Builds word mastery through parts of speech, Greek and Latin roots, and morphological analysis of prefixes and suffixes. Develops nuanced comprehension using context clues, shades of meaning, and idiomatic expressions.
A sequence focused on the critical revision workflow for students using speech-to-text technology. Students learn to identify and fix common errors like homophone confusion, run-on sentences, and informal tone to turn raw dictation into polished academic writing.
This sequence explores the creative and literary side of homophones and homonyms through puns, riddles, and advertising. Students move from deconstructing humor to creating their own intentional wordplay, culminating in a showcase of their comedic and creative linguistic skills.
This sequence explores the literary and rhetorical function of homophones and homonyms through the lens of wordplay. Students move from analyzing the structure of puns and riddles to examining real-world slogans and creating their own comedy scripts, reinforcing precise vocabulary through creative application.
This sequence explores the creative and rhetorical power of homophones, moving beyond mere error correction to intentional usage in wordplay and puns. Students examine how homophones function in literature, advertising, and humor to create double meanings.
This sequence leverages humor and wordplay to engage students in the structural analysis of language. By dissecting puns, riddles, and jokes, students uncover how homophones and homonyms function as the mechanism for verbal humor. The learning journey moves from analyzing existing puns to understanding the linguistic pivot point, finally leading students to create their own wordplay.
A project-based ELA sequence for 6th graders to master complex homophones through visual associations, etymology, and mnemonic devices. Students move from diagnosing personal errors to creating a collaborative visual dictionary.
An advanced exploration of 6th-grade homophones using etymology and root word analysis. Students investigate complex word pairs like principal/principle and capital/capitol through case studies and simulations.
A rigorous, inquiry-based unit for 6th graders exploring how grammatical context and parts of speech dictate the spelling of homophones. Students analyze sentence structure, use replacement tests, and construct their own context-rich writing to master word choice.
A workshop-style sequence for 6th grade students focused on identifying and correcting homophone errors through a lens of proofreading and editing. Students move from understanding why digital tools fail to mastering a specific protocol for 'invisible' mistakes.
This sequence explores homophones and homonyms through the lens of humor and creative writing. Students move from analyzing simple puns to deconstructing literary wordplay in works by Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll, ultimately creating their own ambiguity-driven performances.
This sequence explores the creative and humorous side of homophones, focusing on how writers use wordplay, puns, and ambiguity for effect. Students move from deconstructing jokes to creating their own homophone-based scripts and comics.
This sequence focuses on the practical application of homophone mastery through the lens of editing and professional communication. Students diagnose errors, master high-frequency triads, tackle advanced vocabulary, and apply their skills in real-world professional contexts before concluding with a peer-editing workshop.
Students step into the role of professional editors at 'The Clarity Chronicle,' a top-tier editing agency. Over five lessons, they master the nuance of homophones and frequently confused words by analyzing context, creating mnemonics, and proofreading high-stakes documents to ensure semantic accuracy.
A middle school ELA unit exploring how authors use word choice, sentence structure, and personal history to craft unique voices and distinct perspectives. Students analyze contemporary literature and informational texts to understand the relationship between identity and narrative.
A comprehensive unit introduction to figurative language using 'The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963' as the primary text context for 6th-grade students.
A comprehensive book club unit themed around a detective agency, focusing on R.J. Palacio's 'Wonder' to develop comprehension, empathy, and collaborative discussion skills.
A comprehensive 25-lesson book club unit for 'The Tiger Rising' by Kate DiCamillo, focusing on summarizing, synthesizing, and vocabulary development through the lens of a Florida woods field journal.
Students investigate the historical origins of English idioms, acting as linguistic detectives to explore how Shakespeare, nautical history, and agriculture shaped modern figurative language.
Students investigate the historical origins and etymology of common idioms, acting as 'Word Detectives' to uncover how nautical, agricultural, and literary history shaped modern English.
