NextLesson can be used to help with the application piece of English Language Arts (ELA) in many different ways. The materials incorporate real-world connections and critical thinking wherever possible. Below are some ideas on how to use our lesson library.
If you are looking for specific lessons recommendations based on grade, check out our Recommended ELA Resources Guides.
Table of Contents
- Teaching a Text Type (Reading and Writing): Grades 3-12
- Language Skills: Grades K-12
- Reading Comprehension: Grades K-12
- Studying a Book: Grades 2-12
- Speaking and Listening: Grades K-12
- Assessments: Grades K-12
- Project Work: Grades K-12
- Current Events and Holidays: Grades K-12
Teaching a Text Type (Reading and Writing): Grades 3-12
- Product to Use: Performance Tasks
- How: Choose a Performance Task for Argument/Opinion, Informative or Narrative writing, based on your class’ interests.
- Spend up to a week focusing on the reading and writing sides of the task to build toward a piece of extended writing. Each Performance Task includes writing prompts.
- Use the Performance Task at the start of a unit on a text type to introduce the elements of text or at the end as an application and assessment piece.
In grades K-2, students work with math questions in real-world premises before being guided through a writing task of a particular text type.
Language Skills (Option 1): Grades K-6
- Product to Use: Essentials
- How: Choose an Essential that covers the language skill or focus standard.
- Complete the Essential over one lesson period following the Teacher Guide for a class activity or have students complete the worksheet page independently.
- Essentials could be completed regularly throughout the year to cover each language skill, demonstrating to students why the skill is important in the real world.
Language Skills (Option 2): Grades 7-10
- Product to Use: Crime Scene Decoders
- How: Choose a Crime Scene Decoder that covers the language skill or standard being taught or that uses an excerpt from a text being studied in class.
- Complete the Crime Scene Decoder over one lesson period following the Teacher Guide to implement as an active lesson or have students complete it independently.
- Crime Scene Decoders could be completed regularly throughout the year to cover each language skill or to focus on the use of language skills being taught in class.
Language Skills (Option 3): Grades K-12
- Product to Use: Activities
- How: Choose an Activity that covers a particular skill or standard or one that would appeal to the interests of the class.
- Complete the Activity over one lesson period by having students follow the student instructions online.
- Activities can be completed throughout the year as one-off lessons due to the wide variety of their content.
Reading Comprehension: Grades 3-12
- Product to Use: Performance Tasks
- How: Use Level 1 of an ELA Performance Task over one or two lesson periods to focus on reading comprehension using engaging topics in a real-world premise.
Studying a Book (Option 1): Grades 6-12
- Product to Use: Rank & Reason
- How: Try one of the Rank & Reasons focusing on characters, symbols, and themes in popular texts as a quick class activity.
- Students complete their rankings online, justifying with evidence from the text, and then engage in discussion.
- These could be completed first while reading the book and again at the close of the book by giving an opportunity to revise each student's rankings.
Studying a Book (Option 2): Grades 2-5
- Product to Use: Activities
- How: Use one of the Activities Introducing Character and Theme in the context of a novel in the lower grades.
- Use these in one lesson period or extend them into a writing task in a second lesson.
Studying a Book (Option 3): Grades 7-12
- Product to Use: Projects
- How: Develop students’ understanding of characters or events in a book by completing one of the Press Release or Blog Writing projects. These center on characters or key events in well-known novels and ask students to complete a real-world writing task.
- One of these projects could be chosen as a culminating project after studying a book in class or as a mid-way project to increase understanding of the text.
Speaking and Listening (Option 1): Grades K-12
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Product to Use: Rank & Reason
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How: Choose or create a Rank & Reason on a topic being studied or of general interest.
- Students work in pairs or groups to rank and justify and then come together in a class discussion to argue their points.
- These could be completed regularly throughout the year as students also build critical thinking skills and other important skills, such as citing evidence to support an opinion or argument.
Speaking and Listening (Option 2): Grades K-12
- Product to Use: Performance Tasks
- How: Use the Challenge of an ELA Performance Task over one or two lesson periods to focus on speaking and listening using engaging topics in a real-world premise.
- Students will need to, at least briefly, complete Levels 1 and 2 to have the necessary context for the speaking and listening task.
In grades K-2, students work with math questions in the premise before being guided through a speaking and listening activity in the same premise.
Speaking and Listening (Option 3): Grades K-12
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Product to Use: Projects
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How: The collaborative nature of NextLesson projects means that speaking and listening skills are usually practiced throughout with context and purpose.
- Some projects additionally have students prepare spoken presentations as final products.
- Projects could be completed in several class periods in a concentrated block of time or once per week across a few weeks.
Assessment (Option 1): Grades 3-12
- Product to Use: Performance Tasks
- How: Performance Tasks can be used as either a formative or summative assessment.
Students might complete a different Performance Task or a different edition of the same Performance Task after completing a first as a class with feedback.
- The applied learning nature of Performance Tasks means that students can be assessed on their thorough understanding of a text type or skill.
- They include detailed rubrics to assist with assessment.
Assessment (Option 2): Grades K-12
- Product to Use: Essentials and Crime Scene Decoders
- How: Essentials and Crime Scene Decoders can be used to assess the particular skill or standard covered, and rubrics are provided.
- The Essential would be administered as an independent worksheet for students.
Assessment (Option 3): Grades K-12
- Product to Use: Projects
- How: Projects are a good opportunity for assessment as students spend an extended time working toward their final product. Rubrics are also included.
- Product to Use: Projects
- How: Choose a project based on topics of interest for the class and have students work collaboratively.
- Final products may be oral, written, or creative and can be adapted to meet the class resources.
- Projects could be completed over a concentrated one to two-week period or once weekly over an extended period.
Current Events and Holidays: Grades K-12
- Product to Use: Activities
- How: Activities can be found using the Seasonal filter on the Search Page.
- These are general in nature and may tie to reading, writing, and/or speaking and listening skills.
- They may be used at various points across the year to get students thinking about the world around them.
Need more support or have additional questions about using NextLesson for English Language Arts? Contact us at support@scholarus.com
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