Top Ten English Language Arts Lesson Plan Makers on TeachersPayTeachers.com

Posted
5/22/2017

Kylie Hall
Teacher.org Co-Founder

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#1 - Tracee Orman

A high school English teacher, Mrs. Orman has racked up more than 50,000 four-star votes and good luck finding one of her lesson plans or activity books that doesn't have a four-star rating. Although the Hunger Games might be a not-so-subtle favorite topic, Mrs. Orman can enlist the help of Katy Perry to explain poetic devices or give you a straightforward cheat sheet for MLA citations. She has amassed a database of resources so large (more than 600 entries) it is easy to start wondering how in the world she is able to churn these out so quickly. The sheer diversity of the resources is what is most impressive and what makes her so worthy of praise.

#2 - Deanna Jump

The Georgia Kindergarten teacher has become a minor celebrity and a de facto spokeswoman for TpT thanks to articles applauding her success on the site. Considering the age group, her lesson plans and resources don't focus exclusively on literacy and vocabulary, but that subject material is in her wheelhouse and she has been cranking out guided reading books and writer's workshop resources and fun activities using everything from penguins to Mother's Day to help explain the lessons. She has a whopping 320,000 four-star votes on TpT thanks to her incredible efficiency and work ethic. And to her credit, she remains humble about her success in interviews and continues to churn out fresh lessons in 2017.

#3 - Laura Randazzo

A former newspaper reporter and editor, Mrs. Randazzo has carried her passion for literature and writing into her teacher. In her nearly 20 years as an educator, Mrs. Randazzo has taught everything from journalism to history, but if her TpT profile is any indication, teaching writing skills is where she flourishes. With more than 40,000 four-star votes and a library of more than 300 writing resources to her name, Randazzo is a lesson-planner to keep tabs on. Her areas of expertise range from crafting short stories to lesson plans for specific classic novels and even include more technical expertise such as how correctly embed quotations. The subject material is geared towards high school-aged students, but if you look long enough, you will find a subject and plan that works well for your class.

I've taught them all, from the highest-achieving honors student to the continuation kid on the verge of dropping out of school. What every student wants is to be inspired, to learn, and to have some fun while at school. When deciding how to present a lesson, I always try to think how I would have wanted to learn this material when I was 15 or 16 and then move in that direction.

#4 - Create Dream Explore

The brainchild of a career elementary teacher named Heidi, Create Dream Explore, has earned some high praise for its original "Poem of The Week" resources but Heidi's lesson-planning skills are hardly limited to poems. Having taught a wide grade range in elementary schools, Heidi's TpT resources range in topic from math and science to creative writing. But as a former literacy teacher, English and Language Arts is where Heidi and Create Dream Explore hits their stride. There are colorful charts on writing processes, Halloween-themed sequencing worksheets, themed sentence scrambles and of course, the highly-touted poems of the week. Heidi doesn't have the same following built up as some of the TpT power users, but she is just as prolific and quality-driven, meaning she isn't far behind.

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#5 - Erika Forth

In March of 2015, Forth, a former inner-city middle school and high school ELA teacher, left the classroom to work on building resources for Teachers Pay Teachers and it looks as the decision is already paying off as Forth has quickly built a catalog of more than 100 resources ranging in topics from correct comma usage to theatre script analysis. A former consultant for the National Writing Project, writing is definitely Forth's forte. Her essay resources are definitely worth checking out and as an avid reader, she offers analysis on everyone from Edgar Allen Poe to Washington Irving and even Taylor Swift. She doesn't have the same massive following that some of the other lesson-planners boast, but if her early work is any indication, that should change in no time.

#6 - Danielle Knight

A former digital marketing professional, Danielle Knight is not only a seasoned ELA teacher but she is also a strong proponent of incorporating technology into the classroom. On her blog, Study All Knight, she dispenses information on everything from using Google Drive and Google products in the classroom to the importance of online discussion boards. On TpT she is basically ubiquitous. The New Jersey special education ELA teacher has more than 400 study guides and resources to choose from on a wide-range of topics. There are lessons built around classic novels like Charlotte's Web, templates for paperless classrooms and flip books on The Odyssey and Romeo and Juliet. Knight started to branch out online in 2012 and it is clear she is still going strong. The good news now is that people are starting to take notice.

#7 - Secondary Sara

There is little doubt about the writing chops of Secondary Sara. An ELA teacher at a private middle school, Secondary Sara is also a ELA and test prep tutor for high school students, the coach of a competitive creative writing team in Ohio and, of course, an accomplished TpT author. Her best-known work on TpT is probably her Book of the Month program that fellow middle-school teachers can't stop raving about, but she has nearly 200 other resources in her library that includes literary analysis, short story curriculum, grammar lessons and reading quizzes. Her commitment to creating unique and innovative content means that her TpT lessons provide a great deal of variety and interesting takes on common topics. It's that kind of commitment to providing unique and high-quality content that earned her a shout-out.

#8 - The SuperHERO Teacher

The SuperHERO teacher is actually Ohio native Brittany Wheaton and she has rapidly become a household name in her five years on TpT. With more than 11,000 four-star votes and a library of more than 200 ELA resources for elementary, middle and high-school students alike. Wheaton credits her education (she has a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree) for helping her create such dynamic and useful resources and you see the attention to detail and quality in her work quite clearly. Whether it is exploring literary devices or offering a tutorial on how to write a thesis statement, any middle or high school teacher would be wise to at least peruse the options that Wheaton is offering up.

I have a strong passion for creating hands-on, interactive resources that help students think outside the box and truly reach their highest potential in the English classroom.

#9 - Miss Kindergarten

This California elementary school teacher has been blogging since 2010 and has become a TpT expert thanks to almost 100,000 four-star votes and a resource guide with nearly 350 items for fellow teachers to choose from. It is hard to classify kindergarten teachers as ELA-specific and it is definitely true that Miss Kindergarten includes resources and study guides for subjects like Math as well. But creative writing seems to be right in her wheelhouse and she does a tremendous job of using engaging and fun topics to teach specific subject material. She shows no signs of slowing down either as she continuous to update her library relatively regularly. Her lessons and work sheets are perfect for one-off assignments, homework, and even summer continued education. She has something for every early elementary school teacher and that kind of dedication deserves some public props.

#10 - Miss Giraffe

One of the most easily recognizable Kindergarten authors on TpT, Miss Giraffe has a catalog of more than 550 resources, quizzes, activity books and lesson plans. She also has more than 120,000 four-star votes on the site and is clearly one of the most prolific publishers on the entire site. She isn't quantity over quality however as she has impressed with her ability to find unique angles to teach specific subjects and also deserves praise for her willingness to run the gamut of subject material. Her resources include math material, science material, history material and, of course, ELA material. This Arizona teacher also posts great writing and reading advice on her blog and is clearly adept at marketing herself and her material. All the more power to her too, as it appears to be working.

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