Middle School ELA Curriculum for Charter School Teachers
Charter middle school ELA teachers who need a full reading and writing course without waiting on a curriculum committee can teach from ELA Complete – Middle School. It includes 100+ resources for grades 6–8: text analysis of fiction and nonfiction, narrative, informative and argumentative writing, and language work, ready to download the same day you buy it.
See the ELA curriculum →ELA Complete – Middle School is a no-prep English language arts curriculum for grades 6–8 with 100+ resources, from $149.90. Students analyze plot, character, setting, theme and conflict, author's purpose and text structure in short stories, excerpts, articles and speeches, and write narrative, informative and argumentative pieces using textual evidence. Charter teachers can use it as a full year or by unit. Check it against your state's ELA requirements, since no alignment is guaranteed.
The curriculum
ELA Complete – Middle School, Grades 6–8
Start with the full curriculum. The other resources below are optional add-ons. Open any cover for the full contents and price.
The real problem
What ELA demands when the charter has no curriculum
ELA carries more weight than most subjects at a charter. It is usually tested, usually watched by the board and the authorizer, and usually the class families ask about first. Yet a new charter or a fast-growing one may hire you with nothing more than a list of novels someone ordered and a request to 'teach to the standards.' You still need to build a year that balances fiction and nonfiction, teaches students to cite evidence, and moves them from paragraphs to full essays. That is a lot of separate pieces: a short story for theme, an article for author's purpose, a speech for point of view, a planning sheet for an argument, a revision checklist, a grammar mini-lesson, all at three reading levels because your sixth grade section includes students reading well below and well above grade. Charter ELA teachers are also often new to the profession, and the school may not have a literacy coach yet. Grading writing every week on top of planning is where many first-year teachers fall behind. The hard part is less finding texts and more having a sequence that steadily builds analysis and writing together so students can show growth by spring.
Why it fits
How it fits a charter ELA classroom
Reading and writing are planned together, which is the part that takes longest to build on your own.
- Short stories, excerpts, articles, speeches and informational texts cover fiction and nonfiction in one place.
- Plot, character, theme and conflict lessons pair with author's purpose and text structure for nonfiction.
- Writing units take students through planning, drafting, revising and editing, not just a final prompt.
- Every writing type asks students to use textual evidence, the skill most ELA assessments look for.
- Differentiated worksheets help when one section stretches from struggling readers to strong ones.
- Answer keys cut grading time on reading checks so you can spend it on essay feedback.
Getting started
A suggested first two weeks of ELA
This is one way to open the year. Shift the order to match your school's calendar and any texts already assigned.
- Pair each reading unit with writingAfter downloading, match each reading unit with the writing type it supports, such as a narrative unit alongside short stories. The pairing gives you a year outline in an afternoon.
- Teach a short story firstBegin with a short story and the lessons on plot, character and conflict. Short texts let you see who reads fluently and who needs support before you start anything long.
- Write a single evidence paragraphIn the first week, have students write one paragraph that answers a question about the story with a quote. It becomes your baseline sample for writing growth.
- Shift to an informational textIn week two, use an article or speech to teach author's purpose and point of view. Students see that analysis works on nonfiction too, which matters for testing.
- Start the drafting processEnd the second week by planning a narrative or argumentative piece with the planning materials. Drafting, revising and editing can then run across the next unit.
Which version
Picking the right ELA version
The standard version, 100+ resources for $149.90, holds everything you need to teach grades 6–8. The $189.90 version adds Teach-Life-Balance, a digital course with a planner, guides and templates for managing teacher workload. For a first-year ELA teacher grading essays every week, that support can be worth it; an experienced teacher with solid routines may not need it. If you also teach a high school ELA section at a 6–12 charter, buying ELA Complete – High School with this and using TEACHMORE15 saves 15% on both.
Honest limits
What it will not cover for you
It does not include full-length novels or class sets of books, so any longer works your school assigns come from your own library. It is written for U.S. middle school classrooms, but it is your responsibility to check it against your state's ELA standards and any test-prep expectations your charter sets. Before your grade-level team uses it, send Teach Lessons a short message. If it is not what you need, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of equal value. Cash refunds are not part of the policy.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is it aligned with Common Core or approved by our charter authorizer?
No approval, adoption or endorsement exists from any authorizer, state or standards body, and alignment with Common Core or state ELA standards is not guaranteed. It is written for U.S. middle school classrooms and covers reading comprehension, text analysis, writing and language. Compare the units with your state's standards and your school's assessment plan, and supplement where you see a gap.
Does it include novels?
It works with short stories, excerpts, articles, speeches and informational texts, and teaches analysis skills such as theme, conflict and text structure that transfer to any novel. Full books are not included. If your school assigns specific novels, you can apply the curriculum's analysis and writing lessons to them.
How much writing instruction is there?
Writing is one of the main content areas. Students write narrative, informative and argumentative pieces, learn paragraph and essay structure, and work through planning, drafting, revising and editing. Using textual evidence runs through all of it. That gives you a writing sequence rather than a set of one-off prompts.
I am a first-year teacher. Is it easy to follow?
It is fully structured and described as no-prep, with slides, worksheets, activities and answer keys for each unit. You still need to read ahead and decide pacing, but you are not designing lessons from scratch. Every Complete Curriculum follows the same structure, so it is also simple to hand off if a colleague covers your class.
Can I use it for intervention or small groups?
The worksheets are differentiated and the material is suitable for mixed-ability classrooms and flexible for short lessons and review. Many reading tasks work well with a small group pulled during independent work. It is not a structured reading intervention program, so students with significant needs may still require separate support.
Our grade 6 and grade 8 ELA teachers both need it. Can we share?
Sharing between grade-level ELA teachers can work well, since the units build across grades 6–8 and a shared sequence keeps writing expectations consistent. Use within your own teaching team or school is possible after you send Teach Lessons a short message. Questions about school purchasing can go to them before buying. Posting files online or passing them outside the school is not allowed.
Have a full ELA year ready before the first test
Check the product page for everything included in grades 6–8, choose a version and start downloading.
See the ELA curriculum →