George Lucas Educational Foundation
Edutopia

English Language Arts

Explore and share tips, strategies, and resources for helping students develop in English language arts.

  • 5 Fiction Writing Tools That Spark Students’ Creativity

    These tools can help middle and high school students generate ideas for fiction writing and then hone their craft.
    Kathryn Nieves

  • Letter Writing as a Teaching Tool

    A simple exercise helps students explore audience and argumentation.
    Laura Kammes-Bumm

  • A Project to Prompt Student Reflection

    Researching their dream job and prepping for an interview prompts students to reflect deeply on what they learned in a year.
    Stephanie Rothstein

  • Reading Aloud to Middle School Students

    Hearing books read aloud benefits older students, enhancing language arts instruction and building a community of readers.
    Kasey Short

  • The Reading Wars: Choice vs. Canon

    English teachers are wrestling with how to navigate the increasingly contentious terrain between student choice and assigning the classics.
    Holly Korbey

  • What Doesn’t Work: Literacy Practices We Should Abandon

    The number one concern that I hear from educators is lack of time, particularly lack of instructional time with students. Although we can't entirely solve the time problem, we can mitigate it by carefully analyzing our use of class time.
    Nell K. Duke

  • Build Empathy and Understanding by Pairing Comics With Novels

    Teaching with comics facilitates improved comprehension and social-emotional competencies.
    Ryan Chapman

  • 22 Diverse Book Choices for All Grade Levels

    Suggestions from teachers who are working to offer students at every grade level book choices that represent their lives.
    Tom Berger

  • How a Literacy-First Program Revived a School

    A Title I school in the Bronx is dramatically improving student outcomes—one book at a time.
    Carly Berwick

  • Why Students Plagiarize

    One teacher addresses plagiarism by examining the underlying causes such as a lack of confidence or time management skills.
    Allison Berryhill

  • 50 Writing Prompts for All Grade Levels

    Sometimes students need a little push to activate their imaginations.
    Todd Finley

  • The Benefits of Memorizing Poetry

    When high school students spend time memorizing and reciting a poem, they develop confidence by engaging deeply with language.
    Erin Medeiros

  • Young Adult Novels That Teach a Growth Mindset

    Use these novels to teach learning from loss and overcoming adversity to your middle schoolers and high school freshmen.
    Robert Ward

  • Using a Makerspace for English and Humanities Instruction

    Turning abstract concepts like symbolism and imagery into 3D representations develops deeper understanding and engagement.
    Lauren Huddleston

  • Teaching the Research Process Through Podcasting

    Sharing their podcasts with peers gives students motivation to conduct research and develop skills they’ll need later to write essays.
    Jori Krulder