Five Easy Ways to Build ELA Skills with Khan Academy (Grades 4–10)

Khan Academy Blog

by Katie Roberts

February 25, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

Khan Academy’s new ELA courses for grades 4–10 offer educators innovative ways to enhance students’ reading, writing, and critical thinking skills while preparing them for standardized assessments. In this article, Heather, a former middle school teacher and current content creator at Khan Academy, shares five effective strategies to integrate these standards-aligned resources into the classroom. One key approach is using weekly spiral review to keep essential skills fresh. Assigning one lesson per week helps students retain key concepts without overwhelming them. These lessons mirror state assessments, ensuring students are test-ready while allowing teachers to focus on small groups or individualized instruction. Additionally, printable note-taking templates and digital versions encourage deeper learning through handwritten notes, which research shows improves retention. Another impactful method is flipping ELA lessons. By assigning Khan Academy’s short, engaging articles and videos for homework, educators can gauge students’ prior knowledge and target support where needed. This approach frees up class time for meaningful discussions, text-based activities, and deeper analysis, fostering a more interactive learning environment. High-interest passages are another powerful tool for sparking engagement and critical thinking. Topics like “Should We Have Zoos?” not only capture students’ attention but also provide opportunities for whole-class debates, argument writing, and evidence-based reasoning. These resources help bridge the gap between comprehension and application, encouraging deeper understanding and articulation of ideas. For added fun, educators can turn ELA practice into engaging games, such as ELA Basketball. This activity involves projecting questions from Khan Academy’s exercises and challenging groups to answer correctly while justifying their reasoning. Correct answers earn points through basketball-themed rewards, making learning dynamic and motivating students to collaborate and think critically. Finally, Khan Academy’s bite-sized lessons are versatile tools for various classroom settings

Verticals

educationlearning

Originally published on Khan Academy Blog on 2/25/2026