Secondary

Find Women’s History Month Resources for Your Classroom with These Lessons by Powerful Women Authors

Celebrate Women’s History Month with our favorite texts by women authors for middle and high schoolers. Discover poetry lessons, biographical texts, and short stories by diverse women authors that will engage your students and increase reading comprehension. Find reading lessons by famous women authors like Zora Neale Hurston, Julia

4 Ways to Use CommonLit for Standardized Test Prep

CommonLit has thousands of practice lessons, a free reading assessment, and targeted skills-based lessons teachers can use for standardized test prep. We know that schools are always looking for ways to build student reading skills and prepare students for state testing. Fortunately, CommonLit has a wealth of resources for teachers

3 Exciting Ways to Celebrate Women’s History Month in Your Classroom

CommonLit’a online digital literacy program offers tons of resources to support teacher lesson planning and unit planning. In this blog, we’ll explore resources featured in our digital library that would be great for a lesson or mini-unit to celebrate Women’s History Month with your students. Whether you’

10 Stories of Black Women Who Shaped the United States

Celebrate the achievements, contributions, and excellence of Black women as we transition from Black History Month to Women’s History Month. CommonLit’s online digital literacy program provides teachers with access to thousands of compelling, free texts and comprehension questions. In this blog post, we will highlight ten biographies and

How CommonLit 360 Uses Research-Backed Practices to Improve Student Reading Comprehension

Learn how CommonLit 360 is aligned to the Science of Reading’s best practices for teaching reading comprehension to secondary students. Introduction The Science of Reading is a body of research incorporating psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience to explain how students learn to read. The Simple View of Reading is

This Valentine’s Day, Teach Reading Lessons Your Whole Class Will Love Most Ardently

As they say in Romeo and Juliet, “My bounty is as boundless as the sea.” Check out our bounty of love stories on CommonLit. With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, bring the love to your classroom with these reading lessons about love that will get students’ hearts beating. Bolster student’

7 Texts to Celebrate the Harlem Renaissance

These engaging and diverse works help teachers showcase and explore the Harlem Renaissance with their students. The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural and intellectual movement in the 1920s and 1930s. Black Americans in Harlem celebrated self expression through music, fashion, theater, literature and more. Artists of the Harlem Renaissance, such

CommonLit Originals: Engaging, Diverse Stories only Available on CommonLit!

Check out dozens of high-interest and timely short stories, available only on our library. CommonLit’s library is home to over 3,000 digital lessons on a wide range of topics, complete with reading comprehension questions to sharpen standards-based skills and to prepare students for high-stakes tests. Now, teachers will

7 Texts by Contemporary Black Authors for Secondary Students

CommonLit’s digital literacy program will help enhance your reading curriculum with these lessons which include guiding questions, Paired Texts, Related Media, and other tools to boost student reading comprehension. The following poems, memoirs, and short stories by Black authors, will foster meaningful discussions around real world experiences such as

8 Inspiring Biographies Featuring Influential Black Americans for Secondary Students

These engaging and diverse biographies on CommonLit’s digital literary platform will inspire your students to dream big and achieve excellence while strengthening their reading comprehension skills. CommonLit’s online digital literacy program provides teachers with access to thousands of compelling, free texts and comprehension questions. In this blog post,

How CommonLit Español Can Help English Language Learners with Language Acquisition

CommonLit Español is our digital library of lessons in Spanish. With over 800 Spanish texts, it is an incredible resource for teachers with Spanish-speaking English Language Learners. Our library features a wide variety of literary and informational texts by influential authors and poets like Alma Flor Ada, Federico García Lorca,

Elevate Instruction in Spanish Immersion and World Language Classes with CommonLit Español

CommonLit Español has over 800 Spanish texts. The library features a variety of literary and informational texts by influential authors and poets like Alma Flor Ada, Federico García Lorca, and Gabriel García Márquez. We also have over 70 Lecciones Guiadas, interactive lessons that ask students to find evidence, write, and

