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.
“Sweat” by Zora Neale Hurston is a short story about a woman of color who must reconcile the resentment she feels toward her abusive husband with her faith—a task that threatens to compromise the integrity of her soul. This close reading analysis worksheet helps English teachers extend reading comprehension and support the process of critical thinking. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing editable Word Documents and printable PDFs. By completing the close reading activity, students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Define words and phrases as they are used in the text
Choose the most suitable synonym to replace a word without changing fundamental meaning
Analyze nuances in words with similar meanings
Explore cause-and-effect relationships
Determine the functions of given details
Make inferences about historical context based on aspects of plot
Examine how complex characters think, behave, develop, and interact
Make predictions about the protagonist’s future behavior based on context clues
Analyze the author’s word choices to articulate how they contribute to character development
Apply knowledge of literary devices including euphemism, oxymoron, personification, symbolism, situational irony, and more
Discern the tone of a given passage
Support claims with sound reasoning and relevant textual evidence
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class/leave class better prepared to discuss literary materials
Help high school students extend beyond basic plot recall and develop close reading analysis skills with this set of high-order questions covering Act 3, scene 4, of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats, this worksheet saves English Language Arts teachers valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. An answer key is provided.
This resource may facilitate small-group discussions in which students decode language and pose/respond to questions relating to plot, broad topics, and character development. Using this resource for structured guidance, students will improve their ability to present information, conclusions, and supporting textual evidence clearly and convincingly.
More specifically, students will do the following:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Define words and phrases as they are used in the text
Discern the intended effect of Shakespearean language in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on metaphor and personification
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant textual evidence
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Reinforce the standard conventions of academic writing and perform a quick check of students’ knowledge with this grammar worksheet on commas, conjunctions, semicolons. 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 engaging with this material, students will demonstrate an ability to:
Separate dependent clauses from independent clauses using semicolons or commas with conjunctions
Join two independent clauses with a comma and contextually appropriate conjunction
Separate items in a series using commas
Isolate non-essential elements (appositive phrases) in the middle of sentences using commas
Use commas to separate the elements of dates and places
Punctuate coordinating adjectives in a series
Format direct quotations
Isolate interrupters (however, nevertheless, etc.) in the middle of sentences using commas
Use semicolons before conjunctive adverbs that join independent clauses
Use semicolons to separate items in a series if they contain internal punctuation
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 fairy tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” by the Brothers Grimm. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By engaging with this activity, students will do the following:
Articulate what is stated in the text explicitly and implicitly
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, pleonasm, dramatic irony, and more
Discern the function of a given excerpt
Explore relationships between complex characters
Determine the meaning of complex words in context
Analyze what Snow White’s behavior reveals about her character
Articulate how poetic justice is carried out
Analyze plot to discern and articulate sexist stereotypes of women
Cite textual evidence in support of inferences and claims
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 Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Othello. With a focus on Iago’s skillful manipulation of Roderigo in Act 4, scene 2, this resource saves teachers valuable time at home without sacrificing academic rigor in the classroom. 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
Discern the meaning of complex words and phrases in context
Demonstrate knowledge of literary devices
Make logical inferences in context
Explore character motivations
Analyze how complex characters interact
Cite relevant textual evidence in support of claims
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 27 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.
Copyright restrictions prohibit the inclusion of the complete chapter, so the purchaser is responsible for providing students with access to the novel.
By engaging in this exercise, students will:
Address Scout’s youthful misconception of “two minor changes” in Maycomb
Analyze an excerpt to discern its significance to the plot
Draw a logical inference about Atticus’s remarks, which allude to the Supreme Court of the United States
Conduct brief research on the Great Depression’s influence on common Halloween practices, especially in the South
Write with clarity, logic, and precision
Analyze the author’s craft to discern her intent
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Apply knowledge of foreshadowing to the text, with emphasis on how Miss Tutti and Miss Frutti’s deafness contribute to the plot
Analyze an excerpt to discern its tone in context
Promote homework accountability and evaluate general reading comprehension with this quiz covering Act 2 of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By taking this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Cesario’s encountering of Feste
Cesario’s reaction to Olivia’s declarations of love
Olivia’s misinterpretation of Cesario’s motives
Olivia’s breaking of societal expectations in the times of Elizabethan England.
