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.
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz covering Saki’s short story titled “The Storyteller.” The assessment may double as a guided reading worksheet to facilitate active engagement with fiction. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
Setting
Weather conditions
Details about the aunt’s story
The moral of the aunt’s story
The children’s reaction to the aunt’s story
The identity of the person who travels alongside the aunt and kids
A description of Bertha
Bertha’s meaningful objects
Where Bertha visits
The danger facing Bertha
The aunt’s reaction to the bachelor’s story
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
Help high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering the short story “The Portable Phonograph” by Walter van Tilburg Clark. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable 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 both explicitly and implicitly
Analyze the significance of the season in the context of the plot
Make logical inferences about the dugout’s significance to the plot
Analyze the thematic importance of a given detail
Analyze how complex characters interact and develop
Explore the author’s use of language
Discern the most relevant theme
Use this close reading worksheet to help high school students find deeper meaning in E. E. Cummings’ poem “anyone lived in a pretty how town,” a creative exploration of the ideas of conformity and its effects on individuals and communities. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable 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 this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal and interpretive comprehension
Apply knowledge of setting, characterization, and conflict
Be better prepared to engage in collaborative discussions about poetry
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
Help high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Sonnet X, also known as “Death be Not Proud,” by metaphysical poet John Donne. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable 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 this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal and interpretive comprehension
Apply knowledge of setting, characterization, conflict, and literary devices
Be better prepared to engage in collaborative discussions about poetry
Help high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering metaphysical poet John Donne’s “Meditation 17,” an excerpt from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable 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 this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal and interpretive comprehension
Apply knowledge of setting, characterization, conflict, and literary devices
Be better prepared to engage in collaborative discussions about literature
Help high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering “Sonnet 130” by William Shakespeare. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By engaging with this close reading activity, students will:
Read for literal and interpretive comprehension
Apply knowledge of setting, characterization, conflict, and literary devices
Determine the rhyme scheme and overall tone of the poem
Be better prepared to engage in collaborative discussions about poetry
Support the development of high school close reading skills with this set of analysis questions for The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with emphasis on the vignette titled “Bums in the Attic.” The variety of question types also helps students prepare for standardized testing scenarios: main idea questions, detail questions, author’s craft questions, and more. An answer key is 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.
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
Apply knowledge of dramatic irony to the vignette
Apply knowledge of hyperbole to the vignette
Analyze the author’s craft to discern an accurate interpretation of text
Identify the best textual evidence in support of a claim
Discern the main function of the vignette
Support the development of high school close reading skills with this set of analysis questions for The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with emphasis on the vignette titled “Sally.” The variety of question types also helps students prepare for standardized testing scenarios: main idea questions, detail questions, author’s craft questions, and more. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. (Alternatively, an online version made for Google Drive is available.)
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.
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
Analyze a detail for symbolic value
Articulate what a figurative expression is intended to reveal about Sally’s character
Explore the author’s craft to discern and explain what role imagery plays in developing Sally’s character
Apply knowledge of a variety of literary devices and narrative techniques
Analyze the effect of directly addressing Sally on the reader
Discern the main function of the vignette
Write with clarity and precision
Support the development of high school close reading skills with this set of analysis questions for The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros with emphasis on the vignette titled “Hips.” The variety of question types also helps students prepare for standardized testing scenarios: main idea questions, detail questions, author’s craft questions, and more. An answer key is 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.
