ELA Activities for Every Month of the School Year

Every teacher needs inspiration from time to time. Often, we find that inspiration from our friends or the online teaching community. We’re happy to be part of your online network, and even if you don’t have an ELA support system in your current role, you’re not alone.

In this post, you’ll find a roundup of monthly teaching ideas for middle school and high school English Language Arts classes. For each month, we suggest 10 lessons that will engage students and help you meet important learning targets.

These activities can be used any time of year, but some of the suggestions include ideas for holidays, testing season, or other “special” occasions for when you just need a one or two-day lesson to meaningfully fill an odd time gap between units. (Or for sub days!)

As you visit each post, don’t forget to grab the free downloads!

MONTHLY ELA ACTIVITIES

August

Start off August with a solid plan to engage and connect with students! This post includes ideas for everything from email etiquette to growth mindset and from writing activities to book fit graphic organizers.

September

Wondering what to teach in September? This post spans the continuum of standards with ELA activities for grammar, writing, reading, and vocabulary.

October

October is one of our favorite months in the ELA classroom. Not only have we gotten to know our students, but we’re also in the midst of engaging short story units, chilling podcasts, and spooky Halloween writing activities!

November

Fall writing, reading, and grammar lessons are in full swing in this post! Incorporate workshop, learning stations, thankfulness writing, and more to celebrate the holiday season with older students.

December

Meaningful movie guides. Test question banks. Engaging grammar games. December calls for all sorts of odds and ends – from interesting lesson plans to final assessment and review activities. Start here.

January

January is a time to start fresh! Goal setting and routines are important. In this post, we’ve linked to some of our favorite resources for developing reading habits, avoiding plagiarism, and preparing for standardized tests.

February

While it feels like it lasts ten years, the shortest month of the year – February – is a huge month instructionally. Our students are often in the middle of a research writing unit or literary analysis studies.

To celebrate Black History Month, we suggest following Love Tanesha and her stellar ideas.

March

A little bit of this and a little bit of that will add some zest to one of the biggest test prep months of the year! These activities are meant to help students prepare and save you time as the weather grows warmer.

April

April is National Poetry Month! This post is all about making poetry meaningful from a variety of angles: analysis, plays, mood and tone, sketch notes, and figurative language. Find something new to add to your poetry toolbox here.

May

As the school year draws to a close, let’s find ways to keep students focused and say goodbye. You’ll find collaborative writing, music playlists, media analysis, digital bookshelves….and six additional ways to wrap up the school year in style.

We hope this list of – 100! – ELA activities inspires your monthly lesson planning. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks for being a part of our online teaching community.

Comments (3):

  1. Debbi Joyce

    June 11, 2020 at 10:20 pm

    Looks fantastic!

    Reply
  2. Shelley Garner

    June 12, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    I love this! I will need to come up with some alternatives for October to avoid Halloween, but I’m hoping to feature something for Hispanic Heritage…

    Reply
    • Lauralee Moss

      June 17, 2020 at 1:21 pm

      Thanks! It sounds like you are on the right path. We’ll have to add those ideas too. Good thinking. . .

      Reply

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