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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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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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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Grammar Grid Mystery Picture Worksheet- Nouns, Verbs, Adjectives (Bunny)
Follow the color-coded parts of speech guide to fill in the word grid and reveal a mystery image.
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Alphabet Matching Caterpillar Activity
A vibrant and fun activity to teach lowercase and uppercase to young children.
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Compound Word List Resource Pack
Introduce your students to different levels and types of compound words with a pack of printable compound word lists.
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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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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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Roll and Read – Sight Words – Kindergarten
A fun game for students to practice reading sight words.
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Library Scavenger Hunt for Upper Elementary Grades
Explore the school library with a scavenger hunt!
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Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences Poster
A poster to display in the classroom showing the components of a sentence.
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Baby Animals Reading Worksheets - 1st Grade
Learn about animals and their babies with a pack of printable Animal Babies Reading Worksheets for 1st grade.
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Consonant Digraph Cut-and-Paste Worksheets
Reinforce your students' knowledge of consonant digraphs with this set of cut-and-paste worksheets.
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Reading Response Template – Inferring and Predicting
Guide your students to make inferences and predictions with a piece of text using the one-page template.
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Writing the Alphabet - Handwriting Poster
A poster to assist students when learning how to form letters.
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Th Word List and Digraph Flashcards
Practice reading and spelling words with the Digraph TH with a list of 50 words and accompanying illustrated flash cards.
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Add It In - Listen and Draw Active Listening Activity
Practice following directions to color and draw pictures with a printable listening activity worksheet pack.
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Adding Suffixes - Vocabulary Worksheet
Review concepts related to suffixes with a printable grammar worksheet.
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Recycling Writing Prompts - Earth Day Worksheets
Differentiate writing instruction in primary grades with informational writing prompts about recycling and conservation.
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Daily Vocabulary Dive - Synonyms and Antonyms Worksheet
Give your students a daily dose of synonym and antonym review with a 5-day vocabulary warm-up worksheet.
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OW and OU Words - Word Search
Explore "ou" and "ow" words with this set of differentiated word searches.
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Free Author's Purpose Worksheets
Assess reading comprehension by reviewing 3 short passages and answering questions about the author's purpose.
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Author's Purpose Anchor Chart
A poster highlighting the three main reasons an author writes a piece of text - to persuade, to inform, to entertain.
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Exploring Figurative Language in Poetry Workbook
Teach your upper elementary and middle school students to read, analyze, and discuss poetry with a printable and digital poetry workbook.
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A Book a Day Keeps the Monsters Away! — Bulletin Board Set
Print a monsters and reading-themed bulletin board bundle perfect for Halloween!
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The Pony Express - Comprehension Passage Worksheet
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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Color by Sight Words - 5 Words - Bee
A fun coloring activity to use when working with sight words.
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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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Design Your Own Book Cover Worksheet
Design a new book cover and summarise a book using this one-page, printable template.
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Novel Study – Chapter Summary Worksheet
Reflect on a chapter in a class novel using this one-page worksheet.
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Narrative Writing Planning Template
A template for students to use when planning a narrative text.
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Simile and Metaphor Self-Portrait Worksheet
Teach students about similes and metaphors by asking them to describe... themselves!
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Imaginative, Opinion and Informative Paragraphs PowerPoint
A 22 slide editable PowerPoint Template to use when teaching your students about the structure of imaginative, opinion and informative paragraphs.
- 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