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Parts of Speech - Know and use appropriately the meaning, forms, and functions of nouns (e.g., predicate nouns, appositives), pronouns (e.g., use of proper pronoun case: objective, nominative, and possessive; pronoun-antecedent agreement), verbs (e.g., agree with the subject in person and number, verbs that take objects, linking verbs with predicate nouns and adjectives, verb phrases, consistency in verb tense, regular and irregular verb forms, correct use of both simple and perfect tenses, proper use of active and passive voice, subjunctive mood), adjectives (e.g., correct comparative and superlative forms, predicate adjectives, adjective phrases and clauses), adverbs (e.g., correct comparative and superlative forms, adverb phrases and clauses, conjunctive adverbs), conjunctions (e.g., coordinating, correlative, and subordinating conjunctions to combine sentences and sentence elements), interjections, and prepositions (e.g., recognize them as adjective or adverb modifiers and place properly within the sentence). 0801.1.1
Adjectives
Adjective or Adverb - Exercise 1 - This worksheet discusses the differences between adjectives and adverbs. It defines adjectives and adverbs, shows what each can do, and offers several examples of each in use.
Adjective or Adverb - Exercise 2 - This worksheet discusses the differences between adjectives and adverbs. It defines adjectives and adverbs, shows what each can do, and offers several examples of each in use.
Power Proofreading - Choose 8th grade then select; Eye It - Buy It, Kids' Quiz, The Young and the Clueless, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.
Conjunctions Quiz II - Combine the sentences using the conjunction given in parentheses. use the pull down menus to see answers.
Conjunction-itis Popup - Find the correct conjunction form to combine two short sentences together into one! (a Quia quiz)
The Need to Combine Sentences - Sentences have to be combined to avoid the monotony that would surely result if all sentences were brief and of equal length. This lesson is followed by three quizzes.
Repairing Run-On Sentences - After each run-on sentence select the remedy that would best repair that sentence.
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement - This tutorial will help you accomplish the following learning objectives: define and understand pronoun agreement, choose pronouns that agree with their antecedents in number, person, and gender and check and apply your skills.
Pronoun Case - The case of some pronouns depends on their function in sentences or clauses. This lesson is followed by an interactive quiz.
Pronoun Case - Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Controlling Shifts in Verb Tense - General guideline: Do not shift from one tense to another if the time frame for each action or state is the same.
Power Proofreading - Choose 8th grade then select; E-mail to HME-TV Staff, Sour Sid on Sports, You Solve it, Weather or Not, Animal Alarm, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.
Parts of Speech - Noun, Verb, Preposition, etc. Interactive quizzes
Subject/verb agreement - Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs. Other SV agreement quizzes Quiz 2 | Quiz 3
Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - Select one answer from the choices provided after each sentence. The word you choose should fit the blank in the sentence.
A Second Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - After each sentence select the verb form that will best fit in the blank. The explanation will describe the process of arriving at the correct choice for that sentence.
Third Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - Select the appropriate verbs from the drop-down menus to complete each sentence correctly. There are thirty-three "opportunities for error" in these paragraphs.
Capitalization - Use capitalization correctly (e.g., titles, business letters, quotations, proper nouns and adjectives). 0801.1.3
Business English at Work: Capitalization - [35 slides] extensive explanation of capitalization rules with examples. This show could be used as part of a directed teaching lesson.
Punctuation Marks - Demonstrate the correct use of commas (e.g., after introductory words, phrases or clauses; setting off appositives and interrupters; before coordinating conjunction joining independent clauses to form compound sentences), colons (e.g., in business letters, before a list of items in a series, before a long or formal quotation), semicolons (e.g., combining sentences, between items in a series when the items already contain commas, before conjunctive adverbs), underlining and italicizing (e.g., titles; certain words, letters, figures; foreign words), quotation marks (e.g., with direct quotations, to set off dialogue, in titles, correct use with end marks), apostrophes (e.g., to form both singular and plural possessives), hyphens, and end marks. 0801.1.4
Colons and Commas
The Colon - an explanation from The Guide to Grammar and Writing
Quotation Marks - Place commas and periods inside, not outside, quotation marks. Place all other punctuation outside quotation marks unless it was contained in the original source.
Quotation Marks - In the United States, periods and commas go inside quotation marks regardless of logic.
Single Quotation Marks - Use single quotation marks for a quotation or title using quotation marks inside another quotation or title which uses quotation marks.
Worksheet - fifteen sentences to edit [quotation marks]
Spell - Spell correctly high-frequency, misspelled words (appropriate to grade level), and words commonly used in content specific vocabulary. 0801.1.5
Spelling Bee - Listen to three stories, one at a time, and then spell words from each story
Usspeller - Select your list of words, the do the spelling quiz. The lists includes 540 of the most commonly misspelled words in 27 lists
Sentence Structure - Demonstrate knowledge of correct sentence structure by correcting run-on sentences (e.g., using correct punctuation, forming separate sentences, using coordinating or subordinating clauses) and sentence fragments (e.g., supplying the
missing sentence elements). 0801.1.6
The sentence, please! - A sentence containing a comma splice will appear in a text-area. Repair the sentence.
Avoiding Comma Splices II - A sentence containing a comma splice will appear in a text-area. Repair the sentence.
A test of the Emergency Grammar System - It is only a test. Actually, it isn't even a test ... and it contains more than grammar. Oh, never mind... give it a try
Clauses and Phrases - Distinguish between clauses (adjective, adverb, noun) and phrases (adjective, adverb, appositive, prepositional, verb, verbal {including gerunds and participles). 0801.1.7
Use Reference Sources - Use printed and electronic dictionaries, thesauruses, and glossaries to determine the pronunciation, spelling, and part of speech of words; to clarify meaning and improve understanding of words (including connotation and denotation); and to distinguish among contextually appropriate synonyms and definitions. 0801.1.10
Connotation Mini-Lesson - lesson plan - proceed through a series of steps, gradually increasing their control over language, until they independently produce a text in which they concentrate on selecting words with powerful connotations
Word Frog - Match correct word on incoming flies - select synonym, homonym or antonym practice
Latin and Greek Roots - Identify and define English words derived from Latin and Greek words that form common roots (e.g., audio, auto, malus) and recognize English words that are based on them (e.g., audible, autobiography, malice). 0801.1.12
Roots and Prefixes - Test your knowledge of the meanings of latin and greek roots and prefixes! Quia quiz
Word Formation - many English words come from Latin, which uses prefixes and suffixes
Rots and Affixes - Use roots and affixes to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, to clarify the meaning of familiar words, and to make connections with word families (e.g., suffixes such as –phobia and –ology). 0801.1.13
Bingo Lingo - Players match words on their bingo cards with word roots drawn at random.
