English/Language Arts Lessons

This section is filled with Language Arts lessons from kindergarten through high school. The lessons span subtopics such as literature, reading comprehension, writing, and more. Many of the lessons are aligned to Common Core State Standards. With that said, these lessons can easily be integrated into an existing English Language Arts curriculum. The lessons you see here have been created by real teachers working in schools across the United States - teachers from our Teacher.org community. If you would like to share a lesson plan for inclusion on Teacher.org, contact us.

English/Language Arts Arts Lesson Plans

Theater in Action

Length of Time: About 2 Class Periods

Students will write and perform a scene from the story, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

English/Language Arts English/Language Arts Lesson Plans

Analogy Creation

Length of Time: About 1 - 2 Class Periods

Students will create analogies using randomly chosen grade-appropriate words.

Author's Purpose

Length of Time: 40-50 minutes

Students will have the opportunity to delve into the world of "Author's Purpose" with this engaging lesson. This lesson is aligned with 2nd grade standards and expectations.

Beginning Sound Match

Length of Time: 30-45 minutes

This lesson will allow students to practice both writing names and identifying beginning sounds for common item names.

Collaborative Questioning

Length of Time: About 60 - 90 Minutes

Students will read a teacher selected, standards-based science or history text. Students will then develop questions based on Costa’s levels of questioning to encourage collaborative discussion of the reading.

Controversial Environmental Issues

Length of Time: 2 Class Periods

Students will research and debate multiple topics in the topic of environmental health. The class will take sides on whether they are for or against the controversial issue.

De and Con Notations

Length of Time: About 45 - 60 Minutes

Students work collaboratively to create the denotations and connotations of words.

Debate an Environmental Issue

Length of Time: 30-40 Minutes

Students will read an article about the sale of tropical fish. Students will analyze the information given and discuss their opinion based on facts from the article.

Discovering Adjectives

Length of Time: About 40 - 60 Minutes

Students will work in groups to describe various objects based on taste, smell, look, touch, and emotional feeling.

Explain Those Idioms

Length of Time: 30 - 40 Minutes

Students will recognize idioms for their actual as well as realized meaning.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Length of Time: About 45 minutes

Students will read an article from a newspaper, magazine, or other similar content, identify main idea, and create a headline for the story.

Fable Lesson: What is a Fable?

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

In this  fable lesson, students will use Internet sources, graphic organizers and group activities to analyze and discuss the characteristics and story lines of two different fables, "The Owl and The Grasshopper" and "The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse." After students read and brainstorm story elements of the folktales, they will then write a fable of their own.

Fairy Tale

Length of Time: 40-50 minutes

This lesson is great for students who have already been introduced to the concept of "real" and "make-believe" characters.  The lesson take students through the elements that make up a fairy tale.

Good Deeds

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

This lesson is designed to help students explore the importance of being kind and doing good deeds for others, by understanding that “A Person’s a Person No Matter How Small.”

Hiding Homophones

Length of Time: 30 - 40 Minutes

This lesson offers a simple introduction or refresher course in homophones, words that are pronounced the same, but spell and mean differently. Students will create a visual reminder of some of the more common homophones.  

How to Take Care of Our Oceans

Length of Time: About 45 minutes

This lesson is designed to teach students how and why it is important to take care of our ocean environments.

Hyperbole and Paradox

Length of Time: About 2 Class Periods

Using Internet resources the students find definitions and examples of hyperboles and paradox, and then create their own to share with peers, and identify their use in a current reading selection.

Learning About Adjectives

Length of Time: 30 - 40 Minutes

Students will be able to name adjectives by describing their favorite characters from the teacher’s story and their own favorite stories.

Main Idea

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

This lesson is designed to help students' comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level Appropriate Text.

Main Idea and Details

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

This lesson is designed to teach students to use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

Moody Reading: Reading with Expression

Length of Time: Varied Depending on Usage

This lesson will be used to help students understand how to read with expression by choosing an expression to read with regardless of what is written.

Nothing but the Truth

Length of Time: About five 45 minute sessions

This lesson will allow students to practice reading out loud and determining how point of view affects the action of a story.

Parts of Speech BINGO

Length of Time: 10 Minutes/Game

Students will recognize and identify basic parts of speech: preposition, noun, verb, adjective through a simple game.