Powerful Poems by Black Authors for Secondary Students

These engaging and diverse poems on CommonLit’s digital literary platform are all written by  Black authors and poets. Each poem will spark reading engagement from secondary students with powerful imagery and strong themes, spurring deep student discussions and supporting reading comprehension practice. “Harlem” by Langston Hughes (6th grade) An

8 Influential Black Authors with Lessons on CommonLit

CommonLit’s online digital literacy program is full of authentic texts by famous authors and poets. The following texts are a great resource for building meaningful and rigorous lessons for Black History Month, or for year-round learning. Each author or poet has multiple texts available on CommonLit, and each lesson

10 Texts to Celebrate The Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Honor the achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in your classroom with historical biographies, primary source documents, speeches, and more. CommonLit’s online digital literacy program provides teachers with access to thousands of free texts and comprehension questions. In this blog post, we will highlight texts you can use

Explore 7 Engaging Secondary Texts by Famous Authors

Looking for compelling new lessons to add to your ELA curriculum? CommonLit’s digital library has hundreds of short stories by famous authors. Our guiding questions will help prepare students for reading assessments and foster engaging discussions about important themes such as identity, morality, free will, friendship, and family. “The

7 Texts Teachers Love to Pair With Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson

Teach key background knowledge and incorporate multi-genre analysis in a unit on Jacob Have I Loved [https://www.commonlit.org/en/book-pairings/jacob-have-i-loved] by Katherine Paterson with these engaging supplemental texts. CommonLit’s digital literacy program provides Book Pairing resources for over a hundred novels. These paired texts provide essential

6 Famous Acceptance Speeches to Celebrate Nobel Prize Day with Your Secondary Students

Each year on December 10th, The Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize to a person or organization for their significant contributions to improving society. At the award ceremony, the winner gives a speech that is connected to their work.. Boost your ELA curriculum by introducing these famous acceptance

Dig Into Louis Sachar’s Holes with CommonLit Reading Guides

CommonLit’s digital library offers over 3,000 lessons to support your reading curriculum. Our online reading program also offers over 100 Book Pairings, which are sets of texts that support high-quality novel instruction. These supplemental texts are a great way to increase rigor and boost reading comprehension skills as

7 Texts to Pair With The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Explore powerful themes of growth, community, and family in The House on Mango Street [https://www.commonlit.org/en/book-pairings/the-house-on-mango-street] by Sandra Cisneros with these related texts. CommonLit’s digital literacy program provides Book Pairing resources for over a hundred novels. These paired texts provide essential background information and

Heat Up Your Class Discussion Surrounding Fahrenheit 451 with these 7 Supplemental Texts

Explore fascinating dystopian themes and bolster student reading comprehension using CommonLit’s novel companion lessons. CommonLit’s online literacy program offers thousands of detailed reading lessons. Additionally, teachers can find Book Pairings for over a hundred classic books taught in schools across the country. The lessons included in Book Pairings

Rule the School with this Novel Guide for Lord of The Flies

Analyze human psychology and literary themes in Lord of the Flies [https://www.commonlit.org/en/book-pairings/lord-of-the-flies] by William Golding with these supplemental readings. CommonLit’s digital literacy program provides Book Pairing resources for over a hundred novels. These paired texts provide essential background information and literary connections to

6 Holiday Stories that Celebrate Cultures from Around the World

Teach students about holidays around the world by building diversity in the classroom with this selection of short stories for grades 6-8! Students celebrate a variety of holidays for religious and cultural reasons. Use this list of 6 stories from CommonLit’s free digital library for middle school students to

6 Texts About Love to Get Your Heart Beating

Love is a complex emotion, but it can be found everywhere, especially in this list of short stories about love that will pull at your heartstrings! Our capacity to love is what makes us human. Love can be found in our relationships with partners, family, and friends. It fuels our

6 Short Stories about Courage to Embolden Your Middle School Students

6 Short Stories about Courage to Embolden Your Middle School Students Check out 6 relatable short stories about courage for middle school students in CommonLit’s free digital library! Build a thematic unit on courage with CommonLit’s free digital literacy program. Access dozens of short stories about bravery with