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ELA class gives middle schoolers the opportunity to write creatively, read imaginative stories, and present their thoughts and opinions to peers. That’s what makes ELA so engaging — and with the right tools and resources, you’ll inspire every student in class!

Use these easy and effective ELA activities for middle school to keep students engaged and teach them valuable skills. From enjoyable English games to interesting lessons for reluctant readers, ELA will quickly be their favorite class of the year.

4 Engaging ELA Warm-Ups for Middle Schoolers

Bell ringers, writing prompts, and creative activities are all great ways to help students transition into your ELA class. These short ELA activities for middle school get students thinking and writing quickly. 

Set up a journal writing schedule

By the time middle schoolers get to your class, they’ve probably had at least one journal-worthy experience (if not more). Use writing prompts for middle school as a daily exercise to get students talking about themselves, their day, and their hopes and fears.

Pen a letter to a character

Do your middle school readers have something to say to someone in your class novel? Let them write a letter to a character from a book, short story, movie, or TV show to get themselves into the literary mindset. If they’d prefer, let them write in a texting or social media format.

Write a review for yesterday’s lesson

See if students can remember what they learned yesterday by writing a short review of the previous day’s lesson. It can include a summary to refresh their memory, an opinion element to practice persuasive writing, and a one-to-five-star review format that they back up with evidence.

Analyze the song of the day

Middle schoolers love starting class with music! Give your daily concert an ELA twist by providing lyrics to your transition song and asking students to identify figurative language. This warm-up is especially helpful during a poetry unit, but it works whenever you’re addressing literary elements, too.

4 Refreshing ELA Activities for Middle School Reading

How do you balance classroom fun with ELA CCSS? By making reading assignments as creative as the books they’re covering! Whether you’re working on a middle school read-aloud list classics or modern short stories, these ELA activities for middle school readers are sure to keep their books (and their minds) open. 

Assign creative book reports

Forget the standard five-paragraph book report format! Practice the same literary analysis skills with a more creative approach, whether it’s a comic strip summary, writing a short-story sequel to the book, or creating a scrapbook for their favorite character.

Set up a book escape room

Blend reading, logic, and teamwork into one unforgettable lesson when you design a book escape room. Set up clues and puzzles that come from the novel your class is reading, and let small groups work together to figure them out. Extra points to the team that solves the escape room first!

Make a trailer for a book

Do your middle schoolers love making videos? Use their technological passion to have them create a book trailer instead of a book report. They can use voiceover, props, peer actors, and any other filmmaking techniques to create a short trailer for their book as if it were an upcoming film of the year.

Let students act it out

Some middle schoolers were born for the stage! If your class loves to act and read out loud, shift your novel unit to a play unit instead. You can also convert a novel unit into an acting-focused lesson by having students rewrite scenes in script form.

4 Entertaining ELA Games for Middle School

Show junior high students that learning can be a blast! These fun ELA activities for middle school are perfect for any reading level or class setting, whether you’re planning a Friday Fun Day or preparing for an English final exam.

Play a game of vocabulary bingo

Take vocabulary review to the next level with Vocabulary Bingo! Hand out blank Bingo cards and have students write this week’s vocabulary words on random squares. Then read out definitions and see who can get five in a row first. For a more advanced lesson, try reading out synonyms or antonyms for students to mark off the corresponding vocabulary word.

Write your own definitions

Tired of the dictionary making all the rules? Challenge middle schoolers to create definitions for made-up words. Create your own nonsense words (or better yet, let them create a list of crazy words), and have individuals or groups work together to craft the most creative and entertaining definitions. 

Host a literary game show

ELA teachers have a wealth of riches when it comes to game show options! Bring popular game shows like Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune to your classroom. Create questions about the last chapter in your novel unit, a list of literary terms, or any other concept you’d like to review in an entertaining and competitive format.

Craft one big class story

Two heads are better than one when it comes to writing a story, and thirty heads may be even better than two! Write a class story with random narrative elements written on cards, dice, or an online randomizer (such as a comedy about a pirate in a shoe store). Have students contribute to what happens next, and enjoy the magic of storytelling come to life!

Support Reluctant Readers With 4 ELA Activities for Middle School

Middle schoolers who read more than one grade behind may struggle to keep up with their everyday ELA activities. Use these projects to support their learning and keep them engaged, all while building vital literacy skills they’ll use throughout the school year.

Create a comic strip

Teach middle schoolers to visualize and sequence a story by drafting out a comic strip. They can draw a story they read in class or one they wrote themselves, complete with speech bubbles for dialogue and illustrated details to show setting and character.

Complete Mad Libs together

If there’s a more entertaining way to reinforce parts of speech than Mad Libs, we haven’t found it! Use this tried-and-true activity to have students practice the difference between nouns, verbs, adjectives, and the other building blocks of literature.

Pass a question Hot Potato

Engage reluctant learners in your lesson with a lively game of Hot Potato. All you need is a beach ball, a list of discussion questions written on your board, and some music to play. When the music stops, students choose a question from the board to answer.

Pack a character traits bag

For students who struggle to show understanding, take away the writing aspect of your assessment and have them pack a character traits bag instead. They collect or draw items that characters from their book may like or own, then present what they chose to small groups or the whole class.

Tips for Keeping Middle Schoolers Engaged

Now that you’ve got the tools for ELA success, how can you ensure your lesson goes as well as possible? Follow these teaching tips to keep middle school students engaged from bell to bell.

• Balance routine and new activities. Middle schoolers need the security of a predictable schedule, but stay interested in class when activities feel new and innovative enough to get their attention. Try to balance both by folding new activities into an already established class schedule.
• Differentiate by skill. Plan activities that are engaging and rewarding for middle schoolers of all reading levels, from lower-level learners to advanced readers. Differentiate with different novels for reading groups or adjusted assignments for various students.
• Keep it interesting. It’s hard to stay interested in a lesson you’re not interested in! Make every ELA concept as interesting as possible by incorporating fun activities and getting students participating from the first day of school.
• Assess regularly. You don’t need to assign tests and quizzes to assess student learning. Check their understanding with class discussions, individual conversations, group participation, and different formative assessment techniques.

Enjoy easy, low-prep ELA activities from TPT

Reading and writing stories should be the best part of your students’ day. Help middle schoolers feel at home in your ELA class with a variety of middle school ELA resources that work for any class setting. You’ll find that their participation and grades go up, along with more hands than ever before!