English Language Arts Teaching Resources
Explore English Language Arts (ELA) activities, worksheets, games and more teaching resources created by teachers for teachers just like you! You'll find ELA resources aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and ELAR resources that align to TEKS.
This collection of teacher-created resources for elementary and middle school teachers was designed with students and teachers in mind, including differentiated activities and worksheets ready to print and add to your lesson plan.
Each game, activity and more have undergone a careful review by a member of our ELA teaching team to ensure it's classroom — and student — ready.
What Is ELA in Education?
In most educational instances, ELA stands for English Language Arts, the subject that encompasses reading, writing, speaking, listening and language skills development in American schools.
ELA curriculum standards vary from state to state and even school district to school district, but they typically include instruction in the following areas:
1. Reading
In ELA classes, students learn to read, understand and interpret a variety of texts, including fiction and non-fiction. They develop reading comprehension skills such as identifying main ideas and making inferences while building their understanding of vocabulary.
2. Writing
As they progress through elementary and middle school, students learn the skills they need for effective written communication by learning to create types of texts — such as narratives and persuasive essays, research papers, and descriptive pieces.
They also learn to organize their ideas, use proper grammar and punctuation and refine their writing through revision and editing.
3. Speaking and Listening
While English instruction in the US was once heavily focused on grammar and reading comprehension, education experts saw a call to move toward a more student-centered means of teaching that paved the way to today's ELA curriculum ... and to the inclusion of oral communication as a focus in the curriculum.
Through speaking and listening activities, kids learn to express themselves clearly, listen actively, ask questions, participate in discussions and deliver presentations. They also learn to articulate their thoughts and understand different perspectives while developing their critical thinking abilities.
4. Language
Finally, students study grammar, vocabulary and syntax to enhance their understanding of English and how it should be used.
The curriculum includes proper sentence structure, word choice, spelling and punctuation rules. Language instruction also includes figurative language, idioms and understanding context.
ELA as English Language Acquisition
You may have noticed that we said ELA stands for English Language Arts in most educational instances. So, what else can it stand for?
In some schools, ELA is the abbreviation used for English Language Acquisition, and it's the name given to programs created to help English language learners as they tackle the language.
This form of ELA has marked similarities with the ELA described above, as it focuses on helping students build oral, reading and writing skills. However, there are distinct differences as one focuses on educating native speakers and the other on ELL students.
English vs. Language Arts — Why Is English Called Language Arts?
Some of your students may have parents who remember attending English classes as children but are unfamiliar with the concept of English language arts.
How do you explain the difference to them?
The fact is, some districts may well use the term English for what another district terms "English language arts." In other places, the two refer to very different concepts. In many areas, English is the name for courses taught on a high school level, while English language arts applies to elementary level work.
To explain why their children are enrolled in language arts coursework, it may be helpful to break down the various components of language arts — as we have done above — and their role in students' literacy growth.
What Is ELAR?
ELAR stands for English Language Arts and Reading. While much of the country's schools follow an ELA curriculum, ELAR is unique to Texas, where ELAR is an integrated subject that combines the study of language arts skills with the development of reading abilities.
This collection includes hundreds of ELAR activities, aligned directly with TEKS standards to ensure Texas teachers have everything they need for their lesson plans.
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Human Histories: World Explorers – Comprehension Worksheet
A free comprehension worksheet paired with an informational text about world explorers.
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Phoneme Segmentation Worksheets - CVCC/CCVC Words
Use this worksheet pack to give students practice at segmenting words into phonemes.
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Fall Color by Part of Speech - Nouns and Verbs Worksheet
Use this fall color by part of speech worksheet to review nouns and verbs.
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Greek and Latin Roots Practice Worksheet Bundle
Practice using vocabulary containing Greek roots and Latin roots with 24 weekly root word practice worksheets.
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I Can Follow the Rules at School – Mini-Book
Use this mini-book to review or introduce school and classroom rules to your primary students.
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Positional Words for Kindergarten – Interactive Clip Cards
Teach positional words for kindergarten with these interactive digital clip cards, designed to help young learners master prepositions.
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When I Grow Up - Kindergarten Graduation Writing and Craft Activity
Encourage your kindergarten graduates to write about their dreams while creating a “When I Grow Up” classroom display.
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Summer Reading Challenge Calendar
Inspire your students to read during the summer with a versatile reading challenge.
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Grammar Grid Mystery Picture Worksheet- Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives (Bunny)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Positional Words Worksheets – Where Is the Dinosaur?
Download this differentiated set of dinosaur-themed positional words worksheets, designed to support learners at different levels.
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Capitalization Task Cards (Grades 2-3)
Reinforce capitalization for proper nouns, the pronoun ‘I,’ and the beginning of sentences in text with this set of 24 task cards (extension included).
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Find It! - Sight Word Worksheets
Make your sight word instruction fun with this word search puzzle.
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S.W.B.S.T. Summarizing Graphic Organizer
Use this printable SWBST strategy graphic organizer with students to write a summary for a fictional piece of text.
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Brainstorming Template - A Favorite Memory With...
A template for brainstorming favorite memories.
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Using Clues to Determine Meaning Worksheet
Practice defining unfamiliar words by looking for context clues within a sentence.
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Grade 4 Daily Warm-Up – PowerPoint 1
A 70-slide PowerPoint presentation containing a variety of quick warm-up activities.
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Move It! - Long and Short Vowel 'A' PowerPoint Game
An active PowerPoint game to practice reading and identifying long and short vowel 'a' words.
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Biography Timeline Worksheet
Download this biography timeline template to help students organize key life events for a person's biography with a clear, structured format.
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Sight Word BINGO (Fry Word List 201-300)
Practice learning sight words 201-300 on the Fry Sight Word List with our set of 22 Sight Words Bingo cards.
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Inquiry Project - Template
A diverse template to help students craft inquiry questions to produce different types of research projects.
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Alliteration Poster For Young Students
A poster to use with young students when teaching alliteration.
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Last One Standing Active Game
An active game that allows students to build their vocabulary knowledge.
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Design Your Own Book Cover Worksheet
Design a new book cover and summarise a book using this one-page, printable template.
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My Ideal World – Writing Template
A template for students to use when writing about their ideal world.
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Bowling Game - CVC Words
Bowl your way through reading 36 CVC words!
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Initial Sounds Worksheet
A worksheet to practice beginning sounds.
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Final 'e' Picture Puzzle - a_e
Practice decoding words with long "a" vowel sounds and final "e" conventions with this 15-piece picture puzzle.
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Weekend Narrative Writing Worksheet
Practice writing personal narratives with your young students with this writing template.
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Persuasive Speech Project
Use this persuasive speech project to guide your students through the process of researching and constructing a persuasive speech about a significant global issue.
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Would You Rather...? Question Cards
Would You Rather use this set of 31 question cards or eat a can of worms?
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My Mini Book Report
Have students write about their favorite literature with this fun-sized mini-book.
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Identifying Parts of Speech (Nouns, Adjectives, Verbs and Adverbs) Worksheet Pack
Practice identifying nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs in text with this set of worksheets.
- English Language Arts Worksheets
- English Language Arts Games
- English Language Arts Templates
- English Language Arts Posters
- English Language Arts Flashcards
- English Language Arts Word Walls
- English Language Arts Projects
- English Language Arts for Pre-K
- English Language Arts for Kindergarten
- English Language Arts for 1st Grade
- English Language Arts for 2nd Grade
- English Language Arts for 3rd Grade
- English Language Arts for 4th Grade
- English Language Arts for 5th Grade
- English Language Arts for 6th Grade
- English Language Arts for 7th Grade