English Language Arts Toolkit

In this poetry writing lesson, students take inspiration from the natural world and focus on figurative language – especially metaphors, similes, and personification – as they incorporate descriptive writing into their poems about nature. HOW IT WORKSStudents closely examine a nature object to brainstorm descriptive words and phrases including metaphors, similes, and personification. After annotating and analyzing a mentor text, they write poems using figurative language comparing their natur

Here's a fun and memorable way to teach students about the importance of punctuation on Valentine's Day! This two-page worksheet has a message that can be punctuated in two different ways. One way, it’s a love letter. The other way, it’s a break-up letter. Students add punctuation and capitalization with drag-and-drop editing symbols to create both letters without changing, adding, or deleting any of the words. ★ GET MORE FOR LESS ★ with the Valentine's Day Middle School ELA Bundle or

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Lord of the Flies? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Working together, they must explai

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Romeo and Juliet? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Working together, they must explain, jus

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Hamlet? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Working together, they must explain, justify, and defend the

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Macbeth? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Working together, they must explain, justify, and defend t

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Fahrenheit 451? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. Working together, they must explain, justif

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Animal Farm? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Working together, they must explain, justify, an

In this poetry writing lesson, students take inspiration from the natural world and focus on figurative language – especially metaphors, similes, and personification – as they incorporate descriptive writing into their poems about nature. HOW IT WORKSStudents closely examine a nature object to brainstorm descriptive words and phrases including metaphors, similes, and personification. After annotating and analyzing a mentor text, they write poems using figurative language comparing their natur

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Julius Caesar? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Working together, they must explain, justify,

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Macbeth? Hexagonal thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with student-centered text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Working together, they must explain, just

These homonym (homograph and homophone) vocabulary activities help students expand their knowledge of multiple meaning words, deepen their understanding of how to use context clues, and discover a range of interesting professions. HOW IT WORKSGiven each homonym in the context of two different situations or professions, students determine the meanings relevant to each, write a definition in their own words, and add an illustration. Using context clues to write sentences showing what the word mea

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Brave New World? Hexagonal Thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Working together, they must explain, jus

These homonym (homograph and homophone) vocabulary activities help students expand their knowledge of multiple meaning words, deepen their understanding of how to use context clues, and discover a range of interesting professions. HOW IT WORKSGiven each homonym in the context of two different situations or professions, students determine the meanings relevant to each, write a definition in their own words, and add an illustration. Using context clues to write sentences showing what the word mea

Here's a great way to teach effective word choice in reading and writing! This engaging and memorable lesson has high school students analyze and apply the author's craft of diction. HOW IT WORKSInspired by the word choice in a mentor text, they identify compelling words and phrases and record them on a graphic organizer. Then, drawing from this collection of words and phrases, students incorporate some of them into their own compositions. No-prep teacher modeling using the mentor text "Ev

Teach effective word choice in reading and writing throughout the year! This engaging and memorable lesson has middle school students analyze and apply the author's craft of diction. HOW IT WORKSInspired by the word choice in a mentor text, they identify compelling words and phrases and record them on a graphic organizer. Then, drawing from this collection of words and phrases, students incorporate some of them into their own compositions. No-prep teacher modeling is provided using these m

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Hamlet? Hexagonal thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with student-centered text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Working together, they must explain, justif

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Romeo and Juliet? Hexagonal thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with student-centered text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the play. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Working together, they

Ready for your students to gain a deeper understanding of Fahrenheit 451? Hexagonal thinking combines a concept sort and visible thinking strategy with student-centered text-based discussion to engage students in creative thinking and literary analysis as they develop critical insights into the novel. HOW IT WORKSStudents arrange hexagon-shaped cards to show meaningful connections between characters, themes, symbols, and quotations from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Working together, they mu

Students become more active, strategic readers when they discover that rereading is one of the most highly effective strategies for improving reading comprehension. This lesson helps students discover the value of rereading for themselves as they read a complex text or poem. It works well with any short, challenging fiction or nonfiction text or poem and can be repeated throughout the year. HOW IT WORKSStudents read and reread a complex text or poem three times, learning the power of rereadi