Flip-a-Chip - Examining Affixes and Roots to Build Vocabulary - lesson plan
Multi-Meaning Words - Continue to use previously learned strategies to distinguish among multi-meaning words and to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words. 0801.1.14
Textual Structure - Use textual structure (e.g., examples of cause-effect and compare-contrast relationships) to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words or distinguish multi-meaning words in more challenging texts about concrete and abstract topics (e.g., After the harvest, we had an abundance of apples, and so we made apple pie, apple sauce, and apple juice). 0801.1.15
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Cultural and Regional - Recognize and appreciate cultural and regional differences signaled by word usage and vocabulary. 0801.1.16
Historical and Cultural Context - Use your sleuthing skills to figure out when and where an historical event took place by examining some primary sources and using an educated guess to pinpoint them on a map and timeline
Understand Foreign Phrases - Demonstrate understanding of common phrases and terms from other languages commonly used in English (e.g., RSVP, déjà vu, faux pas, dujour, bon voyage, alma mater, cum laude, femme fatale, esprit de corps, verbatim). 0801.1.17
Nouns and Pronouns - Identify the correct use of nouns (i.e., common/proper, singular/plural, possessives, direct/indirect objects, predicate nouns) and pronouns (i.e., reflexive, interrogative, demonstrative) within context. SPI 0801.1.1
Plural and Possessive Nouns - By clicking on a bubble, identify whether the selected word is a plural or possessive noun and then select the "Submit Answer" button.
Power Proofreading - Choose 8th grade then select; Memo to Employees, Dimes for Rhymes, Views from our Viewers, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.
Verbs - Identify the correct use of verbs (i.e., action/linking, regular/irregular, agreement, perfect tenses, verb phrases) within context. SPI 0801.1.2
Power Proofreading - Choose 7th grade then select; American Biography, HME-TV Weather, Cooking at HME-TV, Endless Summer, Improve your HOme!, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.
Quiz on Subject Verb Agreement - Select one answer from the choices provided after each sentence. The word you choose should fit the blank in the sentence. Don't use the HINT buttons unless you really need them.
A Second Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - After each sentence select the verb form that will best fit in the blank. The explanation will describe the process of arriving at the correct choice for that sentence.
Third Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - Select the appropriate verbs from the drop-down menus to complete each sentence correctly. There are thirty-three "opportunities for error" in these paragraphs.
Irregular Verbs - Crossword puzzle filling in verb tenses. Solution given on another page. 2nd Puzzle
Verb Tenses - Students select verb tense in given sentence
Adjectives and Adverbs - Identify the correct use of adjectives (i.e., common/proper, comparative/superlative, adjective clauses) and adverbs (i.e., comparative/superlative) within context. SPI 0801.1.3
Conjunctions and Interjections - Identify the correct use of conjunctions (i.e., coordinating, correlative, subordinating) and interjections within context. SPI 0801.1.4
Conjunctions - select the buttons to find the correct answer
Prepositions - Identify the correct placement of prepositions and prepositional phrases within context. SPI 0801.1.5
Power Proofreading - Choose 8th grade then select; Teen Time, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.
Recognizing Prepositions - The following paragraph is taken from Ernest Hemingway's short story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber." Select the prepositions in the order in which they appear and they will appear in the text-area below the paragraph.
Prepositions at the Crossword I - Type the correct letter in each box. Use the tab key to move from box to box or use your mouse-button to place the letter in each box.
Prepositions at the Crossword II - Type the correct letter in each box. Use the tab key to move from box to box or use your mouse-button to place the letter in each box.
Prepositions at the Crossword III - Type the correct letter in each box. Use the tab key to move from box to box or use your mouse-button to place the letter in each box.
Power Proofreading - Choose 8th grade then select; Tacky Travel, RoboChef, or any one of the mixed practice exercises.
Sentence Combining - Identify within context a variety of appropriate sentence-combining techniques (i.e., comma + coordinating conjunction, use of semicolon, introductory phrases or clauses). SPI 0801.1.7
Combining Sentences - Decide the best way to write each underlined section and choose the correct answer - quiz
Sentence Combining - Match the two columns to have a meaningful sentence
Run-On Sentences - Select the most appropriate method to correct a run-on sentence (i.e., conjunctions, semicolons, periods to join or separate elements). SPI 0801.1.8
Conjunctions Quiz II - Combine the sentences using the conjunction given in parentheses.
Conjunction-itis Popup - Find the correct conjunction form to combine two short sentences together into one! (a Quia quiz)
The Need to Combine Sentences - Sentences have to be combined to avoid the monotony that would surely result if all sentences were brief and of equal length. This lesson is followed by three quizzes.
Appositives and Infinitives - Identify the correct use of appositives/appositive phrases and infinitive/infinitive phrases within context. SPI 0801.1.10
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement - This tutorial will help you accomplish the following learning objectives: define and understand pronoun agreement, choose pronouns that agree with their antecedents in number, person, and gender and check and apply your skills.
Spelling Exercises for -ible and -able - Read the paragraph, locate the misspelled words and write the correct spellings in the space provided below the paragraph.
Apostrophes - Form singular and plural possessive using apostrophes correctly. SPI 0801.1.13
Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - Select one answer from the choices provided after each sentence. The word you choose should fit the blank in the sentence.
A Second Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - After each sentence select the verb form that will best fit in the blank. The explanation will describe the process of arriving at the correct choice for that sentence.
Third Quiz on Subject-Verb Agreement - Select the appropriate verbs from the drop-down menus to complete each sentence correctly. There are thirty-three "opportunities for error" in these paragraphs.
Underlining or Italicizing - Select the appropriate use of underlining/italicizing with titles, specific words, numbers, letters, and figures. SPI 0801.1.15
Synonym or Antonym - Choose the correct meaning/usage of a multi-meaning word by replacing the word in context with an appropriate synonym or antonym. SPI 0801.1.17
Context Clues - Read selection and determine meaning of word, then replace it with synonym.
Say it Another Way - Fill in the blank with a synonym for the missing word.
Stressed or Unstressed Syllable - Recognize the effect of stressed or unstressed syllable to aid in identifying the meaning of multiple meaning words. SPI 0801.1.18
Foreign Phrases - Identify commonly used foreign words and phrases (i.e., RSVP, déjà vu, faux pas, dujour, bon voyage, alma mater, cum laude, femme fatale, esprit de corps, verbatim). SPI 0801.1.20
Follow Instructions - Follow multi-step spoken instructions to perform single tasks, to answer questions, and to solve problems. 0801.2.1
Asking Questions - the types of questions depend on the answer to that first important question: Why am I reading this? Once you establish a purpose for yourself, you can then ask which questions will help you achieve that goal. This page asks students to rank a set of questions on a scale of one to five.
Critical Reasoning Warm-ups - (Scroll down, it's there!) These are warm-ups for people who are somewhat familiar with critical reasoning questions. These questions are a good way to start your brain thinking before you answer the real questions.
