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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Summarizing a Story Graphic Organizers
Help students remember the fundamentals of summarizing a story with this set of fun graphic organizers.
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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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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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Time Order Words - Transition Words Word Wall
Help your students demonstrate the passage of time in their writing with 35 time-order transition word cards.
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Synonym and Antonym Crossword Puzzle
Review vocabulary skills and boost your students’ knowledge of synonyms and antonyms with a crossword puzzle worksheet.
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Spring Writing Prompts for Beginning Writers
Celebrate a new season with Spring writing worksheets for primary grades.
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Henry Hudson Comprehension Worksheet
Discover famous explorers like Henry Hudson with printable reading comprehension activities.
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Springtime Sentence Building - Interactive Activity
Build a strong sentence-writing foundation with an interactive spring sentence-building activity.
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Dolch Sight Word Flash Cards
Practice the first 100 Dolch Sight Words with a deck of sight word flash cards.
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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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Multisyllable Words Google Interactive
Build multisyllable word decoding skills with upper-grade students with a Google Slides interactive activity.
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Sign Language Alphabet Poster
Display this poster in your classroom as a reminder of how to represent the letters of the alphabet when spelling words in ASL (American Sign Language).
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3-2-1 Text Reflection Template
Quickly assess your students' comprehension after reading a fictional text with this 3-2-1 reflection activity.
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Inquiry Project - Template
A diverse template to help students craft inquiry questions to produce different types of research projects.
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Author Study Flip Book – Editable Template
An editable flip book template that covers a range of topics when studying a particular author.
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Inspirational Woman Profile: Malala Yousafzai – Comprehension Worksheet
A comprehension task to use when learning about Malala Yousafzai.
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I Spy Oral Language Activity
Encourage the development of oral language with this fun "I Spy" activity.
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Before, During, and After Reading Nonfiction – Question Prompts
Question prompts and a worksheet to use when asking questions before, during, and after reading.
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Comprehension - Stop Polluting The Ocean
A comprehension activity using a persuasive text.
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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.
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Is It True? Listening Activity
Practice your students' listening skills with this listening activity.
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How to Make Fairy Bread Flipbook
Use this “How to Make Fairy Bread” procedural writing activity to help familiarize your students with the structural elements of procedure texts.
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Compound Words - Worksheet Pack
Practice using compound words in sentences with. a pair of printable compound word worksheets for older students.
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Sloth Adaptations – Comprehension Skills Worksheet
Read and comprehend nonfiction text about the adaptations of a sloth with a printable pack of reading skills worksheets.
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Giant Squid Reading Comprehension Worksheets - 5th Grade
Read and learn about the features and adaptations of the giant squid with reading comprehension worksheets for 5th grade.
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Cursive Writing Worksheets PDF - Alphabet
Practice writing the alphabet in cursive with a pack of printable cursive alphabet worksheets.
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Super Six Reading Comprehension Question Cards
Help students with six different comprehension skills with this set of super 6 comprehension task cards and mats.
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A Letter to My Teacher Activity Sheets
Get to know your students a bit better using a ‘Letter to Teacher’ template.
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Making Inferences – Birthday Activity
Teach your students how to make inferences with this birthday invitation activity.
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The Force of Friction Comprehension Worksheets
Download this friction worksheet to teach your 3rd grade students about the force of friction and its impact on our daily lives.
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Rainbow Affixes - Prefix and Suffix Game
Define words with prefixes and suffixes with a self-checking interactive game!
- 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