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.
Go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet to complement chapter 2 of Dracula by Bram Stoker. An answer key and copy of the chapter, which is in the public domain, are 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 says explicitly and implicitly
Define words and phrases as they are used in the text
Select the most appropriate synonym for a word in the text
Discern the intended effects of the author’s narrative techniques with emphasis on why the author utilizes repetition in context
Examine how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on personification, verbal irony, and situational irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Gothic literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet to complement chapter 1 of Dracula by Bram Stoker. An answer key and copy of the chapter, which is in the public domain, are 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 says explicitly and implicitly
Discern the intended effects of the author’s narrative techniques with emphasis on how setting influences mood
Determine the function of a given paragraph
Consider the greater significance of given details
Examine how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on foreshadowing and situational irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Gothic literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet to complement chapter 7 of Dracula by Bram Stoker. An answer key and copy of the chapter, which is in the public domain, are 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 says explicitly and implicitly
Define words and phrases as they are used in the text
Verify interpretations of language using reference materials as needed
Discern the intended effects of the author’s narrative techniques
Examine how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, assonance, consonance, sibilance, personification, and dramatic irony
Come to class better prepared to engage in collaborative discussions
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Gothic literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Evaluate comprehension and support the development of close reading analysis skills with this bundle of resources covering chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Dracula by Bram Stoker. A plot-based quiz, close reading worksheets, vocabulary activities, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in printable 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 says both explicitly and implicitly
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
Discern the intended effects of the author’s narrative techniques
Determine the function of a given excerpt
Examine how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Compare and contrast characters
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, assonance, consonance, sibilance, personification, and dramatic irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about Gothic literature with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement chapter 4 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: effectually, engrossed, evoke, fluctuate, haughty, incredulous, inquire, jauntily, melodious, modish, monopolize, penitentiary, punctilious, retribution, scornful, sentimental, subtle, and vitality.
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 F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the book during unexpected teacher absences. Included are nine vocabulary application activities, nine crossword puzzles, nine word search games, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
A total of 162 challenging words are addressed: abortive, abounding, abyss, adventitious, aesthetic, affront, ajar, ambiguously, apathetically, ashen, banter, bewildered, boast, brooding, coarse, complacency, confounding, contempt, continually, continuously, cordial, corroborate, corrugated, countenance, credulity, dart, deft, defunct, dejection, desolate, dilatory, disheveled, dismayed, earnestly, effectually, elicit, elude, engrossed, epigram, euphemism, evoke, exasperated, exultant, feign, fervent, flounce, fluctuate, fumble, gaudily, genially, ghastly, gibberish, haste, haughty, hospitality, humidor, implore, imply, incessant, incoherent, incorruptible, incredulous, indifferent, indignantly, indiscernible, ingratiate, innumerable, inquire, insidious, interminable, inviolate, jauntily, jovially, keenly, languid, laudable, lethargic, lingeringly, melancholy, melodious, meretricious, modish, monopolize, murmur, muslin, nebulous, notoriety, notorious, obliged, obscure, obstinate, obtrusive, peasantry, penitentiary, permeate, poignant, portentous, presumptuous, protégé, punctilious, ragged, raspingly, ravenously, recede, redolent, relinquish, reluctance, reproach, retribution, reverent, reveries, riotous, sagely, saunter, scamper, scarcely, scornful, scrawny, scrutinize, scurry, sentimental, shiftless, shrill, skeptically, sneer, solemn, solidarity, squeamishness, strident, subdued, subtle, sumptuous, supercilious, superfluous, suppressed, swank, swoon, tactlessly, tangible, tinny, totter, tranquil, transitory, truculent, turgid, unintelligible, unpunctual, unscrupulously, unwavering, urbane, vacuous, vague, vehemently, veranda, vestibule, vigorously, vitality, wan, weary, whimper, wistfully, 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 activities to complement the Gothic fiction novel Dracula by Bram Stoker (chapters 5, 6, and 7). 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: acquiesce, assent, brooding, brute, cackle, cerebration, exquisite, gnarled, haggard, heresy, humbly, implore, pious, pique, resolute, reverently, salvation, sneer, and vivacity.
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 activities to complement the Gothic fiction novel Dracula by Bram Stoker (chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4). 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: alacrity, bauble, coarse, dilapidated, disheveled, doggedly, famished, gloomy, impalpable, imperious, menial, mirth, nebulous, polyglot, precipice, reticent, salient, serpentine, tangible, and uncanny.
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 8 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: ashen, bewildered, corroborate, dejection, exasperated, humidor, incoherent, incorruptible, indiscernible, interminable, protégé, ravenously, redolent, scarcely, scurry, tranquil, unscrupulously, 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 chapter 9 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: adventitious, aesthetic, brooding, complacency, continuously, ghastly, imply, indignantly, lingeringly, raspingly, recede, reverent, solidarity, squeamishness, superfluous, transitory, unpunctual, and vestibule.