Questioning Toolkit - seventeen types of questions from the educational journal, FNO
Thesis of Speech - Identify the thesis of a speech in which the main idea may be explicitly or implicitly stated, concepts may be more abstract, and extended metaphors may be used, and determine the essential elements that elaborate it. 0801.2.2
Summarize - Summarize information presented orally by others in which the main ideas may be explicitly or implicitly stated, including the purposes, major ideas, and
supporting details or evidence. 0801.2.3
Author's Purpose and Tone of Voice - focuses on strategies to use with students to increase their ability to discern tone and offers opportunities to practice those skills.
Paraphrase - Paraphrase accurately challenging ideas and information presented orally by others. 0801.2.4
Summary and Paraphrase - Construct a summary and a paraphrase of a speech. 0801.2.5
Determine what is important - this lesson unit focuses on text rather than speech but will help students understand what to look for orally as well as written.
Speech Critiques Examples - great site with video of people speaking to critique, plus their critique on the speech.
Speech Self Critique Guide - he following guidelines should be used in practice sessions to evaluate the speaker and speech and note possible areas of improvement.
Verbal Effectiveness - rubric emphasizing idea development, use of language, and the organization of ideas are effectively used to achieve a purpose.
Identify Speech Structure - Identify and analyze the structure of a speech (e.g., sequential, chronological, problem-solution, comparison-contrast, cause-effect). 0801.2.7
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Tool Kit for Rhetorical Analysis - definitions of 130 figures of speech and other rhetorical terms with links to expanded discussions and examples
Speech Structure - Begin to analyze the ways in which the style and structure of a speech support or confound its meaning and purpose. 0801.2.8
Listening - Listen actively in group discussions by asking clarifying and elaborating questions and by managing internal (e.g., emotional state, prejudices) and external (e.g., physical setting, difficulty hearing, recovering from distractions) barriers to aid
comprehension. 0801.2.9
Asking Questions - the types of questions depend on the answer to that first important question: Why am I reading this? Once you establish a purpose for yourself, you can then ask which questions will help you achieve that goal. This page asks students to rank a set of questions on a scale of one to five.
Critical Reasoning Warm-ups - (Scroll down, it's there!) These are warm-ups for people who are somewhat familiar with critical reasoning questions. These questions are a good way to start your brain thinking before you answer the real questions.
Questioning Toolkit - seventeen types of questions from the educational journal, FNO
Speaking
Support Thesis - Include relevant facts, reasons, details, and examples to support a relatively complicated thesis. 0801.2.10
Basic Essay format - very helpful organizational chart with example and explanations of parts; basic essay format will help you to write and organize an essay
Basic Essay Organization Practice Test - fifteen multiple-choice questions, each question is on a new page although there is an option to show all questions on one page
Oral Presentation - Organize oral presentations maintaining a relatively simple three-part structure, previewing the content of presentation in introduction, offering ideas with supporting details, and providing a brief summary or conclusion. 0801.2.11
Ordering the Phrases - excellent interactive quiz - learn about the different stages of a presentation and to learn some phrases that tell your audience where you are in your presentation.
Organizational Pattern - Use an organizational pattern appropriate for a topic and purpose (e.g., sequential, chronological, problem-solution, comparison-contrast, cause-effect). 0801.2.12
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Arrange Ideas - Logically arrange ideas and group related ideas in ways that enhance the topic. 0801.2.13
Transition Strategies - Connect ideas using a variety of transition strategies that signal addition of information and relationships between ideas (e.g., use listing words such as first, in addition, but, and however). 0801.2.14
Transitional Devices - transitional guides are connectives (symbols,words, phrases; sometimes whole sentences and paragraphs) that make possible a smooth "passing over" from one idea to the next.
Conclusion - Provide an effective conclusion that reinforces the focus of the presentation. 0801.2.15
5 Effective Strategies to Conclude a Speech - Speech conclusion tutorial including strategies and speech topics for an effective way to conclude your public speaking speech
Rhetorical Devices - Explore effective rhetorical devices such as rhetorical questions and anecdotes to engage an audience, repetition to reinforce ideas, and analogies to convey complex ideas. 0801.2.16
Presentation Skills - Employ presentation skills such as good eye contact, clear enunciation, effective speaking rate and volume, and natural gestures. 0801.2.17
Work Teams - Participate productively in self-directed work teams for a particular purpose (e.g., to interpret literature, solve a problem, make a decision). 0801.2.18
Author's Purpose - read a story online and answer questions on paper - a detailed explanation follows passage, teaching how to find the answers in passages
Author's Purpose - read a story online and answer questions on paper - a detailed explanation follows passage, teaching how to find the answers in passages
Paragraph Development - how paragraphs are formed, how to develop stronger paragraphs, and how to completely and clearly express your ideas
Engaging an Audience - Determine the most effective methods of engaging an audience during an oral presentation (e.g., making eye contact, adjusting speaking rate). SPI 0801.2.4
Speech Structure - Identify and analyze the organizational structure of a speech (e.g., sequential, chronological, problem-solution, comparison-contrast, cause-effect). SPI 0801.2.6
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine.
Teamwork - Select the most appropriate strategies for participating productively in a team (e.g., gain the floor in orderly ways, meet or set deadlines for completing each task, come to agreement by seeking consensus or following the majority). SPI 0801.2.7
Group Roles - Identify the functions and responsibilities of individuals within an organized group (i.e., reporter, recorder, information gatherer, leader, timekeeper). SPI 0601.2.8
Group Roles - definitions of various roles of a group.
Modes and Genres - Write in a variety of modes and genres, including description, narration, exposition, persuasion, literary response, personal expression, and imaginative. 0801.3.1
Persuasive Writing - the message must always be crafted to appeal to our audience's self-interest
The Five Paragraph Essay Wizard - Persuasive Essay and prompts (Note: this free site will occasionally exceed its allocated data transfer)
The Power of Persuasive Writing - a three week communication skills and interdisciplinary middle school Internet project. (a WebQuest)
Quiz - identify types of paragraphs - expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive
Quiz - match a prompt to narrative, expository, persuasive, or descriptive writing
Screen Writers Toolkit: Writing Dialogue - a blog assembled and contributed to by writers who are interested in developing the craft of screenwriting [make sure you see the Tarrantino Exercise using the Yellow pages]
Which Writing? (6-8) Students choose an appropriate format for writing.
Writing Dialogue - This is a dialogue sheet which can be used to teach students to include the basic characteristics of good dialogue in their own writing. The form may be modified to include whatever characteristics the instructor desires.
A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices - definitions and examples of more than sixty traditional rhetorical devices, all of which can still be useful today to improve the effectiveness, clarity, and enjoyment of your writing
Creating a Strong Written Argument - A strong argument has a recognizable structure - especially for a timed essay like the SAT’s. The chart at this site presents this structure and relates it to these key terms that the SAT clearly emphasizes.
