Creative ELA Teaching Strategies

Looking for an alternative to the classic argument essay? Try this high-engagement lesson that leverages student creativity, humor, and design thinking to explore claim, evidence, and counterclaim.

Tips for how to create learning stations for older students #LearningStations #MovementintheClassroom #MiddleSchoolELA #HighSchoolELA

Transform your Great Gatsby unit with these creative student projects! From a visual storyboard and a themed digital blackout project to an open mind one-pager, these activities promote critical thinking and close reading skills. Perfect for English teachers seeking fresh, interactive ways to help students explore the themes and characters of The Great Gatsby. Discover more project ideas now! #TeachingEnglish #LiteracyActivities

Try this colorful character analysis project to explore characterization in the middle of any novel, or save it as a summative. Print these ten templates and let your students choose. They'll be guided to share descriptors, relationships, development, motivations, and more for their chosen characters, using quotes, their own words, and connecting visuals to represent their chosen character.

Check out these twenty-one ways to bring creativity into your ELA classroom today. Whether you’re a new teacher or experienced teacher trying to shake off the strain and exhaustion of the pandemic, be sure to bookmark this post as a go-to for when you need a new idea for a great day in class. A day that’s different. For almost every activity, there’s either a ready-to-go resource you can grab or a blog post or podcast to walk you through it. #creativeela #iteachela

Get students thinking deeply about theme, character, and symbolism with these unique ELA projects. They’ll love the freedom to explore big ideas with assignments that feel modern, relevant, and fun. \

Librarians can help classroom teachers in so many ways, and classroom teachers can return the favor by reminding kids they can always go further than the classroom library to the larger collection at the school or local library, and tap into their librarian’s intricate knowledge of the collection to find even more books to love. Click through to read about the power of this collaboration.

Inspire your students to craft powerful six word memoirs using these creative writing templates. From identity to literary characters, this writing activity strengthens voice, analysis, and genre understanding in secondary ELA.

Tired of students dreading essays? These real-world argumentative writing prompts spark genuine interest while teaching essential skills like claim, evidence, and analysis. Includes peer editing checklist, rubric, and opportunities to write for authentic audiences like school leaders, newspapers, or parents. #argumentwriting #realworldwriting #writingprompts

Looking for meaningful ways to teach A Christmas Carol in your middle or high school ELA classroom? These five creative projects help students explore theme, character development, and historical context with hands-on, engaging lessons. Perfect for December ELA units, these activities make Dickens feel fresh and relevant. #achristmascarol #secondaryELA #englishteacherideas

Introduce creative analysis without the prep overload. These short hexagonal thinking ideas will quickly become your go-to toolkit. #ELAclassroomtips #secondaryteacher #lessonplanninghelp

Media literacy is a key component to a balanced literacy program. It is the ability to think critically about the media sources people interact with daily. Read my 5 top reasons why teaching media literacy is important. #medialiteracy #media #balancedliteracy #englishlanguagearts #lessonplans

Engage your Snapchat-loving students with Booksnaps. This activity combines choice reading with digital annotation, giving students a fresh, fun way to show their understanding of a text. ​#secondaryELA #ELAactivities #booksnapsclassroom #digitalELA #ELAresources

Celebrate Poetry Month with a vibrant toolkit of creative poetry activities designed to inspire your ELA classroom. From poetry collages and blackout poetry to I Am From poems and colorful annotation projects, this collection offers engaging ways to explore and teach poetry. Perfect for classrooms looking to energize their poetry units with fun, interactive lessons. Learn more and bring creativity to your poetry teaching today! #poetryactivities #ELAteaching

Tune in to our latest podcast featuring Abby Gross from Write on with Miss G, sharing practical tips for creating thriving Choice Reading Programs in middle school ELA. Discover how to build a classroom library, organize book trailers, and run engaging hybrid book tastings. Perfect for teachers looking to foster student curiosity, independent reading, and literacy joy. Listen now for valuable classroom reading strategies! #ELA #ReadingPrograms