Week 2 Learning Center For Grades 9–12: Daily ELA Learning Activities

Day 1: Vocabulary practice

Looking for more?

• Have you seen our Week 1 activities for high school students?
• We’ve also released Week 3 for more daily activities. Take a look!

Self-guided activities:

1. Read this article about homonyms, homographs and homophones.

2. Write out a list of these words that have multiple meanings.

• Cut out each word and tape each one onto different sides of a soccer ball.
• Take turns throwing the ball and see if you can come up with at least two different sentences using the word you land on.

Family fun activity:

1. Ask your parents if they know all of the meanings of some of the words you wrote down from the activity above.

Think of consequences for any they get wrong!

2. Try thinking of other words that have multiple meanings with your family.

If you need help, try looking at the names on packages or book titles to see if any of those words could be ones with multiple meanings.

This activity addresses CCSSI Reading Standard:

Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)

Day 2: Indirect language

Self-guided activities: 

1. Read the definition of sarcasm.

• Look up the synonyms for sarcasm on Thesaurus.com.
• An example of a sarcastic remark is: “Running on the treadmill is such a blast.”
• See if you can write a sarcastic joke. What makes it sarcastic?

2. Read the definition of satire.

• Read this slide to learn even more about it.
• Then read this slideshow about Dorothy Parker. She was the queen of satire.
• Can you create a satirical quote or remark?

3. Read the definition of irony.

• Read this slide to learn even more about it.
• Click on the related term dramatic irony to learn about a different type of irony.
• Read this article about irony. Can you write an ironic statement?

Family fun activity: 

1. Get a jar and some pompoms or buttons of different colors.

Assign a different color to every person in your family. Every time someone makes a sarcastic or ironic statement, that person has to put an item of their assigned color in the jar. Now you can see who makes the most sarcastic and ironic statements in one day!

• Hint: this also works with money! One person can get pennies, one nickels, etc. Whoever says the most (or least) remarks gets the money!

This activity addresses CCSSI Reading Standard:

Analyze a case in which grasping point of view requires distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).

Day 3: Allusions

Self-guided activity:

1. Read this article to understand what an allusion is.

• Read this slide to understand even more about it.

2. Look over a book or text you’ve read and find an allusion that may occur.

• What was the original source of the allusion. Look it up online to find out more about the original content.

Family fun activity:

1. Watch a movie or TV show together and see if it makes allusions to any other stories or moments in history.

• Keep a running list and see who can catch the most.

This activity addresses CCSSI Reading Standard:

Analyze how an author draws on and transforms source material in a specific work (e.g., how Shakespeare treats a theme or topic from Ovid or the Bible or how a later author draws on a play by Shakespeare).

Day 4: Points of view

Self-guided activities:

1. Read this article to understand the points of view that authors use when telling a story.

• Look up the word omniscient to understand the 3rd person omniscient point of view.
• List as many book titles as you can that tell their story from this perspective.

2. Describe a day in your home from each of the different perspectives.

• See how the story changes depending on how you narrate it from the unique point of view.

Family fun activity:

1. Have each family member write about a moment you all shared together from their perspective.

• See if the stories and memories match up as you read all your stories aloud!

This activity addresses CCSSI Reading Standard:

Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in the text.

Day 5: Literary terms

Self-guided activities: 

1. Watch this video to understand some common literary terms.

WATCH: This Or That: Simile vs. Metaphor

2. Read this slideshow to learn about more literary terms like alliteration and allegory.

• Try to find as many literary terms as you can in this collection of poetry by Dictionary.com users.

3. Write your own poem about a subject of your choice (e.g., love, war, quarantine, etc.).

• Include as many literary terms as you can fit!

Family fun activity:

1. Have a poetry contest!

• Write down the different literary terms on slips of paper and place them in a container. Take turns drawing a slip and try to create an example poem using that literary term on the spot.

This activity addresses CCSSI Reading Standard:

Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Day 6: Thesis statements

Self-guided activities: 

1. Read this article on the different types of thesis statements.

2. Find and evaluate the thesis statements in these articles:

• Is “Emergency” The Right Word To Describe What’s Happening At The Border?
• Has The Word “Expert” Lost Its Meaning?

3. Create your own thesis statement that answers one of these writing prompts.

• You can write in Thesaurus.com’s Writing Tool.

Family fun activity:

1. Watch a commercial together.

• See if you can find the “thesis” of the advertisement and where the advertisers try to lay out the evidence in visual form.
• Have everyone write down their answer and then read aloud the thesis statements you found after the commercial is done to see who you all think got closest.

This activity addresses CCSSI Reading Standard:

Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.