Critical Reasoning Warm-ups - (Scroll down, it's there!) These are warm-ups for people who are somewhat familiar with critical reasoning questions. These questions are a good way to start your brain thinking before you answer the real questions.
Organizing Your Argument - A twenty-two slide presentation brought to you by the Purdue University Writing Lab
Take Notes - students evaluate what items should be included in the opening paragraph of a news story
•Writing Strategy - Use varied strategies to achieve different purposes (e.g., providing facts and details or including examples to illustrate).
•Audience - Demonstrate awareness of audience through selection of medium or format, choice of supporting ideas, background information, and word choice and
tone.
•Guide Readers - Include formatting or visual elements to guide readers by highlighting specific categories of information and/or to signal transitions between steps (e.g., headings, bulleted lists).
Transitional Devices - transitional guides are connectives (symbols,words, phrases; sometimes whole sentences and paragraphs) that make possible a smooth "passing over" from one idea to the next.
Compose a Thesis Statement - Now that you have decided, at least tentatively, what information you plan to present in your essay, you are ready to write your thesis statement.
Appropriate Structures - Organize writing using structures appropriate for the topic, and meet the needs of the audience (e.g., If using an anecdote to provide an example, use chronological order with sufficient time signals for the reader to follow easily). 0801.3.7
Persuasive Writing - the message must always be crafted to appeal to our audience's self-interest
The Five Paragraph Essay Wizard - Persuasive Essay and prompts (Note: this free site will occasionally exceed its allocated data transfer)
The Power of Persuasive Writing - a three week communication skills and interdisciplinary middle school Internet project. (a WebQuest)
Quiz - identify types of paragraphs - expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive
Quiz - match a prompt to narrative, expository, persuasive, or descriptive writing
Screen Writers Toolkit: Writing Dialogue - a blog assembled and contributed to by writers who are interested in developing the craft of screenwriting [make sure you see the Tarrantino Exercise using the Yellow pages]
Which Writing? (6-8) Students choose an appropriate format for writing.
Writing Dialogue - This is a dialogue sheet which can be used to teach students to include the basic characteristics of good dialogue in their own writing. The form may be modified to include whatever characteristics the instructor desires.
Organization - Use appropriate and effective words and phrases to indicate the organizational pattern (e.g., problem-solution, with order of steps necessary indicated in the solution). 0801.3.8
News Quiz Archive - over 50 news stories from the BBC - Choose carefully, not all of these would be appropriate for 8th grade students. Also, take a look at a section of stories which include math in the news and the quiz
Using Graph and Charts
Interpreting a Data Chart - students practice by answering questions about what can be found in a grid chart
Rooty's Weekly Root - Three Rootonym® puzzles per week with 4 words per puzzle
Figurative Language - Use strong verbs and figurative language (e.g., metaphors, similes) for emphasis or creative effect as appropriate to the purpose. 0801.3.11
Figurative Language - [scroll down past the ads] terms, definitions, and an example
Writing an Informal Letter - Understanding the difference between formal and informal letters, vocabulary practice, writing practice
Syntactic Structures - Incorporate some variety of syntactic structures for effect when appropriate (e.g., modifying phrases, parenthetical expressions). 0801.3.13
Parenthetical Expression - Decide which choice contains the sentence with the correctly placed commas by clicking on the red button next to that choice
Tone - Edit to craft a tone that is appropriate for the topic and audience, and supports the purpose. 0801.3.14
A Rough Hierarchy for Revision and Editing - Effective revising starts with the most general characteristics of an essay and gradually moves to more specific characteristics.
Tone in Business Writing - provides overviews and examples of how to use tone in business writing. This includes considering the audience and purpose for writing
0801.3.16 When other sources are used or referenced (such as in research, informational essays, or literary essays) adhere to the following:
•Source - Acknowledge source material (e.g., list sources).
Citation Machine - an interactive web tool designed to assist students, their teachers, and independent researchers in their effort to respect other people's intellectual properties (select type of citation on left side of page)
Persuasive Writing - the message must always be crafted to appeal to our audience's self-interest
The Five Paragraph Essay Wizard - Persuasive Essay and prompts (Note: this free site will occasionally exceed its allocated data transfer)
The Power of Persuasive Writing - a three week communication skills and interdisciplinary middle school Internet project. (a WebQuest)
Quiz - identify types of paragraphs - expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive
Quiz - match a prompt to narrative, expository, persuasive, or descriptive writing
Screen Writers Toolkit: Writing Dialogue - a blog assembled and contributed to by writers who are interested in developing the craft of screenwriting [make sure you see the Tarrantino Exercise using the Yellow pages]
Which Writing? (6-8) Students choose an appropriate format for writing.
Writing Dialogue - This is a dialogue sheet which can be used to teach students to include the basic characteristics of good dialogue in their own writing. The form may be modified to include whatever characteristics the instructor desires.
Edit - Edit writing for mechanics (punctuation, capitalization), spelling, grammar (e.g., consistent verb tense, noun and pronoun agreement). 0801.3.18
Business English at Work: Capitalization - [35 slides] extensive explanation of capitalization rules with examples. This show could be used as part of a directed teaching lesson.
Power Proofreading - Choose your level of skill and your areas of concepts to practice with an interactive activity (choose grade 8) There are over two dozen different passages to choose from.
Seventh Grade Writing - Read the introduction and the passage that follows. Then read each question and mark the circle next to the correct answer.
Revise - Drawing on reader’s comments, revise papers to focus on topic or thesis, develop ideas, employ transitions, and identify a clear beginning and ending. 0801.3.19
Transitional Devices - transitional guides are connectives (symbols,words, phrases; sometimes whole sentences and paragraphs) that make possible a smooth "passing over" from one idea to the next.
TWA Rubric - Demonstrate confidence in using the Tennessee Writing Assessment Rubric while evaluating one’s own writing and the writing of others. 0801.3.20
A Rough Hierarchy for Revision and Editing - Effective revising starts with the most general characteristics of an essay and gradually moves to more specific characteristics.
Peer Editing Form - check list with room for notes on how to make improvements
Software - Use relatively basic software programs (e.g., Word, PowerPoint) to write more challenging texts and create graphics to present ideas visually and in writing. 0801.3.21
Publication - Identify and explore opportunities for publication (e.g., local/national contests, Internet web sites, newspapers, periodicals, school displays). 0801.3.22
Writing to Persuade - Persuasion means making someone with a different point of view from your own change their mind to your way of thinking.
Sample assignment - Invent an X-ray satellite, name it, draw a picture of it. Write a one- to two-page persuasion letter addressed to your Congressperson or essay for your local newspaper in order to obtain funding for your X-ray astronomy mission.
