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.
Support the development of close reading skills with this worksheet composed of challenging questions designed to help high school students analyze Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Hamlet. With a focus on Act 4, scene 3, this resource saves teachers valuable time without sacrificing academic rigor. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered as printable PDFs and Word Documents.
This resource may serve as the basis for small-group discussions. Through these discussions, students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development, demonstrating an ability to analyze how complex characters transform and advance the plot and themes by applying logic and citing compelling, meaningful textual evidence. They will also evaluate their peers’ reasoning and use of rhetoric to advance claims, clarifying or challenging unclear ideas. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly, concisely, and appropriately, thereby helping their peers comprehend their thinking.
More specifically, students will be able to:
Identify what Claudius compares Hamlet to
Consider plot developments from Claudius’s point of view
Identify why it is important for Claudius to give the illusion of careful consideration when banishing Hamlet
Identify textual evidence that supports Claudius’s judgment that Hamlet is going insane
Define words and phrases as they are used in the text
Verify interpretations of words and phrases using reference materials such as a dictionary or thesaurus
Identify Hamlet’s justification for calling Claudius his mother
Make a logical inference about Hamlet’s thinking based on dialogue
Discern the tone of a given passage
Consider plot developments from Hamlet’s point of view
Identify Hamlet’s intent based on his interactions with Claudius in this scene
Identify and explain an example of dramatic irony in this scene
Apply knowledge of literary devices including simile
Write with clarity and precision
Promote homework accountability and measure general reading comprehension with this bundle of plot-based quizzes on Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats.
By taking these assessments, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The sighting of the King of Denmark’s ghost
Horatio’s forceful interaction with the ghost
Character motivations
Hamlet’s mourning over the loss of his father
The reason for Hamlet’s anger toward his mother
Laertes’ perspective on the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia
Polonius’ condemnation of young men for their lack of decency
A ghost’s revelation to Hamlet
Horatio and Marcellus’ promise to Hamlet
Reynaldo’s spying on Laertes
The cause of Ophelia’s fright
Polonius’ recommendation to Ophelia
Ophelia’s rejection of Hamlet
The arrival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
The roles of Voltemand and Cornelius
Claudius’ effect on Fortinbras
Hamlet’s comparison of Denmark to a prison
The interaction among Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern
The effect of the actors on Hamlet
Hamlet’s self-criticism
Hamlet’s fear
Polonius’ gift to Ophelia
Claudius’ psychological state
Hamlet’s suicidal thoughts
Hamlet’s degrading criticisms and comments about Ophelia
Hamlet’s confession to Ophelia
A primary cause of Ophelia’s sorrow
The interaction between Hamlet and Horatio
The function of the play from Hamlet’s perspective
Gertrude and Claudius’ reaction to the play
Claudius’ decision with regard to the seemingly insane Hamlet
Claudius’ internal conflicts
Polonius’ sneakiness
The appearance of the ghost
Gertrude’s acknowledgement regarding her current husband
The information Gertrude gives Claudius about Hamlet
Hamlet’s refusal to identify the location of Polonius’ corpse
Hamlet’s interaction with Guildenstern and Rosencrantz
Hamlet’s reputation among the people of Denmark
Claudius’ assessment of Hamlet’s psychological state
Claudius’ plan to have Hamlet murdered
The actions of the Norwegian army
Fortinbras’ influence on Hamlet’s mindset
Ophelia’s peculiar behavior
The characterization of Laertes
Horatio’s letter from Hamlet
The tool Laertes will use to kill Hamlet
The manner of Ophelia’s death
The nature of the gravediggers’ conversation
Hamlet’s reaction to the gravediggers’ behaviors
Hamlet’s similarities to the gravediggers
The nature of Hamlet’s conversation with the gravediggers
A former jester named Yorick
The church’s perspective on people who commit suicide
Laertes’ emotional response to Ophelia’s burial
Hamlet’s discovery of the plot to have him killed
Hamlet’s feelings toward Laertes
Hamlet’s duel with Laertes
Hamlet’s assessment of his physical strength in comparison to Laertes
The nature of Gertrude’s death
Hamlet’s belief regarding who should be the new King of Denmark
Support the development of close reading skills with this worksheet composed of challenging questions designed to help high school students analyze Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Othello. With a focus on Act 2, scene 2, this resource saves teachers valuable time without sacrificing academic rigor. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered as printable PDFs and Word Documents.
