Manhattan Beach Unified School District

Skip to main content

English-Language Arts Instructional Resources

Instructional Tools for the 21st Century English Teacher

Developing knowledgeable, thinking, and active citizens.

Resources

English Companion - where English teachers go to help each other
Kelly Gallagher - Building Deeper Readers & Writers
Catlin Tucker - Blended Learning & Technology in the English Classroom
Teachers College, Columbia University - Reading and Writing Project Resources
Balanced Literacy Overview & Guide, (grades K-6), BCS
Balanced Literacy Approach (grades 7-12), SCUSD
EngageNY / Great Minds CCSS Curriculum
ReadersWorkshop.org - How to set up Readers Workshop in your classroom
Literacy Design Collaborative - free standards-based resources for grades 6-12
Laura Candler - Teaching resources for Readers Workshop strategies
Stanford's Performance Assessment Resources Bank - free Common Core aligned performance tasks (must create a Login to access tasks)
From Common Core Standards to Curriculum Design - Five Big Ideas, Jay McTigue & Grant Wiggins
What are Essential Questions? (The principle component to designing an inquiry-based, collaborative learning)
Qualities of an Essential Question
Best Resources for Close Reading (Ferlazzo)
Achieve the Core: Basal Assignment Project - Hundreds of teacher developed, CCSS-aligned lessons
Achieve the Core: Text Complexity
Achieve the Core: Text-Dependent Questions
Literacy Implementation Guidance for the ELA Common Core State Standards - Guidance on seven issues that have proven challenging in implementing the CCSS for ELA: use of challenging text, the foundational skills in the standards, comprehension, vocabulary, writing, disciplinary literacy, and diverse learners.
Resources for Student-Centered Instruction in a Time of CCSS (NCTE)
High-Interest Books for Ninth Graders
High-Interest Books for Tenth Graders
Essential Books for the Classroom Library
High-Interest Non-Fiction Titles for Eighth Graders
Poetry for Middle and High School Students
101 Sports Books for the Junior High School/Senior High School Classroom Library
SCTE - Southland Council of Teachers of English
CATE - California Association of Teachers of English
NCTE - National Council of Teachers of English

Common Core Standards, Framework, Progressions, and Assessments

Anchor Standards for Reading, Writing, Language, Speaking and Listening
CCSS ELA Essential Skills, Concepts, Question Stems and Prompts (6th grade), (7th grade), (8th grade), (9-10 grade), (11-12 grade)
ELA CCSS K-8 Continuum
SBAC ELA/Literacy Summative Assessment Blueprint
K-12 Sample Performance Tasks
California CCSS for ELA & Literacy (2010)
California ELA/ELD Frameworks (2014)
Executive Summary of ELA Frameworks (2015)
Key Shifts in CCSS ELA
K-12 ELA CCSS Resources (North Carolina)
K-5 ELA Standards (printable, 1 page per grade)

15 Websites with Level Reading

New York Times Kids Blog:
http://www.nytimes.com/section/learning
Tween Tribune: http://tweentribune.com/
Epic Books: https://www.getepic.com/
Kids Discover: http://www.kidsdiscover.com/quick-reads
Common Lit: http://www.commonlit.org/
ReadWorks: http://www.readworks.org/
Starfall: http://www.starfall.com/n/level-c/index/play.htm?f
Breaking News English: http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com
For the Teachers: http://www.fortheteachers.org/reading_skills/
ThinkCERCA: http://www.thinkcerca.com/
NewsELA: https://newsela.com/
News in Levels: http://www.newsinlevels.com/
Unite for Literacy: http://www.uniteforliteracy.com/
Bookbox: https://www.youtube.com/user/bookboxinc
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy: http://csal.gsu.edu/content/are-you-learner

Balanced Literacy / Workshop / F&P Resources

Balanced Literacy Components and Recommended Times by Grade Level (K-8) - Jennifer Serravallo, ELA/Literacy Author / Heinemann
Bands of Text Complexity for F&P Leveled Texts
CCSS ELA and Continuum of Literacy Learning K-8 CROSSWALK
- Kindergarten
- Grade 1
- Grade 2
- Grade 3
- Grade 4
- Grade 5
- Grade 6
- Grade 7
- Grade 8
Comprehension Questions for Leveled Text (Fiction & Non-Fiction)
Common Core ELA Anchor Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language (2 page)
Common Core ELA Anchor Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, and Language (1 page)
Why Your Child Can't Skip Their 20 Minutes of Reading Tonight
The Curriculum Corner – I Can Common Core Checklists – Reader-friendly lists by grade level that show what we are expected to teach in ELA and math

Writing Workshop Resources

Writing Check-Lists

Grade K
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6 - Argumentative Writing, Informational Writing, Narrative Writing
Grade 7
Grade 8

F&P Resources

Guided Reading

Pre-Emergent Readers

Emergent Readers

Early Readers

Transitional Readers

Fluent Readers

Comprehension Strategies