Writing to Persuade Rubric - Perhaps your students can understand writing to persuade better by seeing this rubric.
Audience - Identify the targeted audience for a selected passage. SPI 0801.3.2
Audience Analysis - article - audience analysis can help you gain valuable insight about your readers
In Search of an Audience - lesson and exercise - consider what attitudes and assumptions potential audience members will bring with them
Appropriate Thesis - Select an appropriate thesis statement for a writing sample. SPI 0801.3.3
Compose a Thesis Statement - Now that you have decided, at least tentatively, what information you plan to present in your essay, you are ready to write your thesis statement.
Paragraph Coherence - Coherence in a paragraph is the technique of making words, phrases, and sentences move smoothly and logically from one to the other
Transitional Devices - transitional guides are connectives (symbols,words, phrases; sometimes whole sentences and paragraphs) that make possible a smooth "passing over" from one idea to the next.
Transitions indicate relations - whether from sentence to sentence, or from paragraph to paragraph. This is a list of "relationships" that supporting ideas may have, followed by a list of "transitional" words and phrases that can connect those ideas:
Using Transitions - Transitional words and phrases can create powerful links between ideas in your paper and can help your reader understand the logic of your paper
Quiz - identify types of paragraphs - expository, narrative, persuasive, and descriptive
Quiz - match a prompt to narrative, expository, persuasive, or descriptive writing
Screen Writers Toolkit: Writing Dialogue - a blog assembled and contributed to by writers who are interested in developing the craft of screenwriting [make sure you see the Tarrantino Exercise using the Yellow pages]
Which Writing? (6-8) Students choose an appropriate format for writing.
Writing Dialogue - This is a dialogue sheet which can be used to teach students to include the basic characteristics of good dialogue in their own writing. The form may be modified to include whatever characteristics the instructor desires.
Graphic Organizer - Complete a graphic organizer (i.e., clustering, listing, mapping, webbing) with information from notes for a writing selection. SPI 0801.3.12
Reading for Meaning - template to use as guide for reading; the question on the left-hand side will help you describe and analyze the text; the question on the right hand side will help focus your response
Primary and Secondary - Distinguish between primary and secondary sources, defining the characteristics of each and evaluating each for their benefits and limitations. 0801.4.4
Document Analysis Worksheets - You may find these worksheets useful as you introduce students to various documents
Primary and Secondary Sources - Primary sources such as letters, diaries, photographs, maps and artifacts provide students with authentic materials from the past. By looking closely for details, students can draw conclusions about the items and formulate their own hypotheses about the time period(s) during which they were created
Reliability of Source - Choose among sources provided and those found independently based on the usefulness, credibility, and reliability of the sources. 0801.4.5
Primary vs. Secondary Sources: A Comparison - use this form as a review; Examine a historical event by looking at both a primary and a secondary source related to it. Record the information you find in each below.
Collect Evidence - Collect evidence in various ways (e.g., gathering relevant reasons, examples, and facts; defining key terms and ideas; identifying relationships such as
cause-effect). 0801.4.10
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Introduction - Craft an introductory paragraph in which a thesis statement(s) clearly presents the topic of the documented essay. 0801.4.11
Take Notes - students evaluate what items should be included in the opening paragraph of a news story
Trailblazing Conclusions (6-8) Students develop a sense of ending by using closure and thought-provoking statements.
Pertinent Facts - Present a body of well-developed and specific facts and information pertinent to the topic, developed as a series of paragraphs which support the topic. 0801.4.12
Transitional Devices - transitional guides are connectives (symbols,words, phrases; sometimes whole sentences and paragraphs) that make possible a smooth "passing over" from one idea to the next.
Organizing Structure - Create an effective organizing structure based on more complicated research information (e.g., description, problem-solution, question-answer, compare-contrast, cause-effect). 0801.4.14
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Conclusion - Craft a conclusion in which closure is provided, such as by restating the topic and summarizing findings. 0801.4.15
5 Effective Strategies to Conclude a Speech - Speech conclusion tutorial including strategies and speech topics for an effective way to conclude your public speaking speech
Source - Acknowledge source material using a predetermined standard format (e.g., APA, MLA). 0801.4.16
Bibme - fully automatic bibliography maker that auto-fills. It's the easiest way to build a works cited page.
Citation Machine - an interactive Web tool designed to assist teachers in modeling the proper use of information property (Students are welcome to use this as well)
MLA-Style Bibliography Builder - Choose a form, fill it out, and push the button... you will get an individual entry for a "Works Cited" page, which you may then copy and paste into your word processor.
Format - Following a standard format and appropriate technology, embed text graphics, including a title, a contents page, numbered pages, and a bibliography. 0801.4.20
APA documentation - These materials will introduce you to APA documentation and show you examples which you can use as templates for citing your own references.
MLA Formatting and Style Guide - excellent resource showing examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page
Primary vs. Secondary Sources: A Comparison - use this form as a review; Examine a historical event by looking at both a primary and a secondary source related to it. Record the information you find in each below.
Primary and Secondary Sources - Primary sources such as letters, diaries, photographs, maps and artifacts provide students with authentic materials from the past. By looking closely for details, students can draw conclusions about the items and formulate their own hypotheses about the time period(s) during which they were created
Prediction Guide - Guided questions help students in making, grounding and revisiting their predictions.
Sequence - Identify sequence of events in text. 0801.5.2
Sequence It! - using fairy tales to be read on online, students sequence the events they read about; lesson plan; can adapt this by selecting different fairy tales.
Story Shackles (Linking Students To Written Text) - Story Shackles is an imaginative and stimulating way for students to acquire the ability to retell events of a story or text, sequence the action or happenings in a story, or to simply summarize the plot, main ideas with supporting details, or general information of a story or text
Story Sequence with Word - lesson plan; assignment opens in Word; can insert own stories in boxes and let students place them in correct sequence.
Analogies - Construct and complete analogies using synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, categories/subcategories, whole/part, functions, verb forms, rhymes, scrambled words, homophones. 0801.5.3
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Fact or Opinion - Determine simple criteria for recognizing factual claim and opinion (e.g., scientific method, provability, quality of evidence, sources). 0801.5.5
Believe it or Not? - lesson plan - separate factual claims from opinions and exaggerations
Support an Argument - Determine the relevance and quality of evidence given to support or oppose an argument. 0801.5.6
The Art of Argument and Persuasion - lesson plan - understanding the forces that shape their ideas and opinions, and work in reshaping their arguments so that truth and reason are evident.
Persuasive Arguments - lesson plan; Each group member is given an argument and presents it to group members to discuss and generate ideas for persuasion. Students then independently write argument, defending their position.
Compare and Contrast - Compare and contrast evidence and conclusions between two or more arguments on the same topic. 0801.5.7
Compare or Contrast? - Which is it? Read the sentence and decide whether you are comparing or contrasting
Comparing and Contrasting Fables - apply literal, interpretive, and critical thinking skills to two versions of a fable. They will then draw a cartoon to illustrate the moral of one of the fables they read.
Enchanting Readers with Revisionist Fairy Tales - students will read three examples of literature in which common fairy tale themes are revised and then compare and contrast them thematically and in terms of form.
Logical Fallacies - article with examples - Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim
Some Common Fallacies - brief list of some of the more common fallacies, along with illustrations of them
Persuasive Devices - Identify and analyze the persuasive devices used in written and oral communication (e.g., bandwagon, loaded words, testimonial, name-calling, plain folks, snob appeal). 0801.5.11
Text Types- Online game helping learn about the different text types such as persuasion, informative, descriptive, or instructive.
Analyzing Political Ads - Students will view current political ads and learn how they make use of various commercial ad appeals. Students will also develop familiarity with basic videography terms.
Affluenza: A PBS Program - Lessons such as "Be an Adbuster!" and "What are Advertisers Selling?" are based on Affluenza, a one-hour television special that explores the high social and environmental costs of materialism and over consumption. The lessons can be used without the video.
Logical Fallacies - Continue to explore logical fallacies (e.g., appeal to fear, personal attack, false dilemma, false analogy) in a variety of texts. 0801.5.12
Don't Throw Away That Junk Mail! - lesson plan - students to identify all the techniques used in junk mail to attract and hold the reader's attention that they can think of.
Logical Fallacies - article with examples - Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim
Some Common Fallacies - brief list of some of the more common fallacies, along with illustrations of them
Bias - Analyze examples of concepts of stereotyping and bias in text. 0801.5.13
Prediction Guide - Guided questions help students in making, grounding and revisiting their predictions.
Fact or Opinion - Evaluate text for fact or opinion. SPI 0801.5.2
Fact or Opinion Quiz - Decide which of these statements are fact or opinion from the drop-down list, then click on the "Finished" button to obtain your score out of ten.
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Text Types - Online game helping learn about the different text types such as persuasion, informative, descriptive, or instructive.
Analyzing Political Ads - Students will view current political ads and learn how they make use of various commercial ad appeals. Students will also develop familiarity with basic videography terms.
Affluenza: A PBS Program - Lessons such as "Be an Adbuster!" and "What are Advertisers Selling?" are based on Affluenza, a one-hour television special that explores the high social and environmental costs of materialism and over consumption. The lessons can be used without the video.
Analogy - Choose a logical word to complete an analogy, using synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, categories/subcategories, whole/part, functions, verb forms, rhymes, scrambled words, homophones. SPI 0801.5.5
False Premise - Identify a false premise in text. SPI 0801.5.7
Don't Throw Away That Junk Mail! - lesson plan - students to identify all the techniques used in junk mail to attract and hold the reader's attention that they can think of.
Identify Bias - Identify instances of bias and stereotyping in print and non-print texts. SPI 0801.5.8
Comprehension - Use previously learned strategies to comprehend informational texts (e.g., formulating questions before, during, and after reading; visualize, predict, identify the writer’s purpose). 0801.6.1
Brainchild Test - 12 questions - Students should use the summary page after finishing this test to practice their areas of weakness.
News Quiz Archive - over 50 news stories from the BBC - Choose carefully, not all of these would be appropriate for 7th grade students. Also, take a look at a section of stories which include math in the news and the quiz
Read a Contract - and then answer five multiple-choice questions
Reading Comprehension stories - Interactive quizzes for 5 stories - Each text is followed by a grammar exercise and summary writing exercise.
Main Idea - The main idea of a paragraph is what all the sentences are about. Read the paragraph and ask, “What’s your point?”
Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure - Challenge your students by letting them practice using a reading comprehension test designed for prospective teachers. (This site recommends that you use a printed copy of the page - a link is provided to see answers)
Reading Comprehension - free reading comprehension worksheets for teachers and parents - includes original stories, poems, essays, and articles
Summarize as You Read - When you summarize, eliminate unnecessary details. Focus on the main idea of the whole passage.
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 1 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." - a worksheet to print, not interactive
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 2 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." - a worksheet to print, not interactive
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 3 - a bit harder than 1 and 2 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." Then add another example that could be included in that group. Be as specific as you can. - a worksheet to print, not interactive
Cause and Effect - Recognize clear, but subtly stated relationships among ideas (e.g., cause-effect, comparative, sequential) in informational texts. 0801.6.3
Cause-and-Effect Writing Challenges Students - The cause-and-effect relationship is both a way of thinking and a format for writing. Teachers who emphasize cause-and-effect writing say that they are helping students learn to think critically as well as write cogently. Read what three experienced teachers have to say about this teaching approach, which can be used with students of all ages. This is an article from Education World magazine .
Inferences - Make inferences and draw conclusions. 0801.6.4
Main Idea - The main idea of a paragraph is what all the sentences are about. Read the paragraph and ask, “What’s your point?”
Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure - Challenge your students by letting them practice using a reading comprehension test designed for prospective teachers. (This site recommends that you use a printed copy of the page - a link is provided to see answers)
Reading Comprehension - free reading comprehension worksheets for teachers and parents - includes original stories, poems, essays, and articles
Summarize as You Read - When you summarize, eliminate unnecessary details. Focus on the main idea of the whole passage.
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 1 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." - a worksheet to print, not interactive
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 2 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." - a worksheet to print, not interactive
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 3 - a bit harder than 1 and 2 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." Then add another example that could be included in that group. Be as specific as you can. - a worksheet to print, not interactive
Paraphrase, and Critique - Summarize, paraphrase, and critique texts (informational and literary). 0801.6.6
How to Critique Creative Writing - simple guidelines to help you write a thorough, helpful review, and avoid common pitfalls in your own writing.
Identify Organizational Structure - Identify the organizational structures of informational texts (e.g., chapters, numbered steps). 0801.6.8
Ordering the Phrases - excellent interactive quiz - learn about the different stages of a presentation and to learn some phrases that tell your audience where you are in your presentation.
Print Format - Recognize that print format varies according to purpose and genre (e.g., prose, poetry, newspaper/magazine, letters, dramas, technical manuals, textbooks). 0801.6.10
Writing genres - it is important to understand what these commonly shared attributes are for each of the different genre - definitions with examples
Features - Use text features to locate information and make meaning from text (e.g., headings, key words, captions, tables of content, footnotes, illustrations). 0801.6.11
News Quiz Archive - over 50 news stories from the BBC - Choose carefully, not all of these would be appropriate for 7th grade students. Also, take a look at a section of stories which include math in the news and the quiz
Charts and Other Formats - Comprehend and interpret factual, quantitative, technical, or mathematical information presented in maps, charts, graphs, time lines, tables, and diagrams. 0801.6.12
Beginner's Map Reading Skills - Several activities are presented to assist in teaching the concepts of reading maps.