This resource may serve as the basis for small-group discussions. Through these discussions, students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development, demonstrating an ability to analyze how complex characters transform and advance the plot and themes by applying logic and citing compelling, meaningful textual evidence. They will also evaluate their peers’ reasoning and use of rhetoric to advance claims, clarifying or challenging unclear ideas. Using this resource for structured guidance, students, ultimately, will present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly, concisely, and appropriately, thereby helping their peers comprehend their thinking.
By completing this exercise, students will:
Analyze what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Make logical inferences in context
Apply knowledge of literary devices to the text including alliteration and situational irony
Discern the meaning of complex words and phrases in context
Identify textual evidence in support of a claim
Write with clarity and precision
Support the development of close reading skills with this worksheet composed of challenging questions designed to help high school students analyze chapter 31 of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An answer key is provided. Delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats, these instructional materials save teachers valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom.
This resource may serve as the basis for small-group discussions. Through these discussions, students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development, demonstrating an ability to analyze how complex characters transform and advance the plot and themes by applying logic and citing compelling, meaningful textual evidence. They will also evaluate their peers’ reasoning and use of rhetoric to advance claims, clarifying or challenging unclear ideas. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly, concisely, and appropriately, thereby helping their peers comprehend their thinking.
By engaging in this exercise, students will:
Discern the tone of a character’s remarks
Use context to determine the symbolism of a tree in context
Apply knowledge of various literary devices to passages in the text (personification)
Discern a character’s intent
Discern the author’s intent
Cite evidence to support the claim that Scout’s world perspective has matured
Analyze the author’s craft
Make a logical inference about why Alexandra would be proud of Scout
Write with clarity and precision
Copyright restrictions prohibit the inclusion of the complete chapter, so the purchaser is responsible for providing students with access to the novel.
Extend reading comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills for high school with this set of rigorous questions about Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Focusing on Act 1, scene 4, this resource is delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. An answer key is included. By engaging with this close reading activity, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Explore how complex characters think, behave, develop, and interact
Apply knowledge of figurative language
Discern the significance of a given detail
Explore cause-and-effect relationships
Identify excerpts in support of claims
Isolate a factual detail about plot from falsehoods
Come to class/leave class better prepared to discuss literary material
Help high school students extend beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills with this set of rigorous, text-dependent questions on the science fiction short story “The Fog Horn” by Ray Bradbury. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By engaging in this exercise, students will…
Articulate what is stated in the text explicitly and implicitly
Identify several examples of personification and/or anthropomorphism in the narrative
Identify several textual details that contribute to a sense of isolation
Discern the intended meaning of figurative language
Discern the function of a given excerpt
Apply knowledge of sonic literary devices including consonance and assonance
Analyze the author’s craft
Identify stylistic changes in a given excerpt
Articulate the intended effect of stylistic changes in a given excerpt
Analyze relationships between complex characters
Articulate how a given detail is an example of foreshadowing
Make logical inferences about character motivations
Cite textual evidence in support of inferences and claims
Write with clarity and precision
Help high school students analyze how Langston Hughes used direct description, dialect, and various literary devices to develop complex characters and situations in “Thank You, Ma’am.” 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 is included.
Help high school students develop a greater understanding of how H.P. Lovecraft used descriptive language, auditory imagery, characterization, and various literary techniques in “The Beast in the Cave” to establish an eerie mood consistent with the Gothic fiction genre. Delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats, this resource serves well as 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 analyze how W. W. Jacobs used foreshadowing, characterization, description, situational irony, verbal irony, personification, and symbolism to establish a tense mood and tone in “The Monkey’s Paw” that is consistent with the conventions of horror and supernatural fiction. 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 is included.
