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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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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Suffix Mini Anchor Charts
Give your students a visual reminder of the meanings of 28 suffixes with a printable set of miniature anchor charts.
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Read the Room - Classroom 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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Roll to Create a Creature - Drawing Game
Use a die and a chart to create a creature to include in a narrative text or a comic strip.
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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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Last One Standing Active Game
An active game that allows students to build their vocabulary knowledge.
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Phoneme Spotter Story – Long 'a' Sound
A decodable text featuring various graphemes that make the long 'a' sound.
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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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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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Information Text Graphic Organizers
Get your students to plan and write informational texts with this set of 6 differentiated graphic organizers.
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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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Narrative Plot Structure - Story Mountain Template
Use a story mountain template to help your students write narrative stories.
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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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Sight Word Cards - Dolch Grade 3
Dolch Grade 3 sight words on flash cards.
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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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Color by Parts of Speech Chameleon Worksheet (Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs, Conjunctions and Pronouns)
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.
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Lewis and Clark Expedition - RACES Writing Strategy Worksheets
Practice using the RACES writing strategy for text evidence with a Lewis and Clark Passage, graphic organizer, and worksheet.
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Developing Narrative Writing Skills - 3rd & 4th Grade
Teach your students about the structure and language features of narrative texts with an engaging interactive Narrative Writing Teaching Slide Presentation.
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Making Inferences – Birthday Activity
Teach your students how to make inferences with this birthday invitation activity.
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How to Make a Monster Reading Comprehension Activity
Read and comprehend a set of instructions to create a magical monster!
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Digraph Coding Robot Mat
Practice identifying digraphs with the help of a coding robot and mat.
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Should Smartphones Be Allowed in Class? Comprehension Worksheets
Decide if cellphones should be allowed in class and boost comprehension skills with a reading passage and comprehension test.
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Prefixes and Suffixes - Gallery Walk Activity
Get your students up and moving to learn about prefixes and suffixes with an engaging gallery walk activity.
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Build a Fact File Template
Get a sense of separating fact from opinion in texts with this graphic organizer.
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Biography of a Paralympian – Inquiry-Based Project
Have your students investigate the life and achievements of a famous Paralympic athlete with this inquiry-based learning project.
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Writing the Alphabet - Handwriting Poster
A poster to assist students when learning how to form letters.
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Fall Color By Part of Speech Worksheet - Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs
Use this color by part of speech worksheet as a fun fall activity with your students.
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Note-Taking Practice Worksheets
Use this set of note-taking practice worksheets to help your students identify key facts, details and vocabulary when researching information.
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One Has to Go! Game of Elimination Icebreaker
Play ‘One Has to Go!” and engage your students in a friendly classroom debate with this Google Slides icebreaker game.
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Nonfiction Text Features Flipbook – Read and Define
Use this text features flipbook as a reading center activity to teach your students about the purpose of text features in nonfiction books.
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Plural Nouns Chart - Printable Plural Rules Guide
Give your students a reference guide to help them remember all of the different plural rules.
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Reading Is Magic! Book Review Brochure Template
Download this book review brochure template based on the theme, “Reading Is Magic.”
- English Language Arts for For Pre Kindergarten
- English Language Arts for For Kindergarten
- English Language Arts for For 1st Grade
- English Language Arts for For Grade 2
- English Language Arts for For 3rd Grade
- English Language Arts for For 4th Grade
- English Language Arts for For 5th Grade
- English Language Arts for For 6th Grade
- English Language Arts for For 7th Grade