Lessons and Ideas

Today we're featuring our new video, "Bottom of the Ninth" from our complete vocabulary curriculum, The Word Up Project. It's a vocabulary song all about baseball, and it's free for the whole month of February. So why not review the vocabulary by actually playing a round of America's favorite pastime? Word Up Vocabulary Baseball Game Materials Needed Use the Fix the Mistake or Pick the Winner worksheet for the Word Up Unit you're working on. Here's the worksheet for "Bottom of the Ninth." You can find worksheets for other units by clicking on Exercises in the right panel of each song…

Punxsutawney Phil, the world's most only famous groundhog, saw his shadow this morning. So if you believe in the prognostication powers of Phil, you've got to believe that we've got another 6 weeks of winter coming to us. But why do we believe such things? Should we? This lesson plan asks students to pick from a list of superstitions, consider where the superstition came from and then confirm their hypothesis with research.

Teach Figurative Language with Flocabulary [jwplayer file=https://s3.amazonaws.com/flocabulary/media-jrev/figurative-language-media.mp4 image=http://flocabulary.s3.amazonaws.com/images-jrev/figurative-language-image.jpg]Listen to Flocabulary's new, free Figurative Language song. You'll learn all about puns, as well as metaphors, simile and more. Some call it wordplay. Some call them puns. But whether these double meanings make you giggle or make you groan, you should know what they are. Today, our servers are bringing you a big platter of puns and wordplay from rap, literature, advertising and more. When you're done reading, let us know whether you're a wordplay lover or a pun hater. PUN Definition: Wordplay that exploits the multiple meanings of words or words…

What is mutation? Well to understand that, first you need a quick primer on DNA. Everyone has DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) inside of them. That's how you got your mom's blue eyes and your dad's height. DNA is the genetic instruction used in the development, aesthetic and functioning of every human being, including you! Look to your right. Now look to your left. Your neighbors aren't carbon copies of you, are they? That's because no two people have the exact same DNA. Even identical twins have different DNA. Check out our rap, We are DNA, to better understand DNA and the…

Review the Biggest Buzzwords of the Week! When you follow national and worldwide affairs, you get access to deep seated rivalries, the aftermath of disasters, celebrations of legacies, wild science, famous goodbyes and presidential speeches. Each week, we’ll highlight the top buzzwords or terms that your students might not have known or even heard until now. All these words are featured in the most recent edition of The Week in Rap. And once they beef up their vocab, the news will make a lot more sense. THIS WEEK rivalry (noun) -- the act of rivaling: the state of being a rival…