Secondary

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

Widen Students' Scope of Reality with 7 Magical Realism Stories

Build a thematic unit on magical realism with 7 fantastical short stories from CommonLit’s digital library! Interested in diving deeper into the fantasy genre? With CommonLit’s free online reading program, you can enhance your ELA curriculum with 7 magical realism stories for middle and high school students. The

Empower Students with 7 Short Stories about Perseverance

Enhance your ELA curriculum with short stories about overcoming adversity from CommonLit’s digital library! Lead inspiring classroom discussions with high-quality stories about resilience that will boost students’ reading comprehension and engagement. With CommonLit’s digital literacy program, you can build a thematic unit about overcoming adversity, and challenge students

Fly through To Kill a Mockingbird with CommonLit’s Curated Lesson Plans

Here are 12 informational and literary texts to introduce alongside Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. The CommonLit library has over 3,000 high-quality lessons that engage students and strengthen their reading comprehension. Additionally, we offer over 100 Book Pairings [https://www.commonlit.org/en/library?contentTypes=book_pairing&

Fall in Love with these Lesson Plans for Your Romeo and Juliet Unit

Build upon your Shakespeare unit with literary and informational lessons that bewitch your class and ask big questions that are raised in  Romeo and Juliet. CommonLit offers thousands of lessons, a full-year ELA curriculum, and additional paid benchmark assessments for your classroom. Additionally, CommonLit has created Book Pairings [https://www.

Nine Golden Texts for Teaching The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

CommonLit’s digital library is home to thousands of rigorous reading lessons. We also offer “Book Pairings,” sets of texts to support high-quality novel instruction, for more than 100 novels. Teachers can utilize these text sets to increase rigor, background knowledge, and engagement during their novel study units. Students will

7 Fantasy Stories to Transport Students to Magical Worlds

Let your students’ imaginations run wild with these otherworldly texts! Looking to enchant your students with exciting new realities and characters? Take your classroom on a journey to make any dream feel possible with CommonLit’s free digital library. This middle school text list will spark creativity in your ELA