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 Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (chapters 3 through 5). This assessment may also serve as a guided reading handout to facilitate active reading experiences. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Mustapha Mond
Bernard Marx
The friendship between Lenina and Fanny
The name of an emotion-regulating drug
Helmholtz Watson
“Big Henry”
The Solidarity Service
And more
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz addressing chapters 10, 11, and 12 of Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. This assessment may otherwise double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with literature. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Phoebe (her humor, creativity, and biggest imperfection according to Holden)
The Lavender Room
Holden’s actions in the Lavender Room (ordering drinks, flirting, etc.)
The history of Holden and Jane’s friendship
Textual evidence that supports how Holden felt closest to Jane (baseball glove)
Jane’s alcoholic father
“All you knew is you were happy”
Horwitz
Ernie’s nightclub
The significance of these chapters in terms of our understanding of Holden’s character (his loneliness and search for companionship)
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Featuring a brief passage about the events preceding Hate Week from Book 2, chapter 5, this activity may be assigned as independent homework or as a collaborative classroom exercise. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading worksheet, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings
Infer the intended effects of the author’s stylistic choices and narrative techniques
Analyze the significance of weather conditions in terms of the Party’s goals for Hate Week
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on simile
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this set of two quizzes covering Book 1, chapters 7 and 8, of George Orwell’s 1984. A multiple choice quiz and short answer option are included. Use one for post-reading comprehension checks, and use the other as a guided reading worksheet or re-assessment opportunity. Answer keys are also provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Winston’s assessment on who would best stage a revolt against the government
Winston’s reasoning behind the aforementioned assessment
The logic as to why the proles would not likely stage a revolt
Living conditions
A photograph and Winston’s concerns about it
Winston’s belief on how reality should be determined
Winston’s curiosity about actual history (not the Party-sanctioned accounts of it)
Winston’s fear over being followed
An alternative to the Thought Police’s torture
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this set of two quizzes covering Book 1, chapters 4 through 6, of George Orwell’s 1984. A multiple choice quiz and short answer option are included. Use one for post-reading comprehension checks, and use the other as a guided reading worksheet or re-assessment opportunity. Answer keys are also provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Comrade Withers
The concept of “unpersoning” someone
The purpose of Newspeak
Examples of Doublespeak
An explanation of Facecrime
Syme’s intelligence and Winston’s concerns about it
Syme’s work
Ironic messaging from the Ministry of Plenty
Winston’s diary entry
The government’s goal concerning sexual behavior
Winston’s ex-wife
Winston’s internal strife
Promote active engagement with fiction and evaluate general reading comprehension with this plot-based quiz on the short story “The Leap” by Louise Erdrich. 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:
Anna’s degenerative condition
Anna’s professional background
Events leading to Harold’s death
The means by which the narrator learned of her mother’s brush with death
Challenges Anna faced throughout life
How Anna’s choices influenced the course of her life, as well as the life of her daughter
Practical skills Anna learned while in the hospital
The reason the narrator returns home many years later
Anna’s efforts to save her daughter’s life
What the narrator learns about falling
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 students go beyond basic reading comprehension and 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 “Alicia and I Talking on Edna’s Steps.” An answer key is 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.
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
Discern the greater significance of a given detail (“I like Alicia because once she gave me a little leather purse with the word GUADALAJARA stitched on it”)
Explore how complex characters think, behave, develop, and interact
Compare two characters in the novel (Esperanza and Alicia)
Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor and paradox
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate take-home assessment planning responsibilities with this plot-based quiz addressing chapters 1 and 2 of Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. This assessment may otherwise double as a guided reading handout to facilitate active engagement with literature. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Point of view
The tone of Holden’s voice
Where Holden is at the start of the story
Holden’s family
Reason for Holden’s dismissal from Pencey Prep
Holden’s irresponsible behaviors and actions
Visiting Mr. Spencer
“Life is a game”
Mr. Spencer’s advice to Holden
Holden’s awful paper on ancient Egyptians
Holden’s lack of willingness to confront his own actions
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Featuring a brief passage about the Ministry of Truth’s mission to falsify records from Book 1, chapter 4, this activity may be assigned as independent homework or as a collaborative classroom exercise. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading worksheet, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings
Infer the intended effects of the author’s stylistic choices and narrative techniques
Discern the function of a given passage
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on euphemism
Conduct brief research to discern and articulate historical parallels to media manipulation and the falsification of records
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Featuring a brief passage about O’Brien’s explanation of the Brotherhood’s inner-workings from Book 2, chapter 8, this activity may be assigned as independent homework or as a collaborative classroom exercise. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading worksheet, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Compare aspects of the Party’s inner-workings to aspects of the Brotherhood’s inner-workings
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings
Infer the intended effects of the author’s stylistic choices and narrative techniques
Articulate what this passage reflects about George Orwell’s attitude toward rebellion against dictatorships
