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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Main Idea Task Cards
Practice finding the main idea and supporting detail in a passage with these task cards.
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Main Idea and Details - Interactive Clip Cards
Practice identifying the main idea with these interactive clip cards.
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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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Finding the Main Idea - Graphic Organizer Templates
Teach students how to find the main idea of a text using one of these one-page graphic organizers.
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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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Earth, Sun, and Moon – Comprehension Worksheet
Read about and compare physical characteristics of the Eath, sun, and moon with this reading comprehension sheet.
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Greek and Latin Root Word Rummy - Card Game
Explore Greek and Latin roots, words, and meanings with this hands-on card game.
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Earth Day - Acrostic Poem Template Pack
An acrostic poem template pack to use in the classroom to celebrate Earth Day and National Poetry Month.
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Classroom Book Tasting Resource Pack
Introduce your students to new book genres with an exciting food-truck-themed “Book Tasting” classroom transformation.
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Types of Figurative Language - Worksheet
Practice identifying and creating examples of figurative language with this printable worksheet.
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Word Chain Mazes - Worksheets
Color a path through the maze by identifying the changing phoneme to create a continuous word chain.
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Sloth Story Starters - Animal Writing Prompts
Help students get over writers’ block with these cute sloth-themed writing prompts.
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Phoneme Segmentation Task Cards
Segment beginning, middle vowel, and final phonemes with this set of 20 CVC word task cards.
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Holiday Worksheet - Easter Sentences
Build and write sentences about Easter sentence-building worksheets.
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Using Possessive Nouns - Task Cards
Practice writing phrases using the correct singular or plural possessive noun with a set of task cards.
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Rhyming Word Cards
Reinforce students' knowledge of rhyming words with this set of 30 picture cards.
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George Washington Comprehension Worksheet - Primary Grades
Read and learn about the father of our country, George Washington, with a reading passage and comprehension questions.
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Forms of Poetry Teaching Slides
Explore the different forms of poetry with your students using this comprehensive and age-appropriate slide deck.
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Alphabet Playdough Mats for Fine Motor Development
A set of alphabet playdough letter mats to help children develop their fine motor skills and identify the letters of the alphabet.
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The Water Cycle – Reading Comprehension Worksheet
Enhance your students’ comprehension and science vocabulary skills with this water cycle worksheet.
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Identifying Character Traits Interactive Activity
Get your students identifying character traits with this engaging digital quiz that helps students understand how language reveals personality in writing.
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How to be a Good Citizen - Problem Solving Activity
Build good citizenship behaviors and enhance problem-solving skills with a task card writing activity.
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The Pony Express Worksheet- Comprehension Passage
Teach your students how to write a constructed response paragraph and integrate grade level Social studies concepts with a free Pony Express worksheet and ten-question comprehension assessment.
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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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Describe a Story Setting Worksheets
Download these engaging story setting worksheets that help students brainstorm descriptive language and write vivid setting descriptions with ease.
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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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Biography Anchor Chart with Annotations
Use this biography anchor chart to introduce your students to the structure and language features of biography writing through an annotated example.
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Persuasive Writing Bump It Up Wall – Grade 5
Help your 5th-grade students "bump up" their persuasive writing with this bulletin board display.
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Cursive Practice - Sentences
A set of 6 sheets to practice writing sentences in cursive.
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Five Senses Poem Poster and Template
Use this five senses poem example and accompanying template to teach your students how to write a sensory poem.
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Narrative Setting Craft Templates
A set of circular diorama templates that combine to create three scenes.
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Literary Plot Elements - Graphic Organizer
Familiarize students with finding the 5 elements of plot in a literary text.
- 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