Middle School ELA Curriculum for Long-Term Subs and Leave Cover
For a long-term sub covering grades 6–8 English language arts, this curriculum supplies 100+ no-prep resources for reading fiction and nonfiction, teaching narrative, informative and argumentative writing, and building language skills. You can keep students reading closely and writing real paragraphs and essays through a maternity or medical leave, with answer keys that make the stack of papers manageable.
See the ELA curriculum →ELA Complete – Middle School is a digital grades 6–8 English language arts curriculum with 100+ resources, from $149.90. A long-term substitute can teach short stories, excerpts, articles and speeches for plot, theme, point of view and text structure, and guide narrative, informative and argumentative writing through planning, drafting, revising and editing. It is no-prep and sequenced, with answer keys for reading work.
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
The real work of covering middle school ELA
ELA is the subject where a long-term sub feels the paper load first. Five sections writing a paragraph each is well over a hundred responses, and middle schoolers need feedback on them or the writing does not improve. The absent teacher may have been mid-novel, mid-essay, or halfway through a unit on argument, and the class set of books may or may not be in the room. Students also vary enormously. In one seventh grade class you will have kids who read well above grade level next to kids who struggle to find the main idea in a paragraph. A single worksheet for everyone frustrates both ends. Then there is the writing process itself. Teaching students to plan, draft, revise and edit takes several class periods per piece, and if you only have disconnected prompts you end up with first drafts and nothing else. Parents and administrators will notice whether essays get written during the leave. What a sub needs is short texts that can be read in class, a clear writing sequence with evidence built in, and differentiated tasks so that the struggling readers and the strong ones both have something to do.
Why it fits
How it fits a middle school ELA leave
The curriculum's structure maps onto the three things a sub has to keep going: reading, writing and language.
- Short stories, excerpts, articles and speeches can be read in one period without a class novel.
- Lessons on plot, character, setting, theme and conflict give you a clear reading focus each week.
- Writing lessons walk through planning, drafting, revising and editing, so essays actually get finished.
- Argumentative writing with textual evidence gives eighth graders demanding, gradeable work.
- Differentiated worksheets let strong and struggling readers work on the same text at different levels.
- Answer keys for reading tasks cut grading time so you can spend it on writing feedback.
Getting started
Your first two weeks of ELA cover
A suggested start for a long middle school ELA leave. The product does not include a pacing calendar; this is one way to use it.
- Read one short text togetherChoose a short story and work through plot, character and conflict as a class. It shows you who reads independently and who needs support, without depending on a book set that may be missing.
- Collect a baseline paragraphAsk for one paragraph responding to the story with evidence from the text. Read them for structure and evidence use only. That tells you which writing lessons to start with.
- Start a writing sequencePick narrative, informative or argumentative writing based on what the absent teacher was working toward, then move through planning and drafting over several periods instead of assigning a one-day prompt.
- Pair nonfiction with the writingUse an article or speech to teach author's purpose and text structure. Students can borrow those structures in their own drafts, which links reading and writing in the same week.
- Revise before you gradeRun a revising and editing lesson before collecting final drafts. Better drafts are quicker to grade, and you have a finished piece in the book by the end of week two.
Which version
Which middle school ELA version to buy
At $149.90 the standard version gives you every one of the 100+ resources, which is what the leave needs. For $189.90 you also get the Teach-Life-Balance course, a separate planner, guides and templates for organizing your own week. That can be worth it when you are grading writing for five sections in an unfamiliar school, but it contains no ELA lessons. If the leave covers only middle school classes, one curriculum is enough and there is no reason to combine.
Honest limits
Honest limits for ELA cover
Full-length novels are not part of the package, so if the class is mid-book you continue with the school's copies. Answer keys help with reading tasks, but student essays still need your own reading and comments. Check the units against your state ELA standards and any district reading lists. If other teachers on your team want to use the files, send Teach Lessons a short note first. If it does not fit your leave, you can exchange it within 7 days for store credit of the same value.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
Is this aligned to Common Core or my state's ELA standards?
We do not claim official alignment with Common Core or any state standards, and the curriculum is not endorsed by any standards body. It is written for U.S. middle school ELA classrooms and covers reading comprehension, writing and language. Compare it with your state's standards and your district's expectations before you plan the whole leave around it.
The class was in the middle of a novel. What now?
The curriculum does not include full novels, but its lessons on plot, character, theme and conflict apply to any book. You can finish the novel with the school's copies and use those lessons as the framework, then switch to the short texts in the curriculum once the book is done.
How can I keep up with grading writing?
Use answer keys for reading tasks so they take little time, and save your effort for writing. Grade one focus per draft, such as evidence use or paragraph structure, rather than marking everything. Teaching revising and editing before final drafts also means the papers you read are stronger.
Does it work for students reading below grade level?
The worksheets are differentiated and the curriculum is described as suitable for mixed-ability classrooms. Short texts make it easier for weaker readers to finish in class. For students with formal accommodations, check their plans with the school and adjust tasks as you normally would. Pairing a struggling reader with a stronger partner on a short text also works well.
Can I use only some units?
Yes. You can follow the full sequence or pick individual units, which suits a sub who needs to continue a particular focus such as argumentative writing. Lessons also work as short activities for review days or on days when an assembly cuts the period in half.
When do I get access?
Instantly after purchase. The download link comes by email and the files stay in your account under Orders. Everything works printed or on a screen, so you can prepare for your first class the same evening you get the assignment. A good first step is to choose the short story you will read on day one and print enough copies.
Keep middle schoolers reading and writing all leave
The product page lists everything included in the grades 6–8 ELA curriculum.
See the ELA curriculum →