Language and Writing Ideas
MLK in ELA: Reading & Writing About Martin Luther King, Jr.
Honoring MLK in ELA really is a no-brainer because there's a prolific amount of passionate writing you can find that's been written by, and about, Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a fantastic...
The New Year in ELA: Ideas for Reading & Writing in January
The New Year in ELA means new opportunities for reading and writing! Get your students pumped by providing activities that get them to embrace a growth mindset, develop a vision for the upcoming...
Winter Fun in ELA
It's that time of year when there's a nip in the air and a palpable sense of anticipation for all that winter brings. Not only are your students getting antsy, but so are you. Y'all just can't wait...
Fall in ELA: 20 Ideas for Reading & Writing in Autumn
Once your students return to school in the fall, it's time to grab their attention and get them excited about reading and writing again! Fall in ELA is perfect for reading and writing because there...
15 End-of-the-School-Year ELA Activities
With summer approaching, this can be a challenging time to keep students engaged, or merely paying attention at all! What with tests behind them, feeling worn out by another crazy year, and counting...
St. Patrick’s Day in ELA – Ideas for Reading & Writing in March
It's your lucky day in ELA! That's because St. Patrick's Day is one more opportunity to incorporate an engaging, fun, multicultural topic into English language arts. It's another chance to set a...
Valentine’s Day in ELA: Ideas for Reading and Writing ALL February
I've written blog posts about the importance of setting a good feeling tone in the classroom, making learning fun, and affective learning (find out why it's the most effective learning of all). This...
20 Idioms About Love and the Heart
An idiom is a saying that began long ago, persisted in our culture, and can confuse you if you take it literally. It makes sense that there are many idioms about love. But, do you ever wonder why...
“The Hill We Climb” Poem in English Language Arts
I am not touching politics here or now with a ten-foot pole, but I will say that the Biden Administration employing a poet laureate, 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, creates opportunities in your ELA...
3 Funny Christmas Holiday Rhymes in ELA
All across the nation, just before winter break, teachers are scrambling to find last-minute activities that lightheartedly combine ELA skills and holiday anticipation. Here's an idea: have students...
Humongous List of 500 Character Trait Words
We all have character traits formed by a combination of behavior, attitude, upbringing, genetics, mood, practice, trauma, praise, social skills, education, and more. We don’t display them at all...
Analyzing Characterization 6 Ways in 6 Stories With 6 Characters
In literature, there are flat characters and there are round characters. No, I'm not talking about Flat Stanley and Humpty Dumpty (lol). I'm talking about the generic characters whose depths of...
Character Attribute Web Reading Literature Activity
New feature image A wonderful way to delve into character analysis! Really gets students of all ages to think about what a character is truly made of. For example, this simple web can help a student...
Figurative Language Fun Reading and Writing
Who likes figurative language? Everybody does! (That's hyperbole.) The great thing about it is you can say something is something it's not and get away with it (using a metaphor)! When you're at a...
10 Graphic Organizers for Reluctant Readers and Writers
Sometimes it just takes one simple thing to get reluctant readers and writers motivated to start their task. That one simple thing could be a fun, creative graphic organizer. So simple, yet so...
10 Great Ways for Students to Research and Present Information
This year, when you are looking for ideas that go beyond the boring book report or essay, but you still want students to read informational text and present what they learned, try one of these ten...
How Chameleons Change Colors: An ELA Literacy in Science Lesson
This fun lesson combines science and ELA (a.k.a. literacy in science). Students read about why and how chameleons change color. They explain why chameleons change color in their own words. They make...
Writing About Me Symbolically
Sometimes it just feels good to write about yourself. The introspection is therapeutic. But it can also be difficult. That's when figurative language saves the day. For example, similes allow you to...
Back to School Writing Activities for English Language Arts
As the 2022 school year starts, you have three wishes: 1) You want students to like your class and look forward to the year with you. 2) You want students to get acquainted with each other and with...
Writing a Poem from a Character’s Point of View
An excellent way to get students to really immerse themselves into a character’s point of view is to have them write a “Five Senses Poem” from the point of view of that character. In this post, I...