Say hello to a platform dedicated to industrious, yet overtasked teachers like you. Say goodbye to countless hours spent developing relevant and engaging ELA lessons. Whether you are teaching the fundamentals of grammar, creative writing skills, classic literature, or contemporary fiction, you will find thousands of activities and assessments to help you achieve a healthier work-life balance without sacrificing academic rigor.
Say hello to a platform dedicated to industrious, yet overtasked teachers like you. Say goodbye to countless hours spent developing relevant and engaging ELA lessons. Whether you are teaching the fundamentals of grammar, creative writing skills, classic literature, or contemporary fiction, you will find thousands of activities and assessments to help you achieve a healthier work-life balance without sacrificing academic rigor.
Help high school students explore literary craft with this activity covering the morbid Grimm’s fairy tale “The Juniper Tree.” With this worksheet, students will isolate and reflect upon textual details that are consistent with the conventions of fairy tale fiction. An answer key is provided, as well as a copy of the narrative, which makes for an excellent addition to a short story unit for grades 9 through 12, especially during the Halloween season. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with this literary craft analysis activity, students will:
Isolate examples of compelling sensory description
Isolate characterization details that elicit emotional responses from readers
Make connections between elements of the story and aspects of the modern-day Halloween season
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on personification, situational irony, and symbolism
Convey information through speech and writing in a coherent manner
Come to class better prepared to discuss dramatic works
Help high school students develop a greater understanding of how Edgar Allan Poe used descriptive language, characterization, setting, connotation, and various literary devices in “The Black Cat” to establish an eerie mood that is consistent with the horror and supernatural fiction genres. Delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, this resource serves well for an independent learning opportunity, as well as for small-group discussions. Through such discussions, students may evaluate peers’ reasoning and use of rhetoric to support claims, clarifying or challenging ideas as needed. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included.
Help high school students explore literary craft with this activity covering H.P. Lovecraft’s short story “The Outsider.” With this worksheet, students will isolate and reflect upon textual details the author provided to establish a suspenseful tone that is consistent with the conventions of Dark Romanticism. An answer key is provided, as well as a copy of the narrative, which makes for an excellent addition to a Halloween-themed short story unit for grades 9 through 12. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with this literary craft analysis activity, students will:
Isolate examples of compelling sensory description
Isolate characterization details that elicit emotional responses from readers
Reflect upon traditional aspects of the Halloween season and identify textual details that evoke those aspects
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on dramatic irony, foreshadowing, personification, situational irony, and symbolism
Convey information through speech and writing in a coherent manner
Come to class better prepared to discuss dramatic works
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and dramatic craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Act 4, scene 2, of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the intended effects of the Shakespeare’s word choices and narrative techniques
Apply knowledge of literary devices including dramatic irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss dramatic works
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and dramatic craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Act 4, scene 1, of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the intended effects of the Shakespeare’s word choices and narrative techniques
Describe tone in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on situational irony and symbolism
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss dramatic works
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Act 5, scene 3, of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this exercise, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on foreshadowing, situational irony, and symbolism
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss Shakespearean drama
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Act 5, scene 1, of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this exercise, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Discern the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Describe tone in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing and situational irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss Shakespearean drama
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Act 4, scene 2, of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this exercise, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the intended effects of the author’s word choices and narrative techniques
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss dramatic works
This bundle of 20 assessments promotes analytical thinking, measures and extends reading comprehension, and offers flexibility of choice to differentiate and satisfy the academic needs of students of varying proficiency levels in classroom and distance learning settings. Included are close reading activities, answer keys, and copies of public domain texts. Short story selections include the following:
“Desiree’s Baby” by Kate Chopin *
“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell *
“The Black Cat” by Edgar Allan Poe *
“The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving *
“The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield *
“The New Dress” by Virginia Woolf *
“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane *
“The Open Window” by Saki *
“The Oval Portrait” by Edgar Allan Poe *
“A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett *
“After Twenty Years” by O. Henry *
“The Businessman” by Edgar Allan Poe *
“The Legend of the Christmas Rose” by Selma Lagerlof *
“The Old Tombstone” by Hans Christian Andersen *
“The Wind Blows” by Katherine Mansfield *
“The Little Mermaid” by Hans Christian Andersen *
“The Stolen Farthings” by the Brothers Grimm *
“Slave on the Block” by Langston Hughes
“The Wives of the Dead” by Nathaniel Hawthorne *
“The Sparrow and His Four Children” by the Brothers Grimm *
(* denotes a public domain text)
By completing these analysis exercises, students will demonstrate the following high-order skills:
An ability to apply knowledge of more complex literary devices to the texts including foreshadowing, situational irony, dramatic irony, hyperbole, personification, metaphor, symbolism, theme, and more
An ability to analyze context clues and draw logical inferences about character motivations and other elements of plot
An ability to discern and articulate details that illustrate contrasts between characters
An ability to define complex words by taking into consideration denotative definitions, connotative definitions, and context clues
An ability to find and articulate relevant textual details in support of claims
An ability to discern mood and tone in context
An ability to discern author’s intent
An ability to conduct brief research and articulate historical and autobiographical parallels
An ability to analyze text structures
An ability to analyze text to determine the function of an excerpt
An ability to analyze a text for how it conforms to the conventions of a particular genre
An ability to establish formal tone, paying attention to conventions of written English
An ability to take leadership in class discussions, addressing nuances in the author’s craft to help peers understand literature from different perspectives
This formative grammar worksheet reviews the basics of common and irregular adverbs that compare. Featuring 45 opportunities to apply knowledge of comparative and superlative adverbs, this resource is recommended for middle and high school students enrolled in composition classes emphasizing rudimentary writing skills. An answer key is included.
This formative grammar worksheet reviews the basics of common and irregular adjectives that compare. Featuring 50 opportunities to apply knowledge of comparative and superlative adjectives, this resource is recommended for middle and high school students enrolled in composition classes emphasizing rudimentary writing skills. An answer key is included.
Reinforce the standard conventions of academic writing and perform a quick check of students’ knowledge with this grammar worksheet on simple and compound subjects and predicates. Delivered in printable Word Document format, as well as in PDF format, this resource conveniently offers the option to edit. An answer key is provided.
Reinforce the standard conventions of academic writing and perform a quick check of students’ knowledge with this grammar worksheet on pronoun-antecedent agreement. Delivered in printable Word Document format, as well as in PDF format, this resource conveniently offers the option to edit. An answer key is provided. By engaging with this resource, students will demonstrate an ability to:
Use a singular pronoun to refer to anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, none, nothing, one, somebody, someone, or something
Use a plural pronoun to refer to both, few, many, or several
Discern whether to use an indefinite pronoun such as all, any, more, most, none, and some is singular or plural in context
Use a singular pronoun to refer to two or more singular antecedents joined by or or nor
Use a plural pronoun to refer to two or more antecedents joined by and
Recognize that a collective noun is singular when it refers to the group as a collective unit
Recognize that a collective noun is plural when it refers to the individual members of a group
Discern whether to use the pronoun each other or one another in context
Use this editable grammar activity to help middle and high school students reinforce the basics of conjugating verbs so their forms match their compound subjects correctly. To facilitate the process, the worksheet includes tips for discerning whether a compound subject is considered singular and plural. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. By engaging with this grammar exercise, students will:
Demonstrate awareness of the definition of compound subject
Choose plural verb forms when multiple subjects are combined with the conjunction and
Navigate situations in which multiple subjects are combined with or, either…or, and neither…nor
This formative grammar packet reviews the basics of singular and plural indefinite pronouns and matching them with appropriate verb forms in context. This resource is recommended for middle and high school students enrolled in composition classes emphasizing rudimentary writing skills. An answer key is included.
Reinforce the standard conventions of academic writing and perform a quick check of knowledge with this grammar worksheet designed to help students understand how context influences word choices. Delivered in printable Word Document format, as well as in PDF format, this resource conveniently offers the option to edit. An answer key is provided.
Use this editable grammar activity to help middle and high school students apply knowledge of demonstrative and interrogative pronouns. To facilitate this process, the editable worksheet offers tips on when to use specific demonstratives over interrogatives, and vice versa. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. By engaging with this grammar exercise, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following rules:
Use the demonstrative pronoun this to indicate a single person or object that is near in space or time
Use the demonstrative pronoun these to indicate multiple people or objects that are near in space or time
Use the demonstrative pronoun that to indicate a single person or object that is far away in space or time
Use the demonstrative pronoun those to indicate multiple people or objects that are near in space or time
Use the interrogative pronoun who to ask questions about a person performing an action
Use the interrogative pronoun whom to ask questions about a person on the receiving end of an action
Use the interrogative pronoun whose to ask questions about a person in possession of something
Use the interrogative pronoun which to ask for identification of a specific person or thing in a group
Use the interrogative pronoun what to ask open-ended questions about non-specific things
Reinforce the standard conventions of academic writing and perform a quick check of students’ knowledge with this grammar worksheet on apostrophe usage. Two versions of this activity are provided, including a multiple choice option to expedite take-home grading. Answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this activity, students will demonstrate an ability to:
Indicate possession with a singular or plural common noun
Indicate possession with a singular or plural proper noun
Indicate possession with regular and irregular nouns
Indicate possession with singular and plural compound nouns
Indicate possession with a last name ending with s
Indicate possession with phrases including two names
Indicate the omission of letters and form contractions
Punctuate possessive adjectives
Refrain from inserting apostrophes into personal pronouns
And more
Use this editable grammar activity to help middle and high school students review the basics of singular and plural possessive pronouns. To facilitate this process, the worksheet offers tips on when possessive pronouns should precede nouns and when they may stand alone. Additionally, tips are provided for how to navigate possessive pronouns when addressing animals. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Reinforce the standard conventions of academic writing and perform a quick check of students’ knowledge with this grammar worksheet on mains verbs and helping verbs. Students will practice identifying main and helping verbs while navigating the fact that they may be separated by words that are not verbs. Two versions of this activity are provided, including a multiple choice option to expedite the grading process. Answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats.