Graphs and charts - four different graphs and charts for you to consider
News Quiz Archive - over 50 news stories from the BBC - Choose carefully, not all of these would be appropriate for 7th grade students. Also, take a look at a section of stories which include math in the news and the quiz
Read a Contract - and answer five multiple choice questions questions
Reading Comprehension stories - interactive quizzes for 5 stories - Each text is followed by a grammar exercise and summary writing exercise.
Questioning - Formulate appropriate questions before, during, and after reading. SPI 0801.6.1
Asking Questions - the types of questions depend on the answer to that first important question: Why am I reading this? Once you establish a purpose for yourself, you can then ask which questions will help you achieve that goal. This page asks students to rank a set of questions on a scale of one to five.
Questioning Toolkit - seventeen types of questions from the educational journal, FNO
Main Idea - Identify the main idea and supporting details in text. SPI 0801.6.2
Finding the Main Idea - read then formulate the answer to questions, use the pull down boxes to see if your answer is correct
Main Idea - The main idea of a paragraph is what all the sentences are about. Read the paragraph and ask, “What’s your point?”
Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure - Challenge your students by letting them practice using a reading comprehension test designed for prospective teachers. (This site recommends that you use a printed copy of the page - a link is provided to see answers)
Reading Comprehension - free reading comprehension worksheets for teachers and parents - includes original stories, poems, essays, and articles
Summarize as You Read - When you summarize, eliminate unnecessary details. Focus on the main idea of the whole passage.
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 1 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." - a worksheet to print, not interactive
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 2 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." - a worksheet to print, not interactive
What's the Big Idea? Exercise 3 - a bit harder than 1 and 2 - Write the common subject for each group of words, or "write a good title for each list." Then add another example that could be included in that group. Be as specific as you can. - a worksheet to print, not interactive
Use Text Features - Use text features to locate information and make meaning from text (e.g., headings, key words, captions, footnotes). SPI 0801.6.3
Reading Headlines - students read eight headlines and try to determine what the article is about
Text Features - Interpret factual, quantitative, technical, or mathematical information presented in text features (e.g., maps, charts, graphs, time lines, tables, and diagrams). SPI 0801.6.4
Beginner's Map Reading Skills - Several activities are presented to assist in teaching the concepts of reading maps.
Graphs and charts - four different graphs and charts for you to consider
How to read a map - Several activities are presented to assist in teaching the concepts of reading maps.
Organizational Structure - Identify the organizational structure of a text (i.e., chronological, cause-effect, comparison-contrast, sequential, problem-solution). SPI 0801.6.6
Purpose - Interpret how the sounds, images, and words used in television, radio, film, and the Internet are used to support the purpose of the production, and evaluate the effectiveness of the techniques. 0801.7.1
Media Awareness - introduces grades 5-8 to the concept of images presented through the media, primarily advertising through print and on television. The unit is divided into three approximately 45-minute lessons.
Visual and Verbal - Identify, analyze, and discuss the relationship between the visual (e.g., media images, painting, film, graphic arts) and the verbal in more challenging media and explain how the elements support or conflict with each other. 0801.7.2
Elements of Messages - lesson plan; explore various media include literary, artistic or visual, and technical elements to convey messages to audiences. Students analyze and compare various media elements.
The Function of Images in Text - The lesson will focus on three major ways - as example, as evidence, and as expression - that images can be used in a text.
Images As Persuasion - images can be used to convey messages that may influence an audience
Media Elements - chart format of questions to ask when evaluating media.
Design Elements - Identify visual and sound techniques and design elements (e.g., special effects, camera angles, lighting, and music in television or film or layout, pictures, and typeface in newspapers, magazines, and print advertisements) in various media, and explain how they carry or influence messages. 0801.7.3
TV Smarts for Kids - How media producers use music, lighting, and special effects to achieve specific audience reactions
View Smart to Vote Smart - understand how political candidates use the media to deliver their messages-and how television shapes those messages as it delivers them
Visual Message - Present a clearly identifiable, explicit message, using visual, audio, and graphic effects and interactive features. 0801.7.4
Audience Analysis - audience analysis can help you gain valuable insight about your readers
In Search of an Audience - lesson and exercise - consider what attitudes and assumptions potential audience members will bring with them
Audience Reaction - Consider the potential audience reaction (e.g., being aware of verbal and nonverbal cues given by the audience during a presentation) to improve media productions. 0801.7.6
Appropriate Medium - Choose the most appropriate medium for a prescribed purpose and audience. SPI 0801.7.1
Audience Analysis - three main areas to consider when analyzing your audience: demographics, dispositions and knowledge of the topic
Visual Image - Select a visual image that best reinforces a viewpoint or enhances a
presentation. SPI 0801.7.2
Images: Focus on the details! - Learn how to unlock the meaning of images providing students with a broader understanding of events, objects and people
Semiotics for Beginners - in-depth study of systems of signs - 'semiology aims to take in any system of signs, whatever their substance and limits; images, gestures, musical sounds, objects, and the complex associations of all of these, which form the content of ritual, convention or public entertainment
Inference - Draw an inference from a non-print medium. SPI 0801.7.4
Images: Focus on the details! - Learn how to unlock the meaning of images providing students with a broader understanding of events, objects and people
Summarize Message - Choose the statement that best summarizes/communicates the message presented by a medium. SPI 0801.7.5
Test Tutor - read the passages and pick the best summary answer
Type of Conflict - Select the type of conflict (e.g., person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. environment, person vs. technology) represented in a non-print medium. SPI 0801.7.6
News Quiz Archive - over 50 news stories from the BBC - Choose carefully, not all of these would be appropriate for 7th grade students. Also, take a look at a section of stories which include math in the news and the quiz
Teaching Plot Structure through Short Stories - lesson plan to be adapted [designed for grades 9-12] - identify the significant events that shape the structure of a familiar fairy tale, “Jack and the Beanstalk,” using an online graphic organizer.
Plot Development - Identify plot development techniques (e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks) and explain their function in the text. 0801.8.3
Describe Characters - Identify and describe characters’ (major/minor, antagonists and protagonists) features and relationships in literary texts. 0801.8.4
Character Development - Test Tutor - think about what the characters think, say and do and answer questions.
Story Character Homepage - This lesson involves collaborative work, deep analysis of a character, and integration of technology
What a Character! - unit plan - Explore characters created by authors and identify personality traits. Apply these ideas to their own characters using language skills identified to convey these traits.
