Secondary Classrooms

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,...

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...

Don’t Get Lost in the Odyssey: Use Reading Lessons from CommonLit to Boost Students’ Reading Comprehension and Engagement

These high interest informational texts, poems, and short stories are the perfect complement to a unit of ELA instruction focused on The Odyssey. CommonLit’s digital literacy program features over...

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...

Decipher Code Talker in Your Classroom with CommonLit’s Book Pairing

Use historic texts and literary resources to engage students and deepen their understanding as they read Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac. The CommonLit digital literacy program offers over one hundred...

7 Memorable Memoirs for High School Studies

Helping high schoolers look up from their feeds and put themselves in the shoes of someone else can seem impossible! A good memoir or autobiography offers students a window into...

Swing Over to The Baseball in April Short Story Collection by Gary Soto

Discover 5 short stories by Gary Soto in CommonLit’s free digital library. Boost students’ reading comprehension and engagement with relatable coming-of-age stories from Baseball in April and...

7 Short Stories About Greed for Secondary Students

CommonLit’s digital library contains stories about greed with lessons and discussion questions you can pair with each text. From ancient myths, to folktales, to modern short stories, the theme...

Stellar Book Pairings for The Fault in Our Stars

Treat your class to this classic young adult romance novel and boost their reading comprehension as you go! The CommonLit digital literacy program has thousands of high-quality lessons that...

6 Short Philosophy Texts for Secondary Students

Introducing philosophy texts to your secondary students can be difficult. That's why we have collected these 6 short, yet thought provoking philosophy readings to support your ELA instruction!...

6 Historical Letters for Secondary Students

Creating opportunities for students to meaningfully engage with primary sources can take considerable time to plan and sometimes feel dry for students. That’s why we’ve put together a...

8 Meaningful Memoirs for Middle School

Reading memoirs can help students grow their empathy and understanding of others’ perspectives. Here are 8 memoirs to incorporate into your ELA curriculum to engage your students in the experiences...

7 Satirical Lessons for Your Classroom

Introduce satire with these playful, yet thought-provoking, satirical articles! These satire examples from famous authors like Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, and Johnathan Swift will introduce students to how authors...

7 Science Fiction Short Stories for Secondary Students

Looking for the best science fiction short stories to add to your ELA curriculum? Here are texts to get your secondary students engaged in reading! Set in the future, dystopian...

7 Lesson Planning Resources to Bolster Your Novel Study on 1984

Elevate your book unit on George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 with informative and engaging texts for high school students. CommonLit’s free online reading program offers more than 100...

7 Engaging Myths for Secondary Students

Exposing students to classic mythology can be daunting. That’s why we’ve put together a roundup of engaging myths from our digital literacy program that both teachers and students...

7 Short Poems with Figurative Language For Middle and High School Students

Incorporate poems with figurative language into your upcoming poetry unit and boost student reading comprehension with assessment and discussion questions. Got an upcoming poetry unit? CommonLit offers dozens of poems...

7 Short Coming-of-Age Stories to Stir Thought-Provoking Classroom Discussions

Boost Your ELA curriculum with relatable coming-of-age short stories for middle school and high school students. Looking for short stories with a coming-of-age theme? We’ve...

7 Genuine Poems on Love and Relationships

Strengthen your ELA instruction and student reading comprehension with these poems on love for middle and high school students. CommonLit offers hundreds of engaging poems for students to practice close...

Honoring Hispanic Heroes this Hispanic Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with your class by teaching them about influential Hispanic activists, artists, and athletes. Hispanic Heritage Month, spanning from September 15th to October 15th, provides a great...

Snowball Your Students Reading Comprehension with CommonLit’s Book Pairings for Animal Farm

Provide students with historical background, and other relevant resources for Animal Farm by George Orwell. The CommonLit library offers over 100 “Book Pairings”, or sets of literary and informational texts...

6 Thought-Provoking Poems about Family for Middle School Students

CommonLit’s digital literacy program has a large collection of poems about family for middle school students that teach important literary analysis skills and reading comprehension. Many of CommonLit’s...

Electrifying Resources to help you teach Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Thrill students by pairing Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan with short stories, poems, and non-fiction texts to enhance your novel unit. The CommonLit library has...

Strengthen Student Reading Curriculum with New Short Stories from the CommonLit Library

Lead engaging classroom discussions and support student reading comprehension with these new short stories for grades 4-8! We are excited to share new short stories that you can incorporate...

Engaging Short Stories about Identity for Middle and High School Students

Boost reading comprehension and engagement with seven relatable short stories for students in grades 6-12. With CommonLit’s digital library, you can introduce your students to hundreds of texts...