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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End of Year -Silly Story Worksheets
Engage your students in grammar review with a set of end-of-year Silly Stories worksheets.
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Comprehension Worksheets - The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Read and learn about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with a reading comprehension passage and worksheet pack.
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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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Summer Reading Challenge Calendar
Inspire your students to read during the summer with a versatile reading challenge.
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Simple Sentence Building Activity - Caterpillar
Use this simple sentence building activity in the form of a caterpillar to have students identify the parts of a simple sentence.
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Common Adjectives for Kids - Printable Adjective List
Print your students a list of adjectives to keep at hand when writing to help them use descriptive language.
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Alphabetical Order Activity
Support your students as they learn to organize the alphabet in order with this hands‑on, engaging activity.
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Back To School - Listening Skill Refresh Activity
Refresh student listening skills with a Back to School Listening Skill Refresh Slides and script.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages and worksheets.
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Dear Future Student – Trifold Template
Use this template with your class to write about interesting grade-level information, experiences, and tips for incoming students.
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Opinion Writing Prompts Pack
Download these opinion writing prompts to support students in planning and writing persuasive texts on a variety of age-appropriate topics.
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Word Chains Activity
Explore phoneme manipulation with simple words using this word chain activity.
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Phases of the Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Analyze different moon phases and how their visual appearances change over time with this reading comprehension worksheet.
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Dice Roll - Content Vocabulary Activity
Use our ‘Dice Roll’ Content Vocabulary Activity as an opportunity to help your students grow their vocabulary skills in the classroom.
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Free Story Prediction Worksheet
Encourage students to think critically before reading with this Story Prediction Worksheet.
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Free Blank Story Board Template Pack
Use these storyboards to help your students visually represent the key events and changes within a story.
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Prefix and Suffix Anchor Charts
Increase vocabulary skills with anchor charts about prefixes and suffixes.
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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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Back to School Today! Poem for Kids
Ease back-to-school jitters and launch your students into a love of poetry with a short poem for kids written just for the first day of school!
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Oxford Wordlist Mats - Words 1 to 354
Use this set of five Oxford Wordlist Mats as a planning tool for high frequency word activities.
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10-100 Book Challenge Reading Log Bookshelf Template
Start and track progress through your reading challenge with a fun 100 Book Challenge reading log bookshelf template!
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My Spelling Dictionary Booklet
Help young learners build their writing and spelling confidence with their very own Spelling Dictionary Booklet!
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Core Vocabulary Board - Bulletin Board Set
Ignite student interest with fun vocabulary building activities that make learning new words interactive through our core vocabulary board set for a word of the day or week routine!
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Opinion Topic Prompt Cards
A set of opinion topic cards designed specifically for lower‑grades.
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Narrative Plot Structure - Story Mountain Template
Use a story mountain template to help your students write narrative stories.
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What Are Pollinators? Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to the world of plants and pollination with a printable Pollinators Worksheet Pack.
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Word Power - Vocabulary Comic Strip Graphic Organizer
Expand your students’ vocabulary skills with a printable Vocabulary Comic Strip Graphic Organizer.
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Narrative Writing Prompts Worksheets
Download these engaging narrative writing prompts worksheets that spark creativity and make story planning easy for your students.
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Adding Suffixes - Vocabulary Worksheet
Review concepts related to suffixes with a printable grammar worksheet.
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Prefix Fun! - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Cut and paste to build words with prefixes with an fun and free prefix worksheet.
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Synonym and Antonym Crossword Puzzle
Review vocabulary skills and boost your students’ knowledge of synonyms and antonyms with a crossword puzzle worksheet.
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Poetry Match Game - Elements of Poetry Activity
Practice identifying poetic elements in examples of poems with a poetry sorting activity for fourth grade and fifth grade.
- 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