How to Create a Full Year ELA Curriculum Plan (Without Losing Your Mind)

A Practical Guide & Sample Yearlong Plan for High School and Middle School English Teachers

Overwhelming. Quite possibly the first word that comes to mind when trying to plan a yearlong ELA curriculum for high school or middle school. The process might look something like this: 1. Stare at the calendar with dread. 2. Wonder how to make sense of all the standards, writing tasks, texts you love (and those you’re required to teach). 3. Feel the panic set in. If this at all resembles your curriculum planning experience, you are not alone.

Whether you’re new to the classroom or just looking to refine your approach, figuring out where to begin is often the hardest part. And while there’s no one right way to map out your year, I’ve found that starting with standards and content—rather than themes (think: “Identity!” “Justice!” “Coming of Age!”) —gives you a stronger foundation and a lot more clarity.

Why It’s So Hard to Start

The ELA universe is massive. Literature, writing, rhetoric, grammar, vocabulary, speaking and listening—it’s all in there. Add in the pressure of “teaching kids to think,” and it can feel impossible to cover everything deeply, especially in just 36 weeks.

I remember starting my first year of teaching in the middle of the school year, with no plan, no curriculum map, and barely a seating chart. I spent most of that semester in pure survival mode, trying to keep at least one nostril above water—and occasionally crying in my car.  So when year two rolled around, I was hellbent on having an actual plan from the start. But where to even begin? I had no shortage of ideas or standards or texts I loved, but making it all work together in a way that made sense was a whole different challenge.

Many teachers start by choosing a theme for each quarter or unit (maybe one called “Unheard Voices” that kicks off with a bulletin board headlined “Your Voice Matters”). This approach can certainly inspire creativity and connection. But without a strong structure beneath, it can result in gaps in instruction, scattered standard coverage, and a lack of clear skill progression.

Why Organizing by Content and Standards Works Better

Organizing your curriculum around critical reading and writing standards, then aligning those with different types of texts and writing tasks, gives your year a built-in structure. A solid plan allows students to progress from easier to more complex work, revisit key skills in different contexts, and get regular, intentional writing practice. And you still get to incorporate themes—but as part of the learning, not the foundation of it.

This approach has helped me make sure I’m actually teaching everything my students need, without having to reinvent the wheel every quarter. It also gives me space to go deeper instead of trying to do everything all at once.

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A Sample Yearlong ELA Curriculum Plan (Middle and High School)

Here’s the framework that I use in my own classroom, with each quarter organized by content and skill focus, while increasing in complexity and independence as each the year progresses:

Quarter 1: Short Fiction & Nonfiction + Informative Writing

Focus: Foundations of literary analysis, close reading, and informative/ expository/ explanatory writing
Why it works: Short texts and basic essay writing instruction lets students begin the year practicing core reading and writing skills in manageable chunks.

Key Skills & Standards:

• RL.1-3 – Making inferences and analyzing plot, character, and theme
• RI.1-2 – Main idea and supporting details
• W.2 – Informative/explanatory writing
• SL.1 – Collaborative discussion

Suggested Texts:

• Short stories: Classics such as “The Monkey’s Paw,” “Masque of the Red Death,”  “The Open Window,” “Story of an Hour” as well as more contemporary pieces such as “Rules of the Game,” “Geraldo No Last Name,” and/or “The Flowers.”
• Nonfiction: Short articles, editorials, or reflective essays that are modern and relatable, or landmark Supreme Court Cases such as “Texas v. Johnson” that inspire discussion and debate
• Writing: Informative essay on a modern-day issue or a concept from the texts

Quarter 2: Rhetorical Analysis & Argument Writing

Focus: Understanding persuasion, rhetorical techniques, and crafting a strong written argument
Why it works: By this point, students are ready to think more abstractly, take stances, and build their voices.

Key Skills & Standards:

• RI.3, RI.6 – Author’s purpose, rhetorical techniques
• W.1 – Argument writing
• SL.4 – Presenting claims and evidence

Suggested Texts:

• Essays/Speeches: Start with short, approachable articles or speeches such as Taylor Swift’s commencement address at NYU, then progress into more rigorous, historically significant speeches, such as Reagan’s “Challenger” address and/or Wiesel’s “Perils of Indifference.” Finish with a longer, more layered and complex text such as MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” or Antony’s funeral speech in Julius Caesar.
• Writing: Formal argumentative essay and small debates or presentations

Quarter 3: Poetry & Shakespeare

Focus: Poetic form, figurative language, tone, and building comfort with increasingly complex texts
Why it works: It gives students a chance for “productive struggle” with progressively challenging texts, work with language in new ways, and prepares them for heavier lifting in Q4.

Key Skills & Standards:

• RL.4, RL.5 – Figurative language, poetic structure, tone
• RL.7 – Comparing text and visual/audio interpretations
• W.4 – Creative or analytical writing about literature

Suggested Texts:

• Poets/Poems: Edna St. Vincent Millay, Emily Dickinson, W.B. Yeats, and/or contemporary, high-interest poems such as “Without Title; for my Father who Lived without Ceremony,” or “I am Offering this Poem.”
• Shakespeare: Macbeth (or Julius Caesar or Romeo and Juliet)
• Writing: Begin with a writing workshop revisiting the basics followed by character or poetry analysis essay

Quarter 4: Full Novel Study + Test Prep

Focus: Building stamina, deeper literary analysis, and real-world reading application
Why it works: Students now have the skills to tackle longer, more complex texts and more independent reading and writing tasks.

Key Skills & Standards:

• RL.1–6 – Synthesizing themes, characters, conflicts
• RI.1–6 – Test passage analysis
• W.9 – Analytical essay writing with textual evidence
• W.10 – Sustained writing

Suggested Texts:

• Short novels: Animal Farm, Night
• Longer/complex novels: Fahrenheit 451, The Book Thief
• Writing: Literary analysis essay, timed writing practice, culminating reflections
• Test Prep: sprinkle in a variety of short complex texts that target individual skills and standards for practice, along with longer texts that assess a variety of skills

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Need a Starting Point?

No plan is one-size-fits-all. What works in my classroom might look a little different in yours—and that’s a good thing. The key is to build a structure that lets your students grow as readers, writers, and thinkers over time, with room to adjust along the way.

If you’d rather not start from a blank page, I’ve put together free curriculum pacing guides for each quarter you can use as a flexible starting point. You can find them in my TPT store here: Quarter 1, Quarter 2, Quarter 3, and Quarter 4.

If you’re looking for something more complete, I also have a Full-year ELA Curriculum Bundle that follows this same structure and includes all the materials I use in my own classroom. It includes all the instructional materials as well as full text units for each short story, novel, play, etc.—so that all the planning, sequencing, standards alignment, and specific text instruction and activities are already done for you. If you would prefer an abridged version that includes all the instructional content but allows you to choose your own texts, you can also check out my Full-year ELA Curriculum “Essentials” resource.

Whether you build your own or borrow pieces from others, I hope this gives you a clearer path forward—and maybe a little peace of mind as you plan for the year ahead.

You’ve got this.