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.
For many high school readers, supernatural fiction and fantasy are genres that maximize engagement with literature. “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” by H.P. Lovecraft is a compelling short story that features elements consistent with both genres: dreamy aberrations, astral projection, the possession of a human body, and more. This multiple choice quiz on “Beyond the Wall of Sleep” helps English teachers promote homework accountability, evaluate reading comprehension, and save time at home without sacrificing quality in the classroom. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The narrator’s career
The narrator’s beliefs concerning dreams
Setting
The general characterization of Joe Slater
The effects of Joe Slater’s dreams
How aging affects Joe Slater’s dreams
The fate of Joe Slater’s neighbor
The narrator’s personal feelings toward Joe Slater
A technological achievement
What the narrator shares in common with Joe Slater
The narrator’s primary motivation
Dr. Fenton’s evaluation of the narrator’s psychological state
Eliminate take-home assessment planning responsibilities, evaluate general reading comprehension, and promote homework accountability with this multiple choice quiz covering “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. An answer key and copy of the public domain short story are included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing editable Word Documents and printable PDFs. By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The subject of a portrait
The personal histories of the doctor’s guests
The reason for the acquaintances’ visit
Dr. Heidegger’s claims and his guests’ immediate reactions
The object the doctor uses to prove a point
The doctor’s general characterization
The effects of the doctor’s experiment
The resolution
Save time, support improved reading stamina, and measure general reading comprehension with this printable quiz on “Souvenir,” a short story by Jayne Anne Phillips. Delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, this multiple choice assessment makes it easier to quickly and efficiently gather data on student recall and reading habits. An answer key is provided.
By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
Point of view
An upcoming holiday
Kate’s personal history
Kate’s oversight
Mom’s medical conditions
Robert’s personal history
Robert’s suggestion regarding the sharing of medical information
Kate’s opinion of Robert’s suggestion
Mom’s sentimental collection of items
Where Kate takes her mother
Mom’s confession to Kate
Measure general reading comprehension and promote student accountability with this set of quizzes on Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat. Three multiple choice assessments are included (with three alternate short answer versions also available). Answer keys for each resource are provided.
Questions pertain to the following:
An incident that helped lead Mowat to become a biologist
The purpose behind Mowat’s study
A long trip to “the middle of nowhere”
Mowat’s supplies
Mike’s background
The first encounter with a wolf
Alarming discoveries
A move to facilitate wolf observations
“Marking territory”
“Wolf naps”
Uncle Albert
A fear for the wolves’ survival
A staple of the wolves’ diet
George’s painful experience
The purpose of a scientific experiment
The main point of Ootek’s story
How wolves catch fish
The death of large quantities of caribou
Ootek’s unique skill
The wolves’ behavior
An experiment involving Mike’s husky
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
Stanley Kunitz’s environmental poem “The War Against the Trees” creatively explores the issue of prioritizing corporate interests and commercial progress over Nature and is a suitable option to incorporate into the high school ELA classroom. This printable assessment measures general reading comprehension and holds students accountable for their academic responsibilities. Resources are delivered in Word document and PDF formats. An answer key is included.
