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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Propositional Phrase as an Adverb Worksheets
Download this engaging pack of 5 worksheets to teach your 4th-grade students how to use the prepositional phrase as an adverb.
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Prepositional Phrases in Context Worksheet Pack
Download this prepositional phrase worksheet pack set to help students identify, analyze and confidently use prepositional phrases in real writing contexts.
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Inference Clip Cards Activity
Use this set of inference peg cards to have students practice looking at an image and making an inference based on prior knowledge.
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Inference Cut and Paste Worksheet
Use this cut-and-paste worksheet to practice inferring using images with your early reader.
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Predicting and Inferring Poster Set - Early Grades
Use this simple set of Making Predictions and Inferencing posters to help students understand and learn the difference between these two important reading skills.
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Making and Checking Prediction Graphic Organizer Pack
Use these making and checking predictions templates with your early years students to help with predictions before, during and after reading.
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Reading Response Templates - Complete Journal
A reading response journal for students to use to engage with text in meaningful and purposeful ways.
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Inferencing With Pictures Digital Activity
Use this inferencing with pictures digital activity when encouraging students to use their inferencing skills.
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Compound Sentence Strip Activity
Use these simple sentences and coordinating conjunctions to help students practice forming compound sentences.
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Making Inferences Picture Cards Activity
Use these Making Inference picture cards activity to match text with images and infer meaning using visual details.
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Story Elements Flipbook
Teach your students about story elements with this double-sided flipbook.
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Capitals and Punctuation Interactive Game
Use this soccer-themed punctuation digital game to allow students to practice simple punctuation such as full stops, question marks, exclamation marks and capital letters.
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Nouns Worksheet Pack
Use these noun worksheets to support students in identifying and using nouns within sentences.
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Explanation Report Text Examples and Worksheet Pack
Use this set of explanation text examples and analysis worksheets to help students identify and apply key features of explanation texts.
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Shades of Meaning in Nouns Worksheet Pack
Elevate student vocabulary with a noun worksheet pack that helps learners explore shades of meaning and choose more precise words in their writing.
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Parts of Speech Fill-in-the-Blanks Worksheets
Use this set of fun fill-in-the-blanks mad lib parts of speech worksheets to explore parts of speech in a fun way.
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Shades of Meaning in Adverbs Worksheet Pack
Use this adverbs worksheet pack to help students explore the subtle shades of meaning in words and confidently choose precise language in their writing.
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Shades of Meaning in Adjectives Worksheet Pack
Enhance your students’ vocabulary choices with this adjectives worksheet pack, designed to help your students explore the subtle differences in words.
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Shades of Meaning in Antonyms Worksheet Pack
Use this antonyms worksheet pack to teach your students about three different types of antonyms: binary, gradable and relational.
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Digital Verb Tenses Quiz
Download this verb tenses quiz to test your students’ ability to identify past, present and future verbs in sentences.
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Information Report Text Examples and Worksheet Pack
Use this set of 5 information report text examples and 2 targeted worksheets to support your students in breaking down and understanding informative writing.
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Explanation Text Poster Pack
Use this Explanation Text poster set with your students to clearly show the structure and text elements of an explanation text.
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Verb Groups Worksheet Pack
Explore verb groups and the words that surround verbs in sentences with this set of verb group worksheets.
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Future Tense Worksheet Pack
Use this future tense worksheet pack to help your students identify and use future tense verb forms in a variety of contexts.
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Present Tense Verbs Worksheets
Use these present tense verbs worksheets to help your students identify and use present tense verb forms in a variety of contexts.
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Past Tense Verbs Worksheets
Use these past tense verbs worksheets to help your students identify and use past tense verb forms in a variety of contexts.
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Verb Types Digital Quiz
Review verb types with your students using this engaging 20-question digital quiz, ideal for lesson warm-ups or informal assessment.
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Types of Verbs Worksheet Pack
Explore types of verbs (doing, saying, thinking, feeling, and relating) with your students with this set of 6 engaging, ready-to-use worksheets.
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Exploring Simple Explanations PowerPoint
Use this Exploring Simple Explanations PowerPoint to teach your students about what explanation texts are, why they are written, and how they are structured.
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Life Cycle Explanation Project Writing Scaffold Pack
Use this project including life cycles and explanation planning templates when exploring explanations with your early years students.
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Analyzing Informational Text Worksheets
Use these informational text worksheets and information text examples with your year 1 and Year 2 students to analysis text features and language features of informative texts.
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Noun and Verb Sort Worksheet Set
Use this set of noun and verb sorting worksheets for students to practise identifying nouns and verbs.
- 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