Moral Dilemmas - Identify and analyze moral dilemmas in works of literature, as revealed by characters’ motivation and behavior. 0801.8.5
Moral Dilemma Discussion - goal of this learning unit is to develop adolescents' moral-democratic competencies, in particular their ability to act upon commonly shared ideals or principles
Literature-Conflict - ten-question multiple-choice quiz - Decide which kind of conflict each item describes
Kind of Conflict - Identify the kind(s) of conflict (e.g., person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. environment, person vs. technology) present in literary plots. 0801.8.7
Fiction, Setting the Story - learn how authors manipulate time and space, mood, and spatial order in descriptions of settings.
Walk Two Moons: An Integrated Unit - integrated study combining setting, theme, point of view, character, and plot with geography and geometry
Character Development - Identify how the author reveals character (e.g., what the author tells us, what the characters say about him or her, what the character does, what the character says, what the character thinks). 0801.8.10
Point of View - Analyze the narration and point of view (e.g., first person, third person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient) in literary texts. 0801.8.11
Chasing Metaphors - students explore the figurative language of metaphors by turning a series of objects, concepts, events, or characters into metaphors, first in written form and then by creating a video with images, text, and sound [Quick Time required]
Similes and Metaphors - Identify the comparison in each sentence as a simile or a metaphor [ignore the email address blank].
Sound Patterns - Identify sound patterns (e.g., alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme, assonance, internal rhyme, slant rhyme, repetition) and figurative language (e.g., metaphor, simile), and other conventions of verse (e.g., limerick, lyric, narrative, haiku) in poetry and explain how these contribute to the poem’s meaning and to the poem’s effect. 0801.8.14
Chasing Metaphors - students explore the figurative language of metaphors by turning a series of objects, concepts, events, or characters into metaphors, first in written form and then by creating a video with images, text, and sound [Quick Time required]
Similes and Metaphors - Identify the comparison in each sentence as a simile or a metaphor [ignore the email address blank].
Structural Elements - Explain the purpose and use of structural elements particular to dramatic literature (e.g., scenes, acts, cast of characters, stage directions) in plays that are read or viewed. 0801.8.15
Stated or Implied Theme - Identify and explain the development of stated or implied similar themes across two or more literary texts. 0801.8.17
A Variety of Unwise Characters - explore the common elements of folk tales and tall tales, while learning how these tales built the spirit of American people
Plot Conflict - Distinguish among the types of literary plot conflicts (e.g., person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. environment, person vs. technology, person vs. society). 0801.8.18
"The Diary of Anne Frank" - Students will learn how diversity creates bias which leads to conflict, where students confront their bias and practice tolerance
Battling for Freedom - "By examining two speeches by Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee alongside Henry's speech, students develop a new respect for the Native Americans' politically effective and poetic use of language."
Historical Period - Identify the historical period in which a literary text was written and explain the text in light of this understanding. 0801.8.19
Historical and Cultural Context - Use your sleuthing skills to figure out when and where an historical event took place by examining some primary sources and using an educated guess to pinpoint them on a map and timeline.
Viewpoint - Recognize that the author’s viewpoint may or may not reflect the culture or mores of the time in which the author lives. 0801.1.20
Critical Literacy: Point of View - lesson plan helps students look at the author's purpose and viewpoint, and also recognize gaps in the text. Extension activities include debating a fairy tale using different character viewpoints.
“The Negro Speaks of Rivers” - by Langston Hughes - gain understanding on interpreting author’s viewpoint, figurative language, historical perspective, cultural perspective
Allusions - Recognize and analyze biblical, classical, cultural, historical, and literary allusions. 0801.8.21
Essays - read these examples and recognize the allusions
Plot Elements - Demonstrate an understanding of the basic elements of plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution/denouncement. SPI 0801.8.1
Plot Chart - chart the plot with this graphic organizer
Plot Development - article with example of how a plot is developed
Plot diagram - interactive tool to chart a circle plot; demo of how to use this tool given
Plot Diagram - interactive tool to chart beginning to ending of plot - demo of how to use this tool given
Identify Point of View - Identify and analyze the author’s point of view (i.e., first person, third person, third-person limited, third-person omniscient). SPI 0801.8.2
Point of View - Beginning Writer's Craft ( free web host - may be blocked by some school filters)
Characters and Point of View - The point of view (how you choose to tell your story) determines the voice of your writing.
Change in View - Determine how a story changes if the point of view is changed. SPI 0801.8.3
Point of View - Types of Point of View; explanations of each type
Point of View - point of view and perspective - lesson plan
Unit Title: Through the Wardrobe - Understanding narrative point-of-view will allow students to judge why a voice in a story is telling them what the story is, not just what it’s telling them; lesson plan
Different Genres - Distinguish among different genres (e.g., poetry, drama, biography, novel) using their distinguishing characteristics. SPI 0801.8.4
Similar Themes - Analyze the development of similar themes across two or more literary texts. SPI 0801.8.5
Reveal Character - Identify and analyze how the author reveals character (i.e., what the author tells us, what the other characters say about him or her, what the character does, what the character says, what the character thinks). SPI 0801.8.6
Literary Elements - Identify and analyze examples of literary elements that shape meaning within context (i.e., flashback, foreshadowing, irony, mood, symbolism, tone). SPI 0801.8.7
Chasing Metaphors - students explore the figurative language of metaphors by turning a series of objects, concepts, events, or characters into metaphors, first in written form and then by creating a video with images, text, and sound [Quick Time required]
Kind(s) of Conflict - Identify the kind(s) of conflict present in a literary plot (i.e., person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. environment, person vs. technology). SPI 0801.8.10
The Metaphysical Poets - a study guide to be used as a way in to the study of metaphysical poetry
The Role of Oral Tradition - These traditions account for the ways things are and often the way they should be, and assist people in educating the young and teaching important lessons about the past and about life
Brainchild Test - 12 questions - Students should use the summary page after finishing this test to practice their areas of weakness.
Eight Grade Reading Test [FCAT] - Online quiz that covers most areas of Standardized testing. Click on Return to Program to begin test.
Eighth Grade Reading Texas - Read the introduction and the passage that follows. Then read each question and mark the circle next to the correct answer.
How are They Selling It - students read three advertisements and evaluate the type of persuasive writing being employed
News Quiz Archive - over 50 news stories from the BBC - Choose carefully, not all of these would be appropriate for 8th grade students. Also, take a look at a section of stories which include math in the news and the quiz
Online Lessons - Cloze exercises, speed reading and more
Online Practice for Reading - Many choices of text selections - Choose specific activity from the frame on the left to practice skills.
Cloze Tests Exercises - Scroll to find Cloze tests in the list of Tests and Exercises.
Cloze Test: (Reading test - Proficiency level) - Students are to complete the text with one word in each gap.
Cloze Test: (Exploration - Why in the World?) - Students are to complete the text with one word in each gap.
Cloze Test: (Juliet) - longing for Romeo to arrive - Act III, Scene 2.
Cloze Test: (The Chink) - A long (and fairly difficult) cloze exercise about the experiences of a young man of Japanese extraction during World War Two.
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