By engaging with this resource, students will perform the following tasks:
Read for literal and interpretive comprehension
Apply knowledge of setting, characterization, and conflict
Be better prepared to engage in collaborative discussions about poetry
Develop improved reading stamina
Promote active engagement with ironic fiction, reinforce understanding of situational irony, and evaluate general reading comprehension with this multiple choice quiz on the short story “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry. 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:
The setting and its appeal (and lack of appeal) to specific communities
The backstory of the narrative’s protagonists
Johnsy’s medical circumstances
The doctor’s assessment of Johnsy’s condition and survival chances
Character motivations
Johnsy’s psychological state
The general characterization of Mr. Behrman
An ironic turn of events
A sacrifice in the resolution
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 ironic short story “The Last Leaf” by O. Henry. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this activity, students will:
Identify what the text states both explicitly and implicitly
Analyze how complex characters interact and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including allusion, metaphor, personification, dramatic irony, and situational irony
Compare and contrast characters
Analyze the author’s diction to understand its intended effect
Analyze the author’s stylistic choices such as the decision to capitalize “Art” and “Literature”
Cite textual evidence in support of claims
Write with clarity, accuracy, and precision
For many reluctant readers, science fiction helps to maximize student engagement. “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut is a satirical, cautionary short story about governmental efforts to enforce equality on all citizens. This plot-based quiz covering the short story helps English teachers promote homework accountability and evaluate general reading comprehension—while eliminating take-home assessment planning responsibilities. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing editable Word Documents and printable PDFs. By completing this quiz, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Harrison’s physical characteristics
Setting
The reason for Harrison’s arrest
The purpose of the law regarding mandated handicaps
Hazel’s general characterization
George’s specific handicap
Breaking news
Harrison’s defiant behavior
Hazel’s reaction to her son’s death
Promote active engagement with humorous fiction, reinforce understanding of situational irony, and evaluate general reading comprehension with this multiple choice quiz on the short story “The Cop and the Anthem” by O. Henry. 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:
Setting
The protagonist’s living circumstances
The onset of a particular season
The function of newspapers in the context of the protagonist’s life
The protagonist’s motivations
The protagonist’s attempts to achieve his goals
The prevalence of situational irony
Factors contributing to dynamic character
The fate of the protagonist as the story resolves
Save time, support improved reading stamina, and measure general reading comprehension with this printable quiz on the short story titled “The Duke’s Children” by Frank O’Connor. Delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, this multiple choice assessment makes it easier to quickly and efficiently gather data on student recall and reading habits. An answer key is provided.
By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
General details
Character hopes and motivations
How complex characters interact
Theme
For many high school readers, age-appropriate fantasy and fairy tale fiction are genres that maximize engagement with literature. This quiz and close reading activity bundle covers “Hansel and Gretel” by the Brothers Grimm and helps English teachers promote homework accountability, evaluate general reading comprehension, support the development of literary analysis skills, and save time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. Included are the following: a multiple choice, plot-based assessment; a worksheet composed of challenging analysis questions; answer keys; and a copy of the public domain short story. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats.
By engaging with these materials, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Analyze dialogue to discern how a character uses manipulative tactics to achieve a goal
Analyze characterization to discern and articulate a dominant internal conflict in the text
Apply knowledge of alliteration to the text
Analyze the authors’ word choices to discern and articulate how these choices create the literary device of paradox
Identify several examples of simile in the text
Apply knowledge of dramatic irony to the text, discerning and articulating how it manifests
Apply knowledge of situational irony to the text, discerning and articulating how it manifests
Apply knowledge of foreshadowing to the text, explaining what is foreshadowed and how
Write with clarity and precision
With this printable bundle of high school resources for teaching “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” by the Brothers Grimm, educators will measure reading comprehension with a multiple choice quiz on character and plot and support high-order thinking with a set of close reading analysis questions. A copy of the public domain short story and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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 engaging with these materials, students will:
Demonstrate general comprehension of the plot
Analyze the author’s craft to determine how diction affects the reader
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on foreshadowing, metaphor, and dramatic irony
Analyze character actions to draw reasoned inferences about interests and motivations
Write with clarity and precision
With this printable bundle of high school resources for teaching “The Bremen Town Musicians” by the Brothers Grimm, educators will measure reading comprehension with a multiple choice quiz on character and plot and support high-order thinking with a set of close reading analysis questions. A copy of the public domain short story and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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 engaging with these materials, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Analyze the authors’ craft, paying special attention to diction and how it contributes to the complexity of the text
Apply knowledge of literary devices to the text, identifying and explaining examples of simile and situational irony in the text
Define complex words in context, taking into consideration denotative definitions and connotative associations and using reference materials as needed
Respond clearly, concisely, and accurately to analytical questioning
