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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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Boston Tea Party - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheet
Integrate reading, writing, and American history with a worksheet about the Boston Tea Party using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence.
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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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Holiday Code Cracker: Upper Years – Whole Class Holiday Game
A whole class, holiday-themed game where students work together to find a secret code.
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Lewis and Clark Worksheet - RACES Writing Strategy
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Drawing Conclusions and Making Inferences – Comprehension Task Cards
Use this set of comprehension task cards with your students to help them draw conclusions and make inferences when reading.
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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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Christmas Code Cracker - Primary Escape Game
Work together to crack the Christmas Code with an exciting escape game for primary grade students.
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Phonemic Awareness Cards
Use these 32 phonemic awareness cards to develop your student's phonics knowledge.
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Printable Wanted Poster Template Pack
Use a 'Wanted' poster template to encourage your students to research and write about historical figures and more!
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Rhyming Games - Snowman Match-Up
Bring a bit of snow into the classroom with a winter-themed rhyming word game for Preschool and Kindergarten.
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Amelia Earhart Constructed Response Worksheet
Use this passage, second grade writing prompt, and worksheet to help students write a constructed response paragraph about Amelia Earhart.
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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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Concepts About Print Assessment Checklists
Use these concepts of print assessment checklists to check all aspects of print are understood.
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Melted Snowman Craft Activity
Have some winter crafting fun with our Melted Snowman Craft template and writing activity.
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Poetry Analysis Worksheet Pack
Analyze and comprehend a variety of poetry types with these printable Poetry analysis worksheets.
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Poetry and Figurative Language Workbook - Poems for Middle School
Print a pack of poems with figurative language worksheets to practice poetry analysis.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Fakebook Worksheet
Design a social media profile for civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. in this creative writing activity.
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Winter Writing Prompts
Engage your students with these winter writing prompts that inspire creativity and critical thinking throughout December, January and February.
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Types of Point of View in Literature Poster
Teach the types of point of view in literature with this classroom poster that explains first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient narration.
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Five Little Firefighters Poem Retell Activity
Read and retell the ‘Five Little Firefighters’ poem with a printable chart and stick puppet characters.
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Story Map Graphic Organizer Pack
Download and use a printable Story Map Graphic Organizer to help your students make sense of story elements related to their reading.
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Adverb Worksheets PDF - Grade 1
Use this printable Adverb Worksheets PDF - Grade 1 Resource to help your little learners practice identifying adverbs.
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Compound Sentence Quiz
Assess your students ability to identify, write, and edit compound sentences with a printable Compound Sentence Quiz.
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Commas With Subordinate Clauses Worksheet
Use a Commas With Subordinate Clauses Worksheet to help your students practice comma placement in complex sentences.
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Monitoring Comprehension Strategies Text Annotations Poster
Help students monitor their comprehension with this Monitoring Comprehension Reading Strategy using text annotations.
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Word Detective Worksheet - Context Clues
Assign our Word Detective Worksheet to give your students extra practice in using context clues to find the meaning of unfamiliar words.
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Beginning Sounds Game Boards
Use these beginning sounds game boards to develop your students' letter-sound correspondence with the alphabet.
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Who Was Kiki Camarena? 3rd Grade Reading Comprehension Worksheets
Download these 3rd grade reading comprehension worksheets that explore the story of Kiki Camarena while helping students build essential literacy skills.
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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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Free Printable Lined Paper Templates
Use this free printable lined paper pack to encourage students to write and publish their work in your classroom writing station.
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Ng Digraph Words With Images
Learn words that contain the 'ng' digraph with these word and picture flashcards.
- English Language Arts Worksheets
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- English Language Arts for 1st Grade
- English Language Arts for 2nd Grade
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- English Language Arts for 7th Grade