Present Perfect Tense

Length of Time: 40 - 50 Minutes

Students will be able to explain clearly the rules on the present perfect tense of verbs as differentiated from the simple present and past tenses.

Rainbow Fish

Length of Time: About 45 minutes

This lesson is designed to teach students understand the importance of being a good friend through literature and art activities.

Reducing Every Day Plastic Use

Length of Time: Multiple Class Periods

Students will research and write a persuasive essay about the effects of plastic in every day use. They will be encouraged to send these letters to officials who could make a difference.

Rhyme Time

Length of Time: 20 - 45 Minutes

This lesson will introduce or reinforce word families and rhymes for young children and/or struggling readers.

Rhyming Words

Length of Time: 30-40 minutes

A very fun and engaging rhyming lesson for kindergarten students on rhyming words. Students will have the opportunity to work as a class, with partners, and individually. This lesson comes with modifications and ongoing suggestions for students who might need further assistance.

Short Stories

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

This lesson is designed to help students ask questions and support answers by connecting prior knowledge with literal information found in, and inferred from, the text.

Speed Persuading

Length of Time: Two to Three Class Periods

The students will use the art of communication to quickly persuade or convince their peers to change their minds on a variety of popular or unpopular opinions.

Stories Galore

Length of Time: About 2 Hours

Following the Common Core Standards for writing a narrative the students will collaborate and write six stories.

Story Sequencing

Length of Time: 40-50 minutes

This lesson takes students through the process of sequencing a story using the words first, then, next, and last. The lesson provides opportunities for students to write, draw, listen, act, and speak. The lesson include individual work as well as group work.

Story Themes

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

This lesson is designed to help students understand “describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.” -CCSS

Tearing Into Vocabulary

Length of Time: 15-30 Minutes

This is a quick activity to allow students to work cooperatively while increasing awareness of vocabulary for a given lesson.

The Classroom Lottery

Length of Time: One of more 45 minute class period

Based on the short story, The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson, the students will be participate in a similar mock classroom drama using a different scenario for the “choosing”, while writing answers to thought-provoking questions.

Theater in Action

Length of Time: About 2 Class Periods

Students will write and perform a scene from the story, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

What Year Did That Happen?

Length of Time: About 2 - 3 Class Periods

Students will practice rewriting and summarizing paragraphs, paraphrasing the information, facts, and other details in a writing sample.

What is a Noun?

Length of Time: 30 - 40 Minutes

Students will be able to name nouns by telling about their favorite things, people, places or characters. The teacher can choose so many different areas of Grammar about nouns (e.g. Countable/ Uncountable; Proper/Common; Singular/Plural).

What is a Verb?

Length of Time: 30 - 40 Minutes

Students will be able to define and give examples of verbs by telling about how they celebrate their birthdays.

Writing Main Idea

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

This lesson is designed to help student’s organization and focus their grade appropriate writing.

Writing Narratives

Length of Time: About 45 Minutes

In this lesson, students will use a graphic organizer for narrative writing.

Writing to a Photograph

Length of Time: About 45-60 Minutes

Students will develop a plan for a fictional story based on a picture.

English/Language Arts Environmental Lesson Plans

Controversial Environmental Issues

Length of Time: 2 Class Periods

Students will research and debate multiple topics in the topic of environmental health. The class will take sides on whether they are for or against the controversial issue.

Debate an Environmental Issue

Length of Time: 30-40 Minutes

Students will read an article about the sale of tropical fish. Students will analyze the information given and discuss their opinion based on facts from the article.

English/Language Arts Science Lesson Plans

Controversial Environmental Issues

Length of Time: 2 Class Periods

Students will research and debate multiple topics in the topic of environmental health. The class will take sides on whether they are for or against the controversial issue.

Debate an Environmental Issue

Length of Time: 30-40 Minutes

Students will read an article about the sale of tropical fish. Students will analyze the information given and discuss their opinion based on facts from the article.

Reducing Every Day Plastic Use

Length of Time: Multiple Class Periods

Students will research and write a persuasive essay about the effects of plastic in every day use. They will be encouraged to send these letters to officials who could make a difference.

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