Dependent Clauses

Part 3 of Spice Up Your Writing

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We'll be writing sentences with three dependent clauses.

Parts of Speech Party – Well

Part 6 of Parts of Speech Party

How many different ways can we use the word "well"? Let's find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Writing Technique: Opposite Adjectives

Part 2 of Spice Up Your Writing

A specific technique to help students add some spice to their writing. We'll be using antonyms to describe the same topic!

Fancier Figurative Language: Advanced Repetition

Part 4 of Fancier Figurative Language

Is your students' use of repetition limited to, "The girl was very, very, very fast."? Let's borrow some ideas from Shakespeare!

Parts of Speech Party – Limit

Part 8 of Parts of Speech Party

How many different ways can we use the word "limit"? Let's find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Idiom Tasks

Part 2 of Idioms

Four fantastically terrific tasks for a weekly idiom study.

Parts of Speech Party – Gift

Part 2 of Parts of Speech Party

How many different ways can we use the word "gift" in a single paragraph? Let's find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Multiple Meaning Matcher – Alpha

Part 2 of Multiple Meaning Matchers

Can your students match multiple meanings of the same five words?

Parts of Speech Party – Thanks

Part 7 of Parts of Speech Party

How many different ways can we use the word "thanks"? Let's find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Falling)

Concept Attainment: May (Modal Auxiliary)

Past Progressive or Simple Past Tenses – Concept Attainment

Can students figure out the differences between sentences with past progressive and simple past tenses using the concept attainment model?

Five Sets of Bird and Bug Idioms

Part 3 of Idioms

Five sets of idioms related to birds (and bugs).

Sets of Idioms Related to Food

Part 4 of Idioms

Five sets of five idioms, all related to food.

Progressive or Simple Tenses – Concept Attainment

Can your students puzzle out the differences between these two tenses - without any instruction!?

Multiple Meaning Matcher – Theta

Part 9 of Multiple Meaning Matchers

Can your students match multiple meanings of the same five words?

Writing Sample: The Wind in the Willows

Multiple Meaning Matcher – Zeta

Part 7 of Multiple Meaning Matchers

Can your students match multiple meanings of the same five words?

Sets of Idioms Related to Numbers

Part 5 of Idioms

Two sets of idioms related to numbers.

Writing Sample: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Shrinking)

Writing Sample: The Velveteen Rabbit (The Toys)

Multiple Meaning Matcher – Epsilon

Part 6 of Multiple Meaning Matchers

Can your students match multiple meanings of the same five words?

Writing Sample: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Sets of Idioms Related to Body Parts

Part 6 of Idioms

Five sets of five idioms, all related to body parts!

Multiple Meaning Matcher – Beta

Part 3 of Multiple Meaning Matchers

Can your students match multiple meanings of the same five words?

Writing Sample: Peter Pan

Writing Sample: Anne of Green Gables

Writing Sample: White Fang (The Wild)

Parts of Speech Party – Change

Part 5 of Parts of Speech Party

How many different ways can we use the word "change"? Let's find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Idioms about Weather

Part 7 of Idioms

Five sets of idioms related to the weather.

Multiple Meaning Matcher – Gamma

Part 5 of Multiple Meaning Matchers

Can your students match multiple meanings of the same five words?

Pyrostasis (Greek and Latin)

Part 2 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Pyrostasis, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Geosynth (Greek and Latin)

Part 3 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Geosynth, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Parts of Speech Party – Care

Part 3 of Parts of Speech Party

How many different ways can we use the word "care"? Let's find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Emoji Stories 🏰

Part 2 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🏰📚🔍🔐🚪.

Writing Sample: The Jungle Book (Bagheera)

Parts of Speech Party – Fruit

Part 4 of Parts of Speech Party

How many different ways can we use the word "fruit"? Let's find out in this Parts of Speech Party!

Hydromagnaphone (Greek and Latin)

Part 7 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Hydromagnaphone, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Thermocryptograph (Greek and Latin)

Part 5 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Thermocryptograph, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Psycholunaphase (Greek and Latin)

Part 9 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Psycholunaphase, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Plexidemokinesis (Greek and Latin)

Part 8 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Plexidemokinesis, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Writing Sample: Moby Dick

Aquamorphotron (Greek and Latin)

Part 4 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Aquamorphotron, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Idioms About Money

Part 8 of Idioms

Five sets of idioms related to money.

Idioms About Fire

Part 10 of Idioms

Five sets of idioms related to fire!

Chronosonarium (Greek and Latin)

Part 6 of Greek and Latin Word Parts

Using the word Chronosonarium, students will create an invention, a creature, or a spell.

Idioms About Red

Part 9 of Idioms

Five sets of idioms related to the color red.

Emoji Stories 🤖

Part 4 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🤖💃🎵🕺🐔.

Emoji Stories 🚗

Part 5 of Emoji Prompts

Students will write a story about 🚗🗺️🌋🐉🌉

Emoji Stories 🐻

Part 3 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🐻🎩🎙️🐰🤣.

Emoji Stories 🛥️

Part 6 of Emoji Prompts

Students will write a story about 🛥️🏊🌊🐙🤝 .

Emoji Stories 🐌

Part 7 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🐌📬✈️🏛️ 📜

Emoji Stories 🏟️

Part 9 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🏟️🏹🍞🐦🔥

Emoji Stories 🕰️

Part 10 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🕰️🎩🐀💎🕺

Emoji Stories 🦁

Part 12 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🦁👑🐗🎶🌄

Writing Sample: The Fall of the House of Usher

Emoji Stories 👁️

Part 11 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 👁️🔮🌩️🚷🌲

Emoji Stories 🚚

Part 8 of Emoji Prompts

Students will create a story about 🚚🤖📻🛸🌌