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 Shirley Jackson’s short story titled “Charles.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: cynically, deprive, elaborately, grimly, haggard, incredulously, insolently, raucous, scornfully, solemnly, swaggering, and warily.
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, facilitate vocabulary development, and sharpen critical thinking skills with this bundle of materials for teaching Shirley Jackson’s short story titled “Charles.” A plot-based quiz, close reading analysis worksheet, vocabulary application activity, crossword puzzle, word search game, and answer keys 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.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Identify what the text states both explicitly and implicitly
Define words and phrases as they are used in the text
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Choose the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Determine the function of a given paragraph
Discern the narrative’s dominant conflict
Explore how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing, slang, situational irony, neologism, invective, and sibilance
Reflect on how point of view shapes the reader’s understanding of events
Consider theme in context
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement chapters 6, 7, and 8 of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. 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: concede, eccentricity, emaciated, gaudily, haggard, implore, indignation, multitudinous, obstinately, persecution, precipitous, reminiscence, scurry, and undulate.
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 chapters 3, 4, and 5 of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. 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: emphatic, exultant, furtively, genial, incessant, keen, plaintive, proffer, shudder, solidarity, solitude, stealthy, and timid.
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 chapters 1 and 2 of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. 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: apoplectic, bleakly, continuous, crude, curtly, deferential, indefatigable, pallid, reverently, sibilant, solemn, suffuse, and superfluous.
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 William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies. Alternatively, stash these materials in an emergency sub folder to keep students meaningfully engaged in the book during unexpected teacher absences. Included are 12 vocabulary application activities, 12 crossword puzzles, 12 word search games, and answer keys. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
A total of 132 challenging words are addressed: abruptly, antagonism, aromatic, assent, barmy, befoul, bleakly, bough, brandish, bravado, brooding, cascade, ceaseless, clamber, clamor, coarse, complementary, contemptuously, continual, continuous, conviction, corpulent, crepitation, crestfallen, curtly, cynically, dart, daunting, declivity, decorous, derisive, diffidently, dreary, dun, earnestly, ebullience, eccentric, effect, effigy, elephantine, embroiled, emphatic, enmity, ensconce, exult, farthest, feeble, ferocity, fervor, festoon, flare, fleeting, flinch, flitter, flourish, furtive, gaudy, gesticulate, glower, goad, governable, grim, illusive, impervious, incredulous, indignation, ineffectual, inexpertly, inimical, inscrutable, intently, interrogative, iridescent, jeeringly, lamentation, lavatory, leaden, leviathan, liberation, luminous, meekly, minutely, multitudinous, murmur, mutinously, mutter, nimble, obscurity, oppressive, pallidly, pallor, pitilessly, primly, proffer, propitiatingly, quench, rebuke, relentlessly, saunter, scowl, scurry, sensibly, serenade, shrill, shudder, sneer, sodden, solemn, splutter, steadfast, strident, stupendous, subdued, tacit, theological, torrid, tottery, tremulous, ululation, unendurable, ungainly, ungraspable, unhandily, vague, vexed, vicissitude, vivid, wary, waxy, weary, wield, and
woebegone.
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 “Rules of the Game” by Amy Tan. The resource may double as a guided reading worksheet to facilitate active engagement with the narrative. 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
The protagonist’s perception of herself
Frustrations the protagonist faces in life
A Christmas gift
The mother’s reaction to the Christmas gift
Waverly’s internal and external conflicts
How characters influence one another
Qualities of the art of invisible strength
The effects of success on the protagonist’s daily life
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Amy Tan’s short story titled “Rules of the Game,” a passage from her book The Joy Luck Club. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the public domain narrative, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: benefactor, benevolently, deftly, impart, obscure, prodigy, pungent, relent, retort, solemnly, successive, and vanity.
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 “Charles” by Shirley Jackson. The resource may double as a guided reading worksheet to facilitate active engagement with the narrative. 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 identity of the narrator
Laurie’s tendencies upon returning home from school
The general characterization of Laurie’s teacher
Laurie’s changing behavior toward his parents
Mrs. Hyman’s concerns about Laurie’s schooling
The lesson Mr. Hyman believes Laurie must learn
The reason Mrs. Hyman cannot attend a parent-teacher conference
The general characterization of Charles
Mr. Hyman’s suggestion pertaining to Charles’ mother
A revelation in the resolution
Help high school students go beyond general reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking skills with this close reading analysis worksheet covering Shirley Jackson’s short story titled “Charles.” 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 engaging with this close reading activity, students will:
Identify what the text states both explicitly and implicitly
Define words and phrases as they are used in the text
Determine the function of a given paragraph
Discern the narrative’s dominant conflict
Explore how characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including foreshadowing, slang, situational irony, neologism, invective, and sibilance
Reflect on how point of view shapes the reader’s understanding of events
Consider theme in context
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision