Curated OER
In Cold Blood: Cloze Procedure
What is the reading level of your language arts or English class? If you're not sure if In Cold Blood would be an appropriate reading level for your kids, give them this cloze procedure. They read the complete reading selection once, and...
Trinity University
Julius Caesar: The Power of Persuasion
"Friend, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears..." Those words begin one of the most persuasive speeches in literature. Explore the elements of persuasion in a series of lessons related to William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In addition...
Curated OER
Shakespeare Had Vampires?!
Contrary to the title, William Shakespeare did not include vampires in his plays, but this quiz covers the untimely deaths that many characters do meet. Match characters to their dying words in a multiple-choice format.
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: June 2017
Plants prefer classical music to rock and roll. That's one of the claims in an informational passage that makes up part of a set of standardized assessment questions. The set is part of a larger collection of English language arts tests...
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: August 2015
Assessing a variety of skills using numerous item types is a great way to collect data for formative and summative use. Using a challenging exam, scholars prove their comprehension and reading skills through multiple choice, task, and...
College Board
Reading—Synthesis and Paired Passages
Good readers make connections between texts. The SAT regularly assesses the ability to make those connections using paired reading passages, a topic discussed in an official SAT practice lesson plan on synthesis. During the lesson,...
EngageNY
Grade 9 ELA Module 2, Unit 2, Lesson 13
The text structure is vitally important when crafting a rise in tension. Explore Sophocles' choice to order his events in a particular sequence with a lesson about Oedipus the King. As the light of realization dawns on the characters,...
Novelinks
The Hobbit: Problematic Situation
As part of a unit study of The Hobbit, class members engage in an activity that asks group to practice the skills needed to reach consensus in a discussion.
National Endowment for the Humanities
In Emily Dickinson's Own Words: Letters and Poems
Analyze the depth and beauty of American Literature by reading Emily Dickinson's letters and poems. The class analyzes Dickinson's poetic style and discusses Thomas Wentworth Higginson's editorial relationship with Dickinson. They pay...
Shmoop
ELA.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.1
Does your ELA class need some practice with the specific skills outlined in the Common Core standards? Then this is the perfect resource for you! One in a series of connected lessons that cover the standards for reading literature,...
Prestwick House
The Grapes of Wrath
At over 450 pages, John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Grapes of Wrath can be a challenging choice for full-class, book circle, or independent reading. The activities in a 10-page sample The Grapes of Wrath activity pack...
Curated OER
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck: Chapter 1 Reading Check
Good worksheets pinpoint key events and get readers thinking about the choices writers make when crafting a story. Here's a good instructional activity. Designed to be used with the first chapter of Of Mice and Men, consider having your...
ReadWriteThink
Heroes Are Made of This: Studying the Character of Heroes
What makes heroes and villains? A six-part unit plan asks young scholars to explore the concept of heroism and the characteristics they consider heroic and unheroic. Groups create character maps that focus on how characters are shaped by...
Curated OER
Europe
In order to review language skills, students in both upper elementary and higher grades can benefit from this activity providing an exploration of information related to Europe. This 12 question activity provides a reading passage,...
Curated OER
American Life
In this American Life activity and progress test worksheet, students respond to a total of 23 short answer, true/false, multiple choice, matching, crossword puzzle, and fill in the blank questions pertaining to American Life.
Curated OER
The Way of the World By William Congreve
In this online interactive reading comprehension learning exercise, students respond to 15 multiple choice questions based on The Way of the World. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
Curated OER
Canyons: Gary Paulsen
Will your class be ready to read Canyons by Gary Paulsen? If you're unsure of their current reading level, use this cloze procedure to determine if this book is the right choice for your young readers. The blank guide and the actual text...
Curated OER
Interaction as Analysis: Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson’s “Hope is a thing with feathers” is the focus of a series of activities that model for learners how close reading can lead to understanding. The whole class plays with the metaphor, groups talk about the author’s...
Curated OER
Antony and Cleopatra: Fun Trivia Quiz
As with most Fun Trivia quizzes, this quiz focuses on the factual knowledge of the reader rather than higher-order thinking tasks such as analysis and evaluation. This quiz in particular focuses heavily on names of characters and when...
Curated OER
George Orwell 1984: Fun Trivia Quiz
Tests readers' comprehension of the plot of George Orwell's famous novel 1984. Although most questions only require the test taker to recall information about the novel's plot, some questions ask for analysis. Instant feedback and...
Curated OER
Cambridge Advanced (CAE) Use of English Practice
In this grammar worksheet, learners fill in fourteen gaps using the correct form of the word given in bold. Students read their choices and make sure each one is grammatically correct.
New York State Education Department
English Language Arts Examination: August 2017
Reading and comprehending a poem is a lot different than doing the same for a piece of fiction or an informational text. As part of a sample English language arts examination, readers put their skills to the test by reading passages in...
Curated OER
Unwind: Vocabulary Strategy, Creating an Unwind Glossary
Prior to reading Unwind, Neal Shusterman's 2007 young adult science fiction novel, class members research the common definition of words drawn from the novel that will come to have a very different meaning to them as they are drawn into...
College Board
2001 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions
Do pictures really last longer? A prompt from the 2001 AP® English Language and Composition Free-Response Questions asks scholars to analyze the opinion that photography actually limits people when it comes to understanding the world....