CommonLit Text Library

Impossible to Train

Three characters discuss training their pets.

Brain Freeze!

Tracy Vonder Brink explains why our favorite cold treats sometimes come with a headache.

Space Food

Barbara Radner describes how astronauts take food into space.

The Super Soaker Story

Lonnie Johnson created the Super Soaker and other helpful inventions.

Tracy Vonder Brink

4th Grade

Poem

Masks

This short but profound poem deals with the idea of hiding one's identity.

Time Travel in Fourth Grade

A boy time travels in order to fix his fourth grade science project.

Stray

In this short story, an abandoned dog is discovered by a young girl.

More Than He Looked: Steph Curry

Basketball star Steph Curry proved others wrong and became one of the most successful NBA players.

India James

5th Grade

Laura's Key

A girl is determined to improve after being benched by her soccer coach.

The Lion and the Mouse

A classic fable in which a tiny mouse proves to a powerful lion that she is greater than she seems.

Diary of a Teenage Refugee

A 16-year-old Syrian girl living as a refugee in Lebanon recounts her experiences fleeing home.

The Stain on the Cafeteria Floor

Two friends discover a mysterious stain on the floor of their school cafeteria.

Josh Allen

6th Grade

Social Media: What's Not to Like?

This text explores the positive and negative consequences of social media.

Alison Pearce Stevens

6th Grade

Do People Really Change?

Jessica McBirney discusses how people change over time.

Inside the Eye of the Clumsy Dragon

A teenage boy learns an important lesson about perseverance after participating in a martial arts.

Theseus and the Minotaur

A brave young Athenian prince vows to take on a monster who has been terrorizing the people of hi...

E2BN.org

7th Grade

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve

The Medicine Bag

Martin's grandpa comes to visit and brings a medicine bag that is to be passed down to him.

7th Grade

Examination Day

A boy is required to take an intelligence exam by the government once he turns 12 years old.

Herd Behavior

This text provides an overview of when and how individuals give in to herd behavior.

Middle School

In this podcast transcript, This American Life host Ira Glass interviews teens about middle school.

Ira Glass

8th Grade

Rumors of Facebook's Death May Be Exaggerated

Gina Rich explains why Gen Z has not completely abandoned Facebook.

A Meme is Not Just a Meme!

Internet memes are a modern version of a linguistic and cultural phenomenon.

The Monkey's Paw

A man makes a wish on a charm that is given to him by an old friend and suffers the consequences.

A House without a Gold Star

A young boy's close-knit community is torn apart during World War II.

Gary D. Schmidt

9th Grade

Conformity

Conformity is the act of matching one's beliefs or actions to the norms of a larger social group.

Is Online Gaming Addictive?

Professionals disagree about whether excessive online gaming is a diagnosable disorder.

Why it matters that teens are reading less

Jean Twenge discusses how teenagers today are spending less time reading.

The Necklace

A woman's dream of riches leads to a series of events that leave a woman in a life of poverty.

Guy de Maupassant

10th Grade

The Last Curiosity

After humankind is destroyed, artificial intelligence attempts to understand the human experience.

For Gen Z, TikTok Is the New Search Engine

TikTok's relevant and engaging search results make it the preferred search engine for young people.

More Teens Ditching Social Media?

Many teens have mixed feelings about their relationship with social media.

Age Limits on Your Favorite Apps?

U.S. legislators seek to address concerns about young people's social media use.

Ruben Brosbe

11th Grade

The Cask of Amontillado

This is a classic and suspenseful tale of revenge told from the perspective of the murderer.

The Masque of the Red Death

Prince Prospero throws an extravagant party for his friends, but receives an unexpected guest.

The Myth of Daedalus and Icarus

In this myth, Daedalus attempts to escape imprisonment by crafting wings for himself and his son.

Allegory of the Cave

This piece of philosophy explains the importance of knowledge in society and for the human soul.

Plato

12th Grade

The Cooking Lesson

A daughter struggles with the expectations of her Chinese American parents.

The World in Flames

A couple is stranded on an island when a fire engulfs Sydney, Australia.

Social Interaction is Critical for Mental and Physical Health

Research shows that social connectedness can be as or more important as healthy living habits.

Will the 'right' college major get you a job?

The author discusses the importance of your college major to future success.

Glenn Altschuler

Want to get more of the Text Library?

Create a free account to get full access to the CommonLit Text Library.

A cute illustration of a character with a book for a body giving a "thumbs up" gesture

ELA TEXT LIBRARY

Rigorous lessons with just one click

3,000+ texts

ready-to-teach for grades 3-12

30+ genres

literary and informational texts

1,000+ authors

from around the world

Everything included with CommonLit texts

CommonLit texts include lesson materials, formative assessments, and instructional supports that help teachers deliver engaging, standards-aligned instruction. Spend less time planning and more time teaching with classroom-ready resources built into each text.

Teacher guides and lesson overviews

Read Aloud, translation, and annotation tools

Discussion questions and paired texts

Guided Reading Mode for differentiated instruction

Built-in formative assessments

Student and class performance insights

Text Library in action

Explore our blog for resources on our Text Library content and research on the efficacy of our ELA program.

A student reading Twelve Angry Men at her desk.

Text Library

TESTIMONIALS

Loved by teachers, trusted by administrators

Get inspired by the experiences of educators who’ve seen the impact of our lessons.

Two teachers completing a CommonLit Professional Development module on a laptop.

"What I love about CommonLit is that teachers can use it in whatever way meets their needs in their classroom. Whether it's as a supplemental resource, or they want to use all of the bells