Toby and Fabian’s underhanded deeds
Andrew’s challenge
Sebastian and Antonio’s arrival in Illyria
Antonio’s personal history
Toby’s intentions
Olivia’s newest gift to Cesario
Antonio’s interruption of the duel
A case of mistaken identity and its consequences
Extend comprehension and support the development of close reading skills with this worksheet composed of analytical questions on chapters 7 through 9 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. With this resource, high school English teachers can save valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. An answer key and copy of the public domain chapters are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. More specifically, students will be able to:
Articulate what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Write with clarity, logic, and precision
Cite relevant textual evidence in support of claims
Explore character motivations
Apply knowledge of literary devices including situational irony
Define complex words and phrases in context
Verify interpretations of language using reference materials as needed
Analyze figurative language to articulate its effect
Isolate an accurate statement about plot among a set of falsehoods
Explain the significance of a locket
Articulate how Victor contributes to a grave injustice
Explore cause-and-effect relationships
Compare and contrast complex characters
Extend comprehension and support the development of close reading skills with this worksheet composed of analytical questions on chapters 10 through 12 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. With this resource, high school English teachers can save valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. An answer key and copy of the public domain chapters are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. More specifically, students will be able to:
Articulate what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Write with clarity, logic, and precision
Cite relevant textual evidence in support of claims
Explore character motivations
Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing and allusion
Isolate an accurate statement about plot among a set of falsehoods
Explain the significance of the pool of water
Discern the function of a given paragraph
Analyze how Victor becomes a dynamic character in the context of a given chapter
Analyze the author’s craft
Articulate how chapter 10 is different from chapter 11
Explore “the barbarity of man”
Explore how the creature demonstrates childlike naivety
Extend comprehension and support the development of close reading skills with this worksheet composed of analytical questions on chapters 16 through 18 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. With this resource, high school English teachers can save valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. An answer key and copy of the public domain chapters are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. More specifically, students will be able to:
Articulate what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Write with clarity, logic, and precision
Cite relevant textual evidence in support of claims
Explore character motivations
Apply knowledge of literary devices including simile and dramatic irony
Isolate a factual statement about plot from falsehoods
Define complex words and phrases in context
Verify interpretations of language using reference materials as needed
Explore the creature’s psychological state
Analyze the author’s craft to infer intent
Articulate the effect of animal imagery
Explain the function of a given scene
Discern a logical inference about the author’s personal philosophy based on the text
Explain how the creature appeals to Victor’s intellect and emotions
Articulate Victor’s internal conflict
Explain the function of Henry’s character in chapter 18
Reduce teacher workload, promote homework accountability, and measure general reading comprehension with this assessment on chapters 4 through 6 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this quiz, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Victor’s investigation of death and decomposition
The unintended consequences of Victor’s ambitiousness
The moment Victor is overcome by dread
Victor’s decision not to tell Henry about his work
Victor’s stated belief that ambitiousness should be regulated
Behaviors that reflect Victor’s mental breakdown
Henry’s role as a caretaker
Elizabeth’s assessment of the Frankenstein family
Justine’s relationship with the Frankenstein family
Justine’s personal background
Reduce teacher workload, promote homework accountability, and measure general reading comprehension with this assessment on chapters 7 through 9 of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this quiz, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The intent of the letter Victor’s father writes
Victor’s sighting of the creature scaling the mountains
The framing of Justine
The Frankenstein family’s opinion of Justine
Circumstantial evidence that jeopardizes Justine
The interaction between Justine and a priest
Victor’s reason for remaining silent
Victor’s terrible guilt after the verdict is reached
The effect of the trial on Elizabeth’s world outlook
The effect of Nature on Victor
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.
Extend reading comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills for high school with this set of rigorous questions covering chapter seven of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Analyze how complex characters interact
Make a logical inference about Daisy’s parenting style
Identify the significance of given characterization details
Apply knowledge of various literary devices including assonance, consonance, metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, imagery, euphemism, and catharsis
Analyze word choices to determine which word most accurately conveys an idea
Explore character motivations
Explore Nick’s assessment of Gatsby’s behavior in the context of the chapter
Analyze the author’s craft
Write ideas with clarity and precision
Extend reading comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills for high school with this set of rigorous questions covering chapter nine of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Apply knowledge of literary devices including situational irony and metaphor
Explore character motivations
Analyze how complex characters interact
Determine the greater significance of a given characterization detail
Analyze the author’s word choices to infer the author’s intent
Make logical inferences about a character’s mode of thinking in context
Explore how Tom sees himself in the context of the tragedies of Gatsby, Myrtle, and Wilson
Extend reading comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills for high school with this set of rigorous questions covering chapter eight of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Discern what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Analyze how complex characters interact
Explore character motivations
Analyze how and why complex characters behave certain ways
Make logical inferences based on characterization details and other narrative techniques
Apply knowledge of various literary devices including personification, oxymoron, simile, onomatopoeia, assonance, and more
Explore the meanings of complex words, taking into consideration both denotative and connotative associations
Analyze a given passage to determine its tone
Determine the primary function of a given detail
Explore cause-and-effect relationships
Make logical inferences about the author’s intent
Analyze plot developments in the context of the chapter to discern and articulate social commentary
Cite relevant textual evidence in support of claims
Analyze the symbolic importance of dust
Write with clarity and precision
Support the development of close reading analysis skills for high school with this worksheet composed of challenging questions to complement “The Wife’s Story” by Ursula K. Le Guin. Delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats, this resource helps teachers save valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. A detailed answer key is included. By completing this exercise, students will:
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
Promote homework accountability and measure general reading comprehension with this quiz on Act 5 of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By taking this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
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 Hamlet. With a focus on Act 5, scene 1, 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:
Articulate what the text says explicitly and implicitly
Consider author’s intent and articulate why Shakespeare may have chosen to begin this scene in a graveyard
Analyze characterization to discern the gravedigger’s primary function(s)
Discern the tone of a given excerpt
Consider how aristocratic class privileges influence plot development
Describe Hamlet’s reaction to the gravedigger’s singing, as well as the reason for his reaction
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, hyperbole, allusion, alliteration, dramatic irony, situational irony, and more
Characterize Hamlet’s relationship with Yorick
Articulate how Hamlet’s lack of emotional or psychological control is manifested physically
Make logical inferences from the point of view of Hamlet
Demonstrate knowledge of Claudius’s mindset
Write with clarity and precision
Conclude your unit on Shakespeare’s Hamlet with this summative assessment, which is delivered as a Word Document and PDF. An answer key is included. This fifty-question assessment is divided into four sections and breaks down as follows. Students will demonstrate comprehension of the following:
An encounter with a ghost
The reason for Hamlet’s anger toward his mother
Ophelia’s unsettling interactions with Hamlet
Ophelia’s rejection of Hamlet
Hamlet’s self-criticisms
Hamlet’s fear
Claudius’s guilty conscience
Hamlet’s confession to Ophelia
Ophelia’s emotional reaction to Hamlet’s fall from honor
The purpose of a play performance
The murder of Claudius
Gertrude’s awareness that she married a killer
Interactions among Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern
The effect Fortinbras has on Hamlet
The manner of Ophelia’s death
Ophelia’s burial
Laertes’s expression of extreme mourning
Hamlet’s declaration on who should be the next King of Denmark
The manner of Gertrude’s death
Hamlet’s relationship with Laertes
The similarities the gravediggers share with Hamlet
Ophelia’s behavior right before her death
Norway’s aggression toward Poland
Claudius’s psychological state
How Hamlet is affected by the actors
Polonius’s sending a spy to report back on Laertes
Laertes assessment of Hamlet’s love for Ophelia
Hamlet’s criticism of his mother’s marriage
Act 1, scene 2: It is not nor it cannot come to good, / But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
Act 1, scene 3: Then weigh what loss your honour may sustain, / If with too credent ear you list his songs, / Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open / To his unmaster’d importunity.
Act 1, scene 7: If thou art privy to thy country’s fate, / O, speak!
Act 2, scene 2: Bloody, bawdy villain! / Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless villain! / O vengeance!
Act 3, scene 3: The cease of majesty / Dies not alone; but, like a gulf, doth draw / What’s near it with it…
Act 4, scene 1: So dreaded slander – / Whose whisper o’er the world’s diameter, / As level as the cannon to his blank, / Transports the poisoned shot – may miss our name / And hit the woundless air.
Act 4, scene 2: But such officers do the / king best service in the end: he keeps them, like / an ape, in the corner of his jaw…
Act 4, scene 4: How all occasions do inform against me, / And spur my dull revenge!
Act 5, scene 1: Why, e’en so: and now my Lady Worm’s; chapless, and / knocked about the mazzard with a sexton’s spade: / here’s fine revolution, and we had the trick to / see’t. Did these bones cost no more the breeding, / but to play at loggats with ’em? Mine ache to think on’t.
Metaphor
Simile
Hyperbole
Allusion
Personification
Alliteration
Sibilance
Oxymoron