Promote active engagement with fiction, support the development of close reading analysis skills for high school, and evaluate general reading comprehension with this bundle of resources for teaching the Gothic short story “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe. Included are the following: a plot-based quiz, a worksheet composed of rigorous close reading questions, a craft analysis activity, the public domain narrative, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By engaging with these materials, students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Analyze the nature of character relationships and interactions
Examine grammatically correct structure
Define complex words and phrases as they are used in the text
Identify the best evidence of foreshadowing in a given passage
Apply knowledge of various literary devices including verbal irony
Make logical inferences about the protagonist’s mindset and motivations
Identify relevant textual evidence in support of a claim or idea
For many middle and high school readers, realistic and young adult fiction are genres that maximize relatability and engagement with literature. “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes is a short story involving socioeconomic struggles, social pressures, the importance of second chances, and the power of empathy and forgiveness. With this challenging worksheet composed of high-order questions, English teachers will help students extend beyond basic reading comprehension, support the development of close reading analysis skills, and save valuable time at home without sacrificing quality and rigor in the classroom. A detailed answer key is included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Discern what is stated in the text explicitly and implicitly
Articulate character motivations
Analyze how a character’s behaviors reveal their life principles
Apply knowledge of metaphor to the text
Analyze the author’s choice of words conveys subtle meaning
Analyze how complex characters interact
Explore Roger’s emotional and psychological state
Cite textual evidence in support of inferences and claims
Write with clarity and precision
With this bundle of high school resources for teaching “The Wife’s Story” by Ursula K. Le Guin, educators may conveniently measure general reading comprehension with a quiz on character and plot. Additionally, teachers will be able to support their students through the process of analyzing the author’s craft, helping readers identify textual details that evoke the reader’s sympathy and examples of literary devices that contribute to a tense mood and surprising outcome. Lastly, teachers will be able to support high-order thinking with analysis questions. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
This resource may facilitate small-group discussions. Through these discussions, students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development, demonstrating an ability to analyze how complex characters transform and advance the plot and themes by applying logic and citing compelling, meaningful textual evidence. They will also evaluate their peers’ reasoning and use of rhetoric to advance claims, clarifying or challenging unclear ideas. Using this resource for structured guidance, students, ultimately, will present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly, concisely, and appropriately, thereby helping their peers comprehend their thinking.
By engaging with these materials, students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Apply knowledge of anaphora to the text
Articulate how anaphora contributes to the narrator’s characterization
Analyze the narrator’s statements to infer details about her husband
Discern meaning in less familiar words and phrases, taking into consideration the context of the passage
Analyze an excerpt to discern tone in context
Analyze an excerpt to discern and articulate the narrator’s internal conflict
Apply knowledge of simile to the text
Articulate the significance of the narrator’s “grief howl”
Analyze character statements and actions to discern and articulate character motivations
Analyze the term “blessed dark” to discern and articulate what it conveys about the narrator’s mindset
Cite and explain textual details that evoke a sense of sympathy within readers
Revisit the text to identify details that foreshadow the major revelation near the story’s conclusion
Analyze the author’s craft to explain how language contributes to the major revelation near the story’s conclusion
Write with clarity and precision
Quickly and conveniently measure general reading comprehension of Ray Bradbury’s science fiction short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” with this set of two quizzes: one multiple choice, the other constructed response. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Questions pertain to the following key details:
Unique characteristics of the house (personification)
The futuristic setting
The function of the robotic animals
The backstory
Silhouettes on the building
A frail, dirty dog
The subject matter of the poem “There Will Come Soft Rains”
A devastating fire
The house’s attempts at self-preservation
Measure general comprehension and hold students accountable for reading Farley Mowat’s nonfiction book Never Cry Wolf with this set of printable assessments on chapters 17 through 24. In addition to a multiple choice quiz, a constructed response version is provided, which may double as a guided reading worksheet to encourage active engagement with the text. Answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing both Word Document and PDF versions.