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
Analyze figurative language to discern and articulate the intended effect
Articulate the internal conflict presented in a given excerpt
Apply knowledge of literary devices including euphemism and hyperbole
Identify the best textual evidence in support of a claim or idea
Discern the main function of the vignette
Explore the author’s craft
Write with clarity and precision
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
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning duties with this bundle of plot-based quizzes covering The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Setting
Strange sightings on Mars
The Martians’ intentions
First impressions of the Martians’ ship
General characterization of the narrator
The narrator’s assumptions about the cylinder
The identity of a journalist
Physical description of the alien beings
An apparent complication for the extraterrestrials
Acts of violence
Effects of the heat ray
The narrator’s interactions with his wife
The reason many news agencies report that Martians are not a true threat
The arrival of a second cylinder
Factors that contribute to the aliens’ formidability
The item rented by the narrator
The narrator’s intentions
The weather conditions
The means by which Martians travel on Earth
A complication that faces the narrator
How the narrator survives the heat ray
New threats facing the narrator
General characterization of the narrator’s brother
The reason news of the invasion has not spread farther
The fixation of the minister
How the narrator’s brother escapes the aliens
Details concerning “Thunder Child”
Ominous observations by the narrator’s brother
The narrator’s stated intentions
The narrator’s main motivations
The eerie strangeness of London
The reason for the narrator and minister’s entry into a house
The reason the narrator and the minister get stuck in the house
The narrator’s observations of the aliens
The conclusions the narrator draws about the extraterrestrials
The means by which the minister dies
What happens to the minister’s body
The length of the narrator’s confinement
A reunion with the artilleryman
Characters’ specific fears
An unappealing suggestion for humanity’s survival
The narrator’s judgments about the artilleryman
A theory concerning the aliens’ cause of death
The narrator’s psychological state
Beliefs concerning an alternative location for colonization
Discoveries made at the narrator’s home
The invasion’s effect on humanity in general
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning duties with this plot-based quiz covering The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 2, chapters 6 through 10). An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing both Word Document and PDF versions. By engaging with this material, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
A reunion with the artilleryman
Characters’ specific fears
An unappealing suggestion for humanity’s survival
The narrator’s judgments about the artilleryman
A theory concerning the aliens’ cause of death
The narrator’s psychological state
Beliefs concerning an alternative location for colonization
Discoveries made at the narrator’s home
The invasion’s effect on humanity in general
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning duties with this plot-based quiz covering The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 2, chapters 1 through 5). An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing both Word Document and PDF versions. By engaging with this material, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
The narrator’s stated intentions
The narrator’s main motivations
The eerie strangeness of London
The reason for the narrator and minister’s entry into a house
The reason the narrator and the minister get stuck in the house
The narrator’s observations of the aliens
The conclusions the narrator draws about the extraterrestrials
The means by which the minister dies
What happens to the minister’s body
The length of the narrator’s confinement
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning duties with this plot-based quiz covering The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 1, chapters 11 through 17). An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing both Word Document and PDF versions. By engaging with this material, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
Setting
How the narrator survives the heat ray
New threats facing the narrator
General characterization of the narrator’s brother
The reason news of the invasion has not spread farther
The fixation of the minister
How the narrator’s brother escapes the aliens
Details concerning “Thunder Child”
Ominous observations by the narrator’s brother
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning duties with this plot-based quiz covering The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 1, chapters 6 through 10). An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing both Word Document and PDF versions. By engaging with this material, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
Effects of the heat ray
The narrator’s interactions with his wife
The reason many news agencies report that Martians are not a true threat
The arrival of a second cylinder
Factors that contribute to the aliens’ formidability
The item rented by the narrator
The narrator’s intentions
The weather conditions
The means by which Martians travel on Earth
A complication that faces the narrator
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning duties with this plot-based quiz covering The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 1, chapters 1 through 5). An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in a zip file containing both Word Document and PDF versions. By engaging with this material, students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
Setting
Strange sightings on Mars
The Martians’ intentions
First impressions of the Martians’ ship
General characterization of the narrator
The narrator’s assumptions about the cylinder
The identity of a journalist
Physical description of the alien beings
An apparent complication for the extraterrestrials
Acts of violence
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
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this self-grading quiz covering the short story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. The resource may double as a guided reading worksheet to facilitate active engagement with fiction. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
The identities of the individuals who share devastating news with Louise
The apparent manner of Brently’s death
Louise’s medical concerns
The effect of the news on Louise’s mental, emotional, and psychological states
Louise’s assessment of her husband upon reflection
Brently’s general demeanor toward Louise
The author’s incorporation of imagery
A surprising discovery
The consequence of the surprising discovery
The doctors’ judgment of what happens to Louise