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including situational irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Featuring a brief passage about the Party’s definition of reality from Book 3, chapter 2, this activity may be assigned as independent homework or as a collaborative classroom exercise. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading worksheet, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings
Infer the intended effects of the author’s stylistic choices and narrative techniques
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including anaphora and situational irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Help high school students go beyond basic reading comprehension and support the development of critical thinking and literary craft analysis skills with this close reading worksheet covering George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. Featuring a brief passage about Parsons’s pitiful loyalty to the Party from Book 3, chapter 1, this activity may be assigned as independent homework or as a collaborative classroom exercise. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. By completing this close reading worksheet, students will:
Read for literal comprehension
Consult reference materials to learn and verify word meanings
Infer the intended effects of the author’s stylistic choices and narrative techniques
Determine the function of an excerpt
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Apply knowledge of literary devices including oxymoron and situational irony
Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence
Write about fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision
Come to class better prepared to discuss literature
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this set of two quizzes covering Book 3, chapters 4 through 6, of George Orwell’s 1984. A multiple choice quiz and short answer option are included. Use one for post-reading comprehension checks, and use the other as a guided reading worksheet or re-assessment opportunity. Answer keys are also provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Winston’s nightmare
Winston’s confession that he still hates the Party
Room 101
Winston’s worst nightmare and O’Brien’s most effective torture technique
Winston’s means of getting out of his torturous situation (betrayal)
A reunion at the Chestnut Tree Café
Winston’s ultimate feelings about Big Brother
News about the war
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this set of two quizzes covering Book 2, chapters 1 through 3, of George Orwell’s 1984. A multiple choice quiz and short answer option are included. Use one for post-reading comprehension checks, and use the other as a guided reading worksheet or re-assessment opportunity. Answer keys are also provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The irony of Julia’s message to Winston
Analysis of Julia’s comment: “We’re not dead yet.”
Hate Week
The prisoner transport
Winston’s reaction to Julia’s very personal admission
Primary influences on Julia’s behaviors
How the government manipulates people into frenzy
Winston’s alarming admission about his ex-wife
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this set of two quizzes covering Book 2, chapters 4 through 6, of George Orwell’s 1984. A multiple choice quiz and short answer option are included. Use one for post-reading comprehension checks, and use the other as a guided reading worksheet or re-assessment opportunity. Answer keys are also provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
The room Winston rents
Julia’s encounter with a rat
The significance of the paperweight
Winston’s imagination as he stares into the paperweight
The expected vanishing of a character
Winston’s reaction to the singing of a prole woman
The hate song and other preparations for Hate Week
Julia’s accusations against the Party
An encounter with O’Brien
O’Brien’s offer to Winston
Evaluate general reading comprehension and eliminate assessment planning responsibilities with this set of two quizzes covering Book 2, chapters 9 and 10, of George Orwell’s 1984. A multiple choice quiz and short answer option are included. Use one for post-reading comprehension checks, and use the other as a guided reading worksheet or re-assessment opportunity. Answer keys are also provided. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following:
Winston’s 90-hour work week
Oceania’s new enemy
Goldstein’s book
Crimestop
A singing prole woman
“We are the dead”
The picture on the wall and what it conceals
The sudden appearance of troops
A realization about Mr. Charrington
Incorporate more science fiction into the high school classroom and evaluate general reading comprehension with this plot-based quiz covering the short story “Flowers for Algernon” by Daniel Keyes. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. Students will demonstrate knowledge of the following aspects of plot:
The protagonist’s job
Relationships between the protagonist and various characters
How the protagonist works to improve his intelligence
The effects of a medical experiment
The protagonist’s inferences about the learning process
The resolution
And more
Help middle and high school students go beyond basic plot recall and develop close reading analysis skills with this set of high-order questions covering chapters 3 and 4 of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. This worksheet is delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, and it eliminates the need for take-home assessment planning while upholding the need for rigor in the classroom. An answer key is provided.
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.
More specifically, students will do the following:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Define challenging words and phrases as they are used in the text
Explore nuances in words with similar meanings
Discern the greater significance of given details
Determine the intended effect of the author’s stylistic choices
Examine how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Discern the tone of a given excerpt
Apply knowledge of literary devices with emphasis on slang, personification, metaphor, and simile
Explore themes in context
Help middle and high school students go beyond basic plot recall and develop close reading analysis skills with this set of high-order questions covering chapters 14 and 15 of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. This worksheet is delivered in Word Document and PDF formats, and it eliminates the need for take-home assessment planning while upholding the need for rigor in the classroom. An answer key is provided.
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.
More specifically, students will do the following:
Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
Examine nuances in words with similar meanings
Discern the greater significance and intended effects of given details
Make logical inferences about the author’s thinking in context
Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
Consider the symbolism associated with Mazer Rackham
Apply knowledge of literary devices with an emphasis on situational irony
Explore themes in context