Questions pertain to the following details.
Angeline’s surprising ability
Angeline’s family
Census of the wolf population
Population control
The Churchill incident
Why Inuit women thought Mowat was crazy
The purpose behind the wolves’ test of the caribou
A repulsive discovery concerning the caribou
Growth of the pups
A study involving a gas mask
A mass death
The final professional obligation
Conclude a unit on To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee with this printable summative test. An answer key is included. All materials are delivered in both Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate an ability to:
Correctly identify characters based on a given description or detail
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, internal conflict, dynamic character, hyperbole, and more
Identify the speaker and articulate the greater significance of a given quotation
Write a brief essay in which students defend a claim with relevant textual evidence and adhere to the standard conventions of written English
Incorporate autobiographical nonfiction into the English Language Arts classroom and measure general reading comprehension with this editable quiz on “Straw into Gold: The Metamorphosis of the Everyday” by Sandra Cisneros. This autobiographical essay addresses the variables that shaped Cisneros into the writer she became and emphasizes the inspirational message that seemingly impossible things are possible with a little imagination. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By taking this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The nature of a misunderstanding
The author’s self-image
The author’s educational experiences
The dynamics of the author’s family
The breaking of a “terrible taboo”
Traits the author inherited from each of her parents
How the author’s mother influenced her writing
The author’s hometown
The reasons the author disliked school as a child
A major life event in 1966
Theme
Promote active engagement with fiction and evaluate general reading comprehension with this multiple choice quiz on the science fiction short story “The Fog Horn” by Ray Bradbury. An answer key is included. All materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
Point of view
Setting
McDunn’s thoughts on the ocean
A strange incident involving a million fish
The sound of the fog horn
The characters’ nickname for the ocean
The narrator’s thoughts on the sea creature
McDunn’s theory about the sea creature
An experiment involving the fog horn
The sea creature’s reaction to the experiment
The narrator’s life one year later
The lesson McDunn thinks the sea creature learned
The narrator’s feelings toward the sea creature
This file contains two Word documents. The first is a 13-question, multiple-choice quiz designed to measure plot recall. The second is the corresponding answer key. Questions pertain to the following details:
• The North Crawford Mask and Wig Club
• The avoidance of social gatherings
• The narrator's wish for Harry Nash
• The narrator's invitation to an auditioning woman
• The town's reaction to Harry's acting
• The narrator's first impression of Helene's acting
• Efforts to improve Helene's acting
• Helene's fantasy when viewing movies in the past
• Helene's difficulty in establishing relationships
• Lydia's impressions on who will direct
• Lydia's prediction for Helene
• A gift from Harry
• "The luckiest girl in town"
Evaluate reading comprehension, promote homework accountability, and save valuable time with this printable quiz on “Dark They Were and Golden Eyed” by Ray Bradbury. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The setting of the narrative
The story’s inciting incident
Mr. Bittering’s nighttime experiences
The general characterization of Mr. Bittering
Bizarre discoveries on Mars
Mr. Bittering’s fear-fueled beliefs
Mr. Bittering’s work in the metal shop
Simpson’s role
Dynamic character traits
Mr. Bittering’s thoughts as he swims
The resolution
Promote active engagement with fiction and evaluate general reading comprehension with this multiple choice quiz on the short story “Geraldine Moore the Poet” by Toni Cade Bambara. An answer key is included. All materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
Mr. Watson’s dog
Geraldine’s lunchtime habits
The eviction
Geraldine’s mother
The reason for Anita’s return home
Geraldine’s personal and emotional struggles during classes
Geraldine’s response to her English teacher’s assignment
Mrs. Scott’s reaction to Geraldine
A surprising realization