Fairy tales are not just for elementary readers; even middle and high school students may use Grimms’ fairy tales as tools for extending beyond reading comprehension and practicing close reading analysis skills. “Donkey Cabbages” by the Brothers Grimm is a representative short story that promotes active engagement with fiction. Included in this bundle are the following: a multiple choice, plot-based quiz; a set of rigorous close reading questions; the public domain narrative; and answer keys. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By engaging with these materials, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Analyze how complex characters think, behave, and interact with others
Articulate what makes a particular character’s actions suspicious
Analyze nuances in words with similar meanings
Select the most appropriate synonym to replace a word in the text
Discern the greater significance of a given detail
Articulate the irony associated with a given detail
Apply knowledge of various literary devices including situational irony, dramatic irony, foreshadowing, and juxtaposition
Isolate an example of figurative language from among several options
Examine the authors’ diction to determine its intended effect
Defend claims and ideas with valid reasoning and relevant evidence
Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision
With this printable bundle of high school resources for teaching “The Godfather” by the Brothers Grimm, educators will measure reading comprehension with a multiple choice quiz on character and plot and support high-order thinking with a set of close reading analysis questions. A copy of the public domain short story and answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
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 engaging with these materials, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Demonstrate understanding of the narrative’s surreal tone, identifying several pieces of textual evidence that advances the tone
Explore character motivations, whether explicitly stated in the text or implied through character actions
Analyze character interactions to discern intent
Analyze textual details to draw inferences and support rational arguments
Apply knowledge of literary devices to the text, articulating how the title is ironic
Explore cause-and-effect relationships
Respond clearly, concisely, and accurately to analytical questioning
Evaluate reading comprehension, support the development of close reading analysis skills, and reduce time spent assessment planning with this bundle of materials covering “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Included are the following: a plot-based, multiple choice quiz; a rigorous close reading activity; a copy of the public domain short story; and answer keys. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing editable Word Documents and printable PDFs. By engaging with these materials, students will engage in the following performance tasks:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Explore how complex characters think, behave, develop, and interact
Compare and contrast characters
Infer the intended effect of the author’s phrasing (“liquor of youth”)
Apply knowledge of various literary devices including foreshadowing and symbolism
Examine nuances in words with similar meanings
Articulate the significance of a given detail
Come to class/leave class better prepared to discuss literary materials
Support claims and ideas with relevant evidence and valid reasoning
Write ideas with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Conclude a unit on 1984 by George Orwell with this printable summative assessment. Delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, this test includes 65 multiple choice questions. In addition to objective questions on character, plot, literary devices, and passage analysis, an essay section is featured, requiring high school students to analyze plot development, character development, and theme development. An answer key is included with sample essay responses.
By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate an ability to:
Correctly identify characters based on given details and descriptions
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, personification, oxymoron, allusion, situational irony, and more
Analyze passages and make logical inferences in the context of those passages
Write two brief essays in which students defend claims with relevant textual evidence and adhere to the standard conventions of written English
Save time, support improved reading stamina, and measure general reading comprehension with this printable quiz on Yasunari Kawabata’s “The Jay,” a sentimental Japanese short story. Delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, this multiple choice assessment makes it easier to quickly and efficiently gather data on student recall and reading habits. An answer key is provided.
By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
The reason for a jay’s singing
Yoshiko’s personal history
A misinterpreted sign of good luck
Characters’ shared traits
The effect of the father’s second marriage on his family
How Yoshiko and her brother came to live with their grandmother
The grandmother’s medical condition
The father’s arrangement for Yoshiko
An important meeting
Yoshiko’s discovery
Save time, support improved reading stamina, and measure general reading comprehension with this printable quiz on the fairy tale “Foundling Bird” by the Brothers Grimm, also known as “Fundevogel.” Delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, this multiple choice assessment makes it easier to quickly and efficiently gather data on student recall and reading habits. An answer key is provided.
By completing this assessment, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
The cause of a forester’s alarm
A surprising discovery
General characterization details
Old Sanna’s intentions
The nature of the relationship between Lina and Fundevogel
The many transformations of Lina and Fundevogel
The fate of old Sanna*
Support the development of high school close reading skills with this set of analysis questions for Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer. With emphasis on a chapter 17 journal entry dated December 19, this worksheet saves teachers valuable time at home without sacrificing rigor in the classroom. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered as printable Word Documents and PDFs.
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 do not allow for novel content to be included, so the purchaser is responsible for providing students with the text.
By completing this exercise, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Analyze how complex characters develop and interact
Explore character motivations
Isolate an example of figurative language
Identify relevant themes
Determine the function of the entire entry
Apply knowledge of literary devices such as symbolism
Evaluate whether Miranda’s assumptions are reasonable and accurate
Justify claims with valid reasoning
Write about literature with clarity and precision