This sequence guides 6th-grade students through the production side of idioms and adages, focusing on when figurative language enhances or hinders communication in various contexts. Students will explore misinterpretation through simulation, adapt their speech for different settings, develop character voices in dialogue, and use proverbs as persuasive tools.
A 5-lesson unit for 6th grade students focused on identifying, interpreting, and analyzing the impact of idioms and adages in narrative texts, dialogue, and theme development.
This sequence explores the contrast between literal and figurative language through visual analysis and context clues, helping students master idioms and adages. Students progress from identifying absurd literal interpretations to decoding complex figurative meanings in literature.
This sequence explores figurative language through the lens of modern media, including songs, movies, memes, and slang. Students move from identifying similes and metaphors to analyzing their social and emotional impact in pop culture.
This sequence connects 6th grade vocabulary standards with science, social studies, and math by using analogies as cognitive tools. Students analyze complex systems and historical events through structural comparisons, culminating in an original analogy-based concept map project.
A gamified ELA sequence for 6th grade students to master analogies through speed drills, simulations, and project-based learning. Students progress from basic pattern recognition to creating their own analogy-based games.
This sequence introduces 6th-grade students to the structure of analogies, focusing on identifying specific relationship types using the 'bridge sentence' strategy. Students progress from simple synonym/antonym pairs to complex structural and functional relationships.
A 4-lesson unit exploring the organizational structures and graphic elements of non-fiction through the lens of the Dachshund breed, featuring a complex 1200 Lexile informational text.
A 6th-grade ELA writing workshop sequence focused on vocabulary precision. Students learn to upgrade their descriptive writing by replacing vague generalities with concrete nouns and nuanced adjectives, culminating in a polished descriptive vignette.
Students embark on a journey of fictional world-building, using precise nouns and vivid adjectives as their primary tools. They move from character identity to atmospheric settings, eventually crafting a polished narrative passage that demonstrates the power of descriptive imagery.
A game-based sequence focused on refining topic sentences and thesis statements to prevent logic 'drift' and enhance precision through diagnostic activities and vocabulary upgrades.
A comprehensive 6th-grade ELA unit focused on the precise use of nouns and adjectives to enhance descriptive writing. Students progress from basic classification to nuanced vocabulary selection and sensory integration.
This writing workshop sequence moves students beyond basic identification of nouns and adjectives toward strategic application in narrative writing. Students practice replacing general nouns with concrete alternatives and weak adjectives with vivid modifiers to enhance reader visualization.
A comprehensive book club unit for the historical fiction novel 'My Brother Sam is Dead', focusing on the moral complexities of the Revolutionary War, character transformation, and historical context.
A comprehensive two-week unit for Gordon Korman's 'Swindle', focusing on character archetypes, heist plot structure, and vocabulary development through the lens of a professional 'heist briefing'.
A three-week comprehensive book club for 'Frindle' by Andrew Clements, focusing on the power of language, character evolution, and the skills of summarizing and synthesizing. Students explore how a simple idea can spark a school-wide movement while building their vocabulary and analytical thinking.
A small-group literacy unit focused on mastering informational texts through text-based questioning, vocabulary development, and structured paragraph writing (Topic Sentence, Details, Concluding Sentence) centered on the theme of extreme weather.
A sequence focused on the power of morphology, teaching students how to transform root words into various parts of speech using suffixes and prefixes.
A systematic, color-coded approach for 6th-grade students to master text highlighting and annotation. Students learn to distinguish between main ideas, supporting details, and unknown vocabulary using a 'traffic light' system to reduce cognitive load and improve reading comprehension.
A 5-lesson sequence for 6th-grade students to master visualization skills. Students progress from identifying sensory language to synthesizing multiple sensory inputs to enhance reading comprehension.
A comprehensive unit focused on psychological character analysis, tracing development from traits and emotions to complex motivations and arcs. Students act as 'literary detectives' to uncover the internal and external forces shaping identities.
This sequence explores loanwords from German, Spanish, Italian, and Yiddish, focusing on their cultural origins, tricky orthography, and precise meanings. Students will engage in morphological analysis, categorization, and inquiry-based research to master these linguistic imports.
