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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Procedural Writing Flipbook
Get your students to write a procedure text using this easy-to-compile flipbook scaffold.
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Nouns, Proper Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs and Conjunctions Posters
Enhance student understanding of the 8 parts of speech with these colorful, informative, and easily-referenced grammar wall posters for the classroom covering nouns, verbs and more!
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Fluency Reading Passage Pack - Grade 1
Assess student fluency with a printable pack of reading fluency passages for 1st grade.
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Summarizing Fiction Task Cards
Guide students along their summarizing journey with this set of Fiction texts on task cards for students to summarize.
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Summarizing Teaching Slides
Teach students all about summarizing with 15 teaching slides of summarizing goodness.
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Emotive Language Cloze Passage Worksheet
Get students using emotive language examples in their persuasive essays with this differentiated cloze passage worksheet.
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Summarizing Nonfiction Task Cards
Guide students along their summarizing journey with this set of nonfiction texts on task cards for students to summarize.
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Summarizing Fiction Slide Deck
Build summarizing skills with fiction texts using these teaching slides.
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Statement, Question, Command, Exclamation – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify statement, command, question, and exclamation sentences with a Types of Sentences Cut and Paste worksheet for 2nd grade.
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EE, EA and EY Vowel Team Lesson Resource Pack
Introduce students to EE, EA and EY vowel digraphs with this set of teaching slides and mini activity book.
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Inference Pictures – Digital Question Pack
Download this set of captivating pictures and thought-provoking questions designed to challenge students’ inference-making abilities.
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Weathering and Erosion – RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Combine reading, writing and science with two worksheets about weathering and erosion using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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Firefighter Report Writing – Fact File Activity Pack
Engage your class with firefighter report writing activities that combine expository writing practice with real-world learning about community helpers.
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Word Study Lists – Homophones
Introduce your students to the most common homophones with these two sets of comprehensive word lists.
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Digraph Coding Robot Mat
Practice identifying digraphs with the help of a coding robot and mat.
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Interview Shuffle — Classroom Community Building Interactive Slides
Help your students get to know each other with a Back to School Interview Shuffle icebreaker activity.
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Team Building Games – Upper Grades
Encourage communication and cooperation with this set of 10 team-building games.
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Read the Room - Classroom School Supply Labels With Pictures
Label where school supplies and equipment are housed in your classroom with free printable classroom labels with pictures.
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Main Idea and Details Mini-Book
Practice identifying the main idea and supporting ideas in a variety of texts by completing this mini-book.
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Main Idea Task Cards
Practice finding the main idea and supporting detail in a passage with these task cards.
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Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the role of producers, consumers and decomposers within ecosystems with this comprehension task.
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Listening to Others – Discussion Task Cards and Poster
Give students the opportunity to work on their listening skills and learn what it means to be a good listener with this set of 42 discussion cards and classroom poster.
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Main Idea and Details Worksheets
Practice finding the main idea and supporting detail with this pack of main idea worksheets.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Comprehension Worksheets
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioral and physiological adaptations.
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Finding The Main Idea - Comprehension Task (Turtles)
A task to use when teaching your students reading comprehension strategies.
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Main Idea or Supporting Detail – Sorting Activity
An activity for students to determine which of 2 related facts is a main idea and which is a supporting detail.
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Prefix Mini-Anchor Charts
Give your students a visual reminder of the meanings of 36 different prefixes with a printable set of miniature prefix anchor charts.
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Persuasive Words – Modality Word Wall with Information
Immerse your students in high, medium and low modality words with this set of 56 word wall cards.
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Objects in the Sky – Vocabulary Cards and Writing Templates
Create a vocabulary and writing center with a word wall and writing templates that cover objects in the sky.
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Synonym Task Cards
Build vocabulary and recognition of synonyms with a set of Synonym task cards.
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Cursive Worksheets - Days, Months, Colors, Numbers
Trace and write days of the week, months of the year, number words, and color words in cursive.
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Daily Vocabulary Dive - Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet
Give your students a daily dose of synonym and antonym review with a 5-day vocabulary warm-up worksheet.
- 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