Literature

Reporter holds out microphone for an interview

Interview with a Character (ELA Activity)

There are so many more interesting methods to writing a character analysis than writing an analysis paragraph. Oftentimes, English or language arts teachers forget that there is creativity in language and we should embrace it while also staying on track to grade based on our standards or curriculum...

5 different book covers

5 Books I've Slept On

We've all been there– you hear endless praise for a book and buy it, fully intending to learn what all the hype is about. But then it sits on your TBR shelf for months collecting dust.

Four students sit around a book and discuss its contents

Active Reading Notes & Purpose Statement

Whether teaching literature or rhetoric, close reading is an essential and often difficult skill to teach. This note-taking system, which is a modification of the Cornell note system, helps students slow down and examine a text closely through a structured approach that requires them to summarize...

Graphic organizer showing the different parts of a narrative plot: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

Interactive Plot Map

Carmel McDonald walks you through how she walks her middle school ELA students through narrative structure with an interactive plot map. Download her worksheet below!