An inquiry-based exploration of the English language's historical roots through the lens of loanwords. Students investigate how Latin, French, Spanish, German, and other languages have shaped everyday vocabulary, culminating in a research project mapping the etymology of specific semantic fields.
A 5-lesson sequence for 6th Grade students focusing on the intersection of historical chronology and causal writing. Students learn to use transition words, causal syntax, and narrative structure to explain not just when things happened, but why they happened, culminating in a published historical narrative.
A comprehensive sequence for 6th-grade students exploring word morphology through an architectural lens. Students learn to dismantle and assemble words using prefixes, roots, and suffixes to unlock meaning and grammatical function.
Students investigate the hierarchy of synonyms based on their strength and intensity, creating 'vocabulary thermometers' and revising narratives for precision.
A comprehensive 6th Grade ELA unit on morphology, focusing on how prefixes, roots, and suffixes work together to create meaning and determine grammatical function. Students will progress from deconstructing words to decoding academic vocabulary and inventing their own neologisms.
A series of activities focused on morphological awareness, teaching students to 'unpack' words by identifying prefixes, roots, and suffixes to determine meaning.
A curriculum development sequence focused on helping teachers bridge ELA and History through linguistics and etymology.
This inquiry-driven sequence focuses on etymology as a reference skill, teaching students to trace word origins to understand language evolution and historical context. Students move from decoding individual roots to analyzing how historical events shape the English lexicon, culminating in a 'word biography' project.
This 6th-grade ELA sequence teaches students to master dictionary and thesaurus skills, moving from technical decoding of entries to analyzing connotation and etymology. Students will learn to navigate complex reference materials and eventually create their own specialized glossaries to demonstrate mastery of word-level reference skills.
Students act as linguistic detectives to explore how English has evolved through borrowing words from other languages. They will trace the etymological roots of common loanwords and understand the historical and cultural contexts that brought them into everyday use.
A project-based exploration of Greek and Latin roots where students act as 'Morpho Makers', synthesizing word parts to name scientific discoveries and futuristic inventions. Students move from analyzing scientific nomenclature to creating their own morphologically accurate terms for new concepts.
Students become linguistic historians, investigating the etymology, cultural origins, and evolution of advanced English vocabulary through research and creative projects.
A project-based ELA sequence where 6th-grade students analyze the morphology of English, use affixes to create neologisms, and pitch inventions named using linguistic rules.
A 6th-grade vocabulary sequence where students act as linguistic detectives, using prefixes and suffixes to decode complex words in science, math, and social studies contexts. The unit emphasizes inquiry-based learning and morphological analysis as a tool for independent reading.
Students investigate the structural building blocks of the English language by deconstructing complex words into roots, prefixes, and suffixes. The sequence progresses from identifying common Greek and Latin affixes to synthesizing new words for specific contexts.
A comprehensive book club unit for Natalie Babbitt's *Tuck Everlasting*, exploring themes of immortality, nature's cycles, and moral choices through guided discussion, vocabulary expansion, and project-based learning.
A 4-week small-group intervention program focused on mastering inference and context clues. Using a 'Detective/Evidence' theme, students learn to move beyond guessing by citing specific textual evidence and identifying five types of context clues (Definition, Synonym, Antonym, Example, Contrast).
A comprehensive book club unit for Kate DiCamillo's 'The Tiger Rising', exploring themes of emotional repression and friendship through three distinct chapter groups with a focus on synthesizing, vocabulary, and summarizing.
A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for grades 6-8, focusing on main idea, text structure, and argumentative writing through a 'detective case file' theme.
This sequence explores how poetic elements like diction, imagery, and sound devices work together to create tone and mood. Students move from technical identification to emotional interpretation through a case study of Edgar Allan Poe and comparative analysis.
Students transform from readers to authors as they research a topic of interest and synthesize their findings into a professional-grade informational Zine. This project-based unit focuses on inquiry, organizational structures, domain-specific vocabulary, and the intentional use of text features to educate an audience.
This sequence teaches 6th-grade students to analyze persuasive writing by understanding denotation, connotation, tone, and bias. Students will move from basic vocabulary nuance to complex media literacy skills, learning to identify how authors influence readers through word choice and perspective.
A series of competitive reading challenges designed to boost fluency, decoding skills, and vocabulary acquisition for upper elementary students.
A 2-day lesson sequence focused on analyzing key ideas and details in a historical informational text about the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900, featuring STAAR-aligned assessment and graphic organizers.
A comprehensive book club unit for Katherine Applegate's 'The One and Only Ivan', focusing on character development, plot structure, and vocabulary through the lens of Ivan's artistic journey. Students explore the transition from the Big Top Mall to the zoo while practicing synthesis and analytical writing.
A comprehensive NYS ELA test preparation sequence for middle school students (Grades 5-8), focusing on non-fiction reading comprehension, text-dependent analysis, and evidence-based writing. Each lesson targets grade-specific standards and uses NYS-style question stems to build testing stamina and skills.
This sequence teaches 6th-grade students how to identify, understand, and use common foreign words and expressions in English. Through a mix of context clue analysis, tone comparison, pronunciation practice, and creative writing, students learn to enhance the sophistication and precision of their communication.
A 6th-grade ELA sequence exploring polysemy, homonyms, and homographs. Students learn to use context clues to differentiate between multiple meanings of a single word, improving reading comprehension and writing precision.
This sequence explores the rhetorical power and nuance of foreign phrases in English, moving from context-clue inference to stylistic application in creative writing. Students will analyze how words like 'carpe diem' and 'déjà vu' add layers of meaning that standard English translations often lack.
Students act as linguistic detectives to uncover why English adopted specific terms from Latin, French, and Spanish. The sequence moves from understanding etymology to mastering high-frequency loanwords and identifying linguistic roots using research tools.
This inquiry-based sequence explores the nuances of acronyms, initialisms, and Latin-based abbreviations found in informational text. Students investigate the origins of these terms, distinguish between those pronounced as words versus individual letters, and produce an informational guide for their peers.
A specialized spelling sequence for middle school students, focusing on complex phonetic patterns and their practical application in reading and writing. The sequence uses a 'Blueprint' theme to treat word construction as structural engineering.
A 5th-grade ELA sequence focused on using morphological awareness (prefixes and suffixes) as a primary strategy for decoding academic and scientific vocabulary in complex texts. Students move from basic identification to strategic application in science and literature contexts.
A systematic study of suffix orthography rules including the 1-1-1 rule, silent e, changing y to i, and irregular plurals. Students learn the logic behind spelling changes to preserve vowel sounds and apply these rules in a final workshop.
This sequence trains 6th-grade students to act as vocabulary detectives, using the IDEAS acronym (Inference, Definition, Example, Antonym, Synonym) to decode complex Tier 2 and Tier 3 words. Students progress from basic clue identification to mastering multiple-meaning words and semantic precision in advanced cloze reading.
A three-lesson unit for grades 6-8 exploring authorial voice, identity, and perspective through contemporary literature and paired informational texts. Students analyze excerpts from diverse authors like Sandra Cisneros and Jason Reynolds to understand how language shapes narrative personality.
This sequence explores how different authors and mediums present the same event or topic, focusing on firsthand vs. secondhand accounts, conflicting information, multimedia integration, and tone analysis. Students will develop the ability to synthesize multiple sources to gain a comprehensive understanding of a subject.
Students analyze multiple accounts of the same event to detect bias, perspective, and conflicting information, moving towards critical literacy and understanding that every text represents a specific point of view.
A comprehensive 4th-grade sequence on research mechanics for debate, covering search strategies, skimming, paraphrasing, quoting, and organization. Students move from raw data to 'clean', ready-to-use debate notes while maintaining academic integrity.
