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 take-home assessment planning responsibilities with this multiple choice quiz covering the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Additionally, a short answer option is provided for re-assessment purposes. Answer keys are included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. By taking these assessments, students will demonstrate:
A knowledge of characters
A knowledge of the lottery’s procedural aspects
A knowledge of how foreshadowing
An ability to make reasonable inferences about plot
An ability to discern relevant details in response to a question
An ability to write with clarity and precision
And more
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the science fiction short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: altar, bough, burrow, capillary, cavort, manifest, oblivious, parched, quench, silhouette, titanic, tremulous, wail, whim, 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 short story “To Build a Fire” by Jack London. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: apathetically, appeasingly, chide, conflagration, conjectural, ensue, flotsam, intangible, mincing, poignant, reiterate, smite, subtle, temperament, and undulation.
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 short story “The Mortal Immortal” by Mary Shelley, the author of the classic science fiction novel Frankenstein. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: abhor, abode, adept, antiquated, avarice, buoyant, dingy, disdain, ephemeral, hasten, hastily, haughty, heartily, implore, imprecate, indifferent, iniquitous, murmur, natal, pecuniary, peevish, procure, quaff, refuge, renowned, reproach, reverence, scarcely, simper, studious, tedious, unintelligible, vain, and wistfully.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the Grimm’s fairy tale “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: beguiled, bier, cunningly, delve, dwell, envy, haughty, heave, paragon, scarcely, splendor, transparent, and ween.
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 short story “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: abyss, arid, desolation, destitute, discreet, escarpment, flotsam, frivolity, haggard, improvise, jubilation, mortified, promontory, and virile.
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 short story “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: clabber, dingy, doctrine, envy, farthest, homely, lye, mercilessly, organdy, sidle, tacky, totter, witty, and wriggle.
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 short story “A White Heron” by Sarah Orne Jewett. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: bough, dilatory, discreetly, elusive, fretfully, gallantly, hasten, loiter, murmur, ornithologist, pang, plod, premonition, proffer, rebuke, shoal, stately, vaguely, wane, wary, wayfarer, and wistfully.
By engaging with these activities, students will:
Determine the meaning of unfamiliar and complex words
Consult reference materials in order to learn and verify word meanings
Discern the most proper application of words as they are used in sentences
“The Pit and the Pendulum” by Edgar Allan Poe is a short story of special appeal to high school students interested in horror stories and Halloween. Use this plot-based quiz on “The Pit and the Pendulum” to evaluate general reading comprehension and promote homework accountability. The assessment may double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with Gothic fiction. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Point of view
Setting
Disturbing imagery
Accusations against the protagonist
Diabolical punishments
The role of the rats in terms of plot development
How the protagonist attracts the rats
An abrupt sound
The resolution
Help learners go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and dramatic craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Act 2, scene 1, of William Shakespeare’s Othello. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Utilize dictionaries to ensure knowledge of word meanings
Infer the intended effects of Shakespeare’s word choices and dramatic techniques
Discern tone in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Identify textual evidence in support of claims
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss works of Shakespeare
Promote active engagement with fiction and evaluate general reading comprehension with this multiple choice quiz on the short story “Geraldine Moore the Poet” by Toni Cade Bambara. 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:
Mr. Watson’s dog
Geraldine’s lunchtime habits
The eviction
Geraldine’s mother
The reason for Anita’s return home
Geraldine’s personal and emotional struggles during classes
Geraldine’s response to her English teacher’s assignment
Mrs. Scott’s reaction to Geraldine
A surprising realization
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement the short story “The Kiss” by Anton Chekhov. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: affirm, ardor, benevolently, cumbersome, desultory, diffidence, doff, hasten, hasty, hearty, heedless, idle, incredulously, inveigle, ironical, irresolution, joviality, morose, mournful, mutter, obscure, pensive, piously, satiety, superfluity, temerity, timid, traverse, vague, verst, and weary.
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 on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story “The Heavenly Christmas Tree,” otherwise known as “The Beggar Boy at Christ’s Christmas Tree.” The assessment may double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with fiction. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The narrator’s identity
The young boy’s living conditions
A reason for wandering
The boy’s bold decision
The adults’ general reaction to the boy
External conflicts
What the boy hears beside the wood stack
A significant invitation
A devastating discovery
The narrator’s perspective on the story he tells
Support vocabulary development and enhance reading comprehension with this set of games and activities to complement Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story “The Heavenly Christmas Tree,” otherwise known as “The Beggar Boy at Christ’s Christmas Tree.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: amuse, clang, dullness, dusk, famine, fancy, kindle, kopeck, morsel, porter, rheumatism, shutter, and wretched.
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 short story “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Vincent Benet. A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, 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: abide, adduce, ailing, blight, contempt, decry, glower, hanker, miser, mutter, plead, renegade, shudder, spry, and swoon.
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 Grimm’s fairy tale “Cinderella.” A crossword puzzle, a word search activity, a vocabulary application worksheet, the short story, and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats.
Specifically, the following vocabulary terms are addressed: afresh, alight, betrothed, clamber, nimbly, obliged, pious, stratagem, stunted, tame, thicket, weary, and whir.
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 on the short story “The Kiss” by Anton Chekhov. The assessment may double as a guided reading handout 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:
The protagonist’s job
The characterization of primary and secondary characters
The nature of the protagonist’s invitation
The location of the titular kiss
The effects of the kiss on each person
Factors contributing to the protagonist’s negative self-reflection
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz on the short story “The Burglar’s Christmas” by Willa Cather. The assessment may double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with fiction. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Setting
The protagonist’s name
The protagonist’s backstory
An acquaintance’s concern for the protagonist
The protagonist’s epiphany about his life circumstances
The nature of the dialogue between the protagonist and a young woman
The protagonist’s behavior inside the mansion
Dimly familiar objects
The owners of the mansion
The protagonist’s assessment of his past
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz covering “The Interlopers” by Saki. This resource may double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with fiction. An answer key and copy of the public domain narrative are included. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The story’s setting
The story’s point of view
A legal judgment and corresponding conflict
A secret wish
The encounter between Ulrich and Georg
A complication
A major realization and sudden friendship
The resolution
The title’s significance
Help learners go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and dramatic craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering Act 3, scene 3, of William Shakespeare’s Othello. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will:
Identify what the text states explicitly as well as implicitly
Utilize dictionaries to ensure knowledge of word meanings
Infer the intended effects of Shakespeare’s word choices and dramatic techniques
Describe tone in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including dramatic irony, verbal irony, situational irony, and metaphor
Support ideas and claims with relevant textual evidence
Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss works of Shakespeare