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 vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (chapters 24, 25, 26, and 27). A crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: acquisitive, blitzkrieg, commotion, futility, grudgingly, languid, melancholy, mirth, opaque, pious, plumage, stealthily, suffuse, tactile, trivial, uncouth, viable, and wince.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Frontload assigned readings with these vocabulary games and activities to facilitate comprehension of the dystopian science fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the book during unexpected teacher absences. Included are five vocabulary application activities, five crossword puzzles, five word search games, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
A total of 100 challenging words are addressed: abruptly, accost, acuteness, anguish, ashen, assiduously, attenuate, billowy, blundering, brooding, circuitously, circumspection, clamber, complacency, consolation, continuous, dart, denounce, desolate, despondent, dethronement, dexterous, diffuse, diminution, dismal, dissuade, domicile, dominion, dubiously, exhort, expostulate, exuberance, exultant, fecundity, feeble, formidable, fortnight, gesticulation, gloaming, gluttony, grating, haggard, hoarse, imminent, impede, impediment, implore, incandescent, incessant, incongruity, indefatigable, ineffectual, inkling, insensible, instantaneous, interminably, irresolute, jostle, keen, lackadaisical, languid, lethargic, lurid, melancholy, monotony, multitude, noisome, palpable, peril, persecution, persistence, petrify, pitiless, pluckily, propagation, ransack, remonstrance, reproach, repugnance, scarcely, scoff, serenity, shabby, smite, smoldering, solitude, squeamish, stupefy, subtlety, tediously, totter, transient, transitory, tumult, ultimatum, unkempt, vague, vestige, waylay, and weariness.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11). A crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: atrocity, barren, bereaved, clad, commune, dingy, disconsolate, eccentric, ingratiate, irreverent, lugubrious, melodramatic, quagmire, sanctity, sedately, solemn, stagnant, and treachery.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17). A crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: benevolent, candid, falter, genial, heretical, innocuous, lethargic, lithe, ornate, plaintively, rancid, rebuke, replenish, suave, subdued, superfluous, wary, and withered.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5). A crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: archaic, blatantly, debase, demurely, furtively, genteel, insatiability, jaunty, menial, obscurity, ravenous, reproach, servile, solitude, surly, tremulous, undulate, and whimsical.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Evaluate reading comprehension, support the development of critical thinking skills, and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this bundle for teaching the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “The Goose Girl,” which centers on the themes of greed and karma. A plot-based quiz, close reading analysis worksheet, the public domain short story, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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.
By engaging with these materials, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Indicate the greater significance of given details
Select the most appropriate synonym to replace a word as it is used in the text
Verify interpretations of language using reference materials as needed
Discern the intended effect language and narrative techniques
Examine how complex characters think, behave, develop, and interact
Discern the function of a particular character in terms of advancing plot
Apply knowledge of literary devices including personification, metaphor, hyperbole, callback, situational irony, and more
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fairy tale fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Help middle and high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “The Raven,” which centers on themes of persistence and resilience. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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.
By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Discern the function of a given excerpt
Examine how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing, hyperbole, pun, paradox, symbolism, and more
Explore relevant themes in context
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fairy tale fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz covering the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “The Raven,” which centers on themes of persistence and resilience. The assessment may otherwise double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with fiction. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Events preceding the young princess’ transformation
The raven’s warning
The consequences of not heeding the warning
The special quality of food given to the man
The raven’s gifts for the man
The content of the raven’s letter to the man
The interactions between the man and the giant
The distinguishing characteristic of a mountain
The robbers’ interactions among one another
The man’s deceptive treatment of the robbers
The resolution
“The Woman’s Ghost Story” by Algernon Blackwood is a narrative of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and the paranormal realm. Use this plot-based quiz on “The Woman’s Ghost Story” to evaluate general reading comprehension and promote homework accountability. The assessment may double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with literature. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The general characterization of the woman
The woman’s criticism of storytellers
Conditions under which the woman will share her ghost story
The woman’s audience
The setting of the woman’s story
The purpose of the woman’s travels
The general characterization of the ghost
The woman’s reaction to the ghostly encounter
The ghost’s relationship with space
The ghost’s desires
The woman’s so-called “brave” act
The resolution
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and develop critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Algernon Blackwood’s “The Woman’s Ghost Story,” a narrative of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and the paranormal realm. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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.
Students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Demonstrate knowledge of the conventions of Dark Romanticism
Consider the effects of the author’s language and narrative techniques
Determine the purpose of a given passage
Discern tone in context
Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on simile, metaphor, imagery, hyperbole, foreshadowing, personification, epiphany, and more
Conduct brief online research on women’s rights in the context of England in the early 1900s
Explore themes in context
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Gothic fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Complement a unit on Gothic fiction and embrace the harvest season with this low-prep, standards-based research project addressing 33 topics directly and indirectly related to Halloween: ancient celebrations, holidays, and practices (Samhain, Lemuria, guising, souling, and more); more recent traditions (Guy Fawkes Night, the history of trick-or-treating, and the history of pumpkin carving); myths, legends, and superstitions (Jack O’Lantern, the Beast of Bray Road, Mothman, and more); medical conditions (“werewolf syndrome,” “walking corpse syndrome,” and “vampire disease”); historical figures (Vlad the Impaler, John Hathorne, Sarah Good, and more); and Halloween-inspired authors (Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, H.P. Lovecraft, and more). Supporting materials—including a detailed scoring rubric—are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Ultimately, students will perform the following tasks:
Collect and classify reliable sources on an assigned topic
Develop successful methods of recording information
Evaluate the credibility of nonfiction texts, taking into consideration readability, date, relevance, expertise, and bias
Apply conventions of MLA formatting
Correctly site resources to avoid plagiarism
Organize information in a cohesive manner, using a note-taking system that includes summary, paraphrasing, and quoted material
Analyze, synthesize, and integrate information, generating a thoughtfully comprehensive report, free of generalities and redundancies
Present information in a formal, coherent manner
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and develop critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Mary Shelley’s short story “The Mortal Immortal,” a narrative of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and philosophical perspectives on eternal life. This piece also pairs well with Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein, particularly in terms of discussing the book’s ending. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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.
Students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Consider the effects of the author’s language and narrative techniques
Discern the function of a given excerpt
Describe tone in context
Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on metaphor, personification, catharsis, imagery, repetition, oxymoron, hyperbole, and more
Explore themes in context
Reflect on the oxymoronic title and what it reflects about the protagonist
Conduct research as needed to answer questions about a feminist perspective on the plot and the deeper meanings of given allusions
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Gothic fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Evaluate general reading comprehension, support critical thinking, and promote homework accountability with this bundle of formative assessments covering Ray Bradbury’s short story “The Emissary,” a piece of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and the meaningful bond between humans and their pets. A plot-based quiz, a close reading analysis worksheet, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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.
By engaging with these materials, students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Discern the intended effect of the author’s language in context
Consider the effects of the author’s narrative techniques
Describe tone in context
Verify interpretations of language, using reference materials as needed
Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on foreshadowing, personification, onomatopoeia, simile, metaphor, callback, and more
Conduct brief research on Halloween’s history to answer a question pertaining to the season’s relevance to the plot
Support claims and inferences with relevant evidence and sound reasoning
Write about literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and develop critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Graves and Goblins,” a piece of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and the relationship between the living and the dead. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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.
Students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Consider the effects of the author’s language and narrative techniques
Define complex words as they are used in the text
Verify interpretations of language, using reference materials as needed
Discern tone in context
Classify the narrative as an example of a particular genre
Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on metaphor, euphemism, personification, and more
Evaluate general reading comprehension, support critical thinking, and promote homework accountability with this bundle of formative assessments covering Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “Graves and Goblins,” a piece of special appeal to high school students interested in Halloween, supernatural fiction, and the relationship between the living and the dead. A plot-based quiz, a close reading analysis worksheet, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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.
By engaging with these materials, students will perform the following tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Consider the effects of the author’s language and narrative techniques
Define complex words as they are used in the text
Verify interpretations of language, using reference materials as needed
Discern tone in context
Classify the narrative as an example of a particular genre
Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on metaphor, euphemism, personification, and more
Evaluate reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz covering “The Wives of the Dead” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a short story addressing themes of grief and illusion. The assessment may double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with supernatural fiction. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The narrator’s opinion of the story
Imagery
Mary’s general characterization
Margaret’s general characterization
Goodman Parker’s general characterization
Stephen’s general characterization
Illusion vs. reality
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of activities to complement the Gothic fiction novel Dracula by Bram Stoker (chapters 25, 26, and 27). A crossword puzzle, a vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: afresh, appease, ardor, conspicuously, corroborate, desolate, enigmatical, hasten, impetuosity, incite, keen, meekly, peril, procure, quaint, remonstrance, subdued, and vindictive.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Frontload assigned readings with these vocabulary games and activities to facilitate comprehension of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the book during unexpected teacher absences. Included are eight vocabulary application activities, eight crossword puzzles, answer keys, and the public domain text. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
A total of 146 challenging words are addressed: abasement, absolved, acquiesce, afresh, alacrity, anguish, appease, ardor, armament, ashen, assent, avarice, badinage, barren, bauble, benign, beseech, brooding, brute, cackle, carafe, celerity, cerebration, chagrin, coarse, conspicuously, consternation, contemptuous, corroborate, decorum, demurely, desecration, desolate, detrimentally, dilapidated, disdain, disheveled, dismay, doggedly, eccentricity, emaciated, engrossed, enigmatical, exquisite, famished, feeble, fervor, fitfully, flourish, furtively, genially, gloomy, gnarled, haggard, harrowing, hasten, haughty, heresy, horrid, humbly, impalpable, imperious, impetuosity, implore, importunate, incite, indifferent, indignation, injunction, insolent, keen, laconically, languid, lethargic, livid, lugubrious, lurid, meekly, melancholy, menial, mirth, multitude, mundane, nebulous, obsequious, obstinately, obviate, odium, omnipotent, pallid, paroxysm, pedantry, perfunctory, peril, phlegmatic, pious, pique, placidly, plaintive, poignant, polyglot, precipice, procure, profuse, prosaic, quaint, redress, remonstrance, reproach, repudiate, resolute, reticent, reverently, salient, salvation, sanctify, saunter, scrutinize, sentimental, serpentine, servile, shrill, sneer, solemn, sternly, stertorous, stupendous, suavely, subdued, sulky, surly, swoon, tacit, tangible, tremulous, uncanny, vague, verbatim, vindictive, vivacity, vivify, vocation, wary, weary, withered, and woefully.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: ajar, banter, boast, contempt, continually, epigram, feign, fervent, murmur, reproach, riotous, shrill, solemn, subdued, supercilious, swank, totter, and wistfully.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement chapter 6 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A crossword puzzle, word search activity, vocabulary application worksheet, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: cordial, dilatory, dismayed, elicit, euphemism, genially, hospitality, ingratiate, insidious, laudable, lethargic, meretricious, notoriety, obtrusive, reveries, shiftless, turgid, and unwavering.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences