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.
Frontload assigned readings with these vocabulary games and activities to facilitate comprehension of Mary Shelley’s science fiction novel Frankenstein, also known as The Modern Prometheus. 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, eight word search games, answer keys, and the public domain novel. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
A total of 160 challenging words are addressed:
abhorrent, abstruse, acquiesce, adduce, adjuration, adversary, amiable, apathy, apothecary, approbation, arbiter, ardent, arduous, assuage, augury, balmy, barbarous, benefactor, benumbed, beseech, bewildered, brood, chasten, chimera, chivalrous, combustible, conciliate, congeal, conjecture, console, consternation, convalescence, covet, dart, degenerate, delirium, despondent, detrimental, diffuse, dilatory, dirge, disconsolate, dissipate, docile, dogmatic, emaciated, enraptured, entreat, ephemeral, eradicate, erroneous, exculpate, execration, extricate, feeble, fervently, fester, fetter, fidelity, fortitude, fruitless, gesticulation, haggard, hapless, havoc, ignominy, immerse, immutable, impediment, impervious, impetuous, implore, imprudently, incantation, incessantly, indefatigable, indolence, indulge, inexorable, infallible, ingratitude, innumerable, inquisitive, insuperable, insurmountable, interment, invective, irksome, irresolute, irretrievable, keen, lamentation, lassitude, loathsome, malice, minuteness, mortification, obdurate, obliterate, odious, ominous, omnipotent, opaque, pallid, palpable, paroxysm, pensive, persecute, pertinacity, pertinent, pittance, placid, poignant, precipice, precipitous, predilection, procure, profundity, prognosticate, propagate, radiant, rankle, ravenous, reconcile, redress, rejoice, remissness, remonstrate, replete, reproach, retribution, sagacity, salubrious, satiated, scoff, shrill, singular, solitude, stealth, stigma, strife, stupendous, subsist, superfluous, sustenance, timorous, transitory, tremulous, undulation, unhallowed, unsullied, variegated, venerable, verdure, vivacity, waft, wan, withered, woeful, zeal
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 and embrace the Halloween spirit with this plot-based quiz covering the short story “Graves and Goblins” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. 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 identity of the narrator
The limitations of the human brain, according to the narrator
The relationship between the spiritual realm and the physical world
The narrator’s philosophy on death
The habits of the narrator during his youth
The backgrounds of several spirits
The effects of mourning on the fates of the dead, according to the narrator
The young maiden’s circumstances
The effect of the young maiden on the narrator
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the science fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 2, chapters 1 through 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: ashen, circumspection, consolation, despondent, dexterous, diminution, domicile, fortnight, gesticulation, implore, ineffectual, instantaneous, keen, lethargic, monotony, multitude, persistence, remonstrance, squeamish, and transitory
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 science fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 2, chapters 6 through 10). 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: brooding, circuitously, clamber, dethronement, dominion, exuberance, fecundity, gluttony, impede, inkling, lackadaisical, languid, melancholy, noisome, persecution, propagation, solitude, totter, unkempt, and vestige.
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 science fiction novel The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (book 1, chapters 11 through 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: assiduously, dart, diffuse, dismal, dissuade, dubiously, exhort, expostulate, formidable, hoarse, imminent, interminably, palpable, pluckily, ransack, reproach, shabby, smite, tediously, 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
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz covering the short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” by Edgar Allan Poe. The quiz may otherwise double as a guided reading handout to facilitate more active engagement with fiction. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
The narrator’s appreciation of analytical power
Where the narrator had visited
General character details about Dupin
The narrator and Dupin’s shared appreciation for literature
The narrator’s general perception of Dupin
A quick development in the friendship between Dupin and the narrator
The narrator’s fondness for moodiness and isolation
A peculiar quality Dupin seems to have
The details of a newspaper article
The identities of two homicide victims
General character details about Le Bon
Dupin’s conclusions regarding the homicide
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and develop critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” 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:
Make a logical inference based on the narrative’s title
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Discern the intended effect of the author’s language in context
Determine the function of the narrative’s point of view
Consider the effects of the author’s narrative techniques
Verify interpretations of language using reference materials as needed
Examine how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Contrast the characterizations of the protagonist and the police
Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on red herring and symbolism
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home grading with this plot-based quiz covering the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “The Goose Girl,” which centers on themes of greed and karma. 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:
The old Queen’s intentions for her gold and treasures
The peculiar characteristics of Falada
A gift from the old Queen to her daughter
The personification of the bloodied handkerchief
The servant’s defiance of the princess
The princess’ humility
An incident that emboldens the servant
An oath taken by the princess
The identity of the goose-boy
The demands of the false bride
The princess’ manipulation of the wind
The general characterization of the aged King
The princess’ affection for her mother
The fate of the false bride
Help middle and high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills while teaching the classic Grimm’s fairy tale “The Goose Girl,” which centers on themes of greed and karma. 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
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
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 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23). 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: absolve, affront, approbation, audacity, beseech, clamber, condone, decadent, emaciated, fervor, festoon, indignation, repentance, revile, vague, vindictive, wimple, and wistful.
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 28, 29, and 30). 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: adrenaline, ambiguous, blasphemy, catastrophe, defiantly, dismay, famished, illicit, macabre, obsolete, obstinately, paranoid, perfunctory, primitive, prude, reminiscence, rickety, and trivialize.
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 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