Let us do the work for you with these 20 real-world ELA projects to use in middle school English
“When will I ever use this in real life?”
If you teach middle school ELA, you’ve definitely heard that line. And honestly? It’s a fair question.
Middle schoolers crave purpose.
They need to see how the work connects to their lives now, not just 10 years from now.
That’s where real-world ELA projects come in. When we ask students to perform authentic tasks like writing something that someone might actually read, planning something that could actually happen, or designing something that will actually be used, ELA becomes meaningful (and way more fun).
Below is a list of 20 real-world ELA projects that connect directly to the standards while giving students experiences they’ll actually value.
Some take just 10 minutes, while others can carry a full unit, and all of them answer that question:
Yes—you will actually use this in real life.
The first of our real-world ELA projects is to plan a trip with an itinerary to share.
Students research a destination, budget costs, schedule events, and create a digital or printed itinerary.
Optional: present it travel-brochure style to “sell” the trip to classmates.
Students write a professional email or letter requesting something from an organization or business. This could be a sponsorship, a coffee chat, a job shadow, or an interview.
Students learn persuasive language, call-to-action wording, and design posts for a business, school event, or fundraiser.
Students pitch a school dance, charity drive, carnival, or talent show with purpose, budget, timeline, and marketing plan. This project requires organization of thoughts, details to support points, and an overall understanding of the audience that will read the proposal.
Short, rapid-fire writing to express opinion with evidence.
Bonus: Play around with tone and word choice and how both can be used to convince people of your opinion.
Students create multi-step guides for hobbies, sports, video games, art, etc. Practice adding technology by inserting photos and videos into the design of the instructions or how-to materials.
Quick research + visual summarizing skills. This is a perfect activity for practicing nonfiction writing standards.
Students intentionally use chronological order, cause/effect, or compare/contrast to structure writing.
Students research, script, film, and edit. This could be a biography, a school issue, or a community story. Students will have to consider the lens, the author’s purpose, and the tone to fulfill the project’s goal.
Bonus: Have two groups create documentaries on the same topic from opposing perspectives. This will really heighten the importance of the author’s purpose and tone within the element of storytelling.
Students discuss an issue, explain something they know, or interview a classmate.
This doesn’t have to be high tech. Just use whatever recording app is available on your standard school computer or on student’s phones.
Students list accomplishments, interests, and skills. This is a great confidence-builder as your students are nearing an age when they’ll be able to get a part-time job.
Topics: mental health, climate, bullying, digital literacy, etc. Have students focus on a variety of different types of marketing materials such as posters, videos, radio ads, or announcements.
Students research costs and make a persuasive argument for school supplies, a field trip, or a club initiative.
Create pages for a business, product, or cause. Students will need to focus on clarity, organization, and intended audience.
Work in descriptive sensory language. You can also let students be more creative by adding some humor.
It may seem a little old-fashioned, but the organization, thought, and care that went into creating newspaper pages really highlight the skills of the writers, photographers, editors, and publishers. Being able to focus on layout, word count, imagery, as well as different kinds of writing: opinion, features, reviews, interviews, comics, etc. It is a great way for students to practice a variety of standards.
Have students create short, punchy persuasive writing with tone and voice.
Example: “We have $1,000 to spend for a school event. How do we maximize attendance?”
Develop this project by having students research, propose, and justify choices.
An early intro to reflective, structured writing. Students will have to really consider what a college may be looking for in a response and find a way to standout or approach the topic in an interesting way.
Students plan plot, pacing, and illustrations. When they are done, they can read their stories to younger students if possible.
When students do real-world tasks, they practice the same skills our standards demand—but in a way that makes sense to them:
Plus, they learn life skills that matter such as communication, planning, budgeting, persuasion, design, and collaboration.
The activities on this list aren’t “extra fun activities, “they’re strategic ways to embed standards without worksheets!
We have a bunch of real-world projects built into our standards-based product line as well. Take a look by clicking on your grade-level below.
