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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2nd Grade Reading Passage & Worksheet- Being a Good Pet Parent
Print a 2nd grade reading comprehension passage and worksheet to teach comprehension skills and learn about being a good pet parent by limiting pets' impact on ecosystems.
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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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Consonant Digraph CH Interactive Activity
Engage students in practicing their learning around the consonant digraph of ‘ch’ with this fun beach-themed interactive activity.
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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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Nonfiction Text Features Study Guide
Download this list of text feature examples to teach your students about the purpose of these important textual elements.
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Making Inferences With Pictures Worksheet
Guide your students to use pictures to make inferences with this reading worksheet.
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Movie Day Activity Menu
Turn a movie day into a learning experience with our printable Movie Day Comprehension menu.
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Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences Worksheets
Use this set of five grammar worksheets to teach about the structures of simple, compound and complex sentences.
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ABC's of Gratefulness - A to Z Gratitude List
Make a list of things to be grateful for with a printable A to Z gratitude list template.
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Veterans Day Vocabulary Cards and Writing Center
Help your kindergartners and first graders understand the meaning of Veterans Day with a Veterans Day Write the Room display.
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Adverbs for 2nd Graders – Worksheet Pack
Adverb practice doesn't have to be a struggle. Use these worksheets for 2nd graders in your classroom.
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Adverbs and Adjectives Interactive Activity
Share this interactive drag-and-drop activity with your students to allow them to practice the correct use of adverbs and adjectives in the English language.
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Adjectives and Adverbs Worksheets (Silly Stories)
Have fun with your students creating silly stories together while teaching and learning about parts of speech (adverbs and adjectives)!
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Writing the Alphabet - Handwriting Worksheet
Practice penmanship by tracing and writing uppercase and lowercase letters.
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Letters A–Z Printable ABC Worksheets
Learn the letters of the alphabet and their sounds with printable ABC worksheets
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Writing the Alphabet - Handwriting Poster
A poster to assist students when learning how to form letters.
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OREO® Opinion Writing Poster
Help students remember the structure of opinion texts with this fun OREO® acronym.
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Homophones Tarsia Puzzle
Challenge your students to identify and match pairs of homophones with this differentiated Tarsia puzzle, perfect for your primary school vocabulary lessons.
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Color by Parts of Speech Worksheet – Chameleon
Practice identifying different parts of speech with this fun color-by-code worksheet.
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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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Comparing Characters - Graphic Organizers
Encourage your students to compare story characters with this set of differentiated graphic organisers that can be used with any text.
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Main Idea and Details in Nonfiction - Interactive Activity
Help your students easily find the main idea and support details in a nonfiction text with this interactive activity.
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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 in a Literary Text Worksheet
Find the main idea and supporting story clues of a literary text passage and answer the premise comprehension questions.
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Comprehension Task Cards - Finding The Main Idea
A set of comprehension task cards to help students find the main idea when reading.
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Finding the Central Idea Worksheet
Read a short article, answer 10 comprehension questions, and use the gathered knowledge to write a central idea sentence about the text.
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Inflectional Endings - Spelling with Suffixes Worksheets
Spell words with the inflectional endings -ed, -ing, -s, -es and -ies with a pack of printable practice worksheets covering inflected endings.
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Persuasive Vocabulary Word Wall
Help your students enhance their persuasive writing skills with a set of 40 persuasive vocabulary word cards.
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Synonym and Antonym Instructional Slides
Build skills in identifying synonyms and antonyms with an interactive instructional slide deck.
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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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Roll to Create a Silly Book Title - Differentiated Writing Activity
Have some fun with a hands-on Read Across America activity using a die and chart to create a silly book title and storybook.
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Synonym Activity - Printable Puzzle Center
Print and assemble a set of synonym puzzles for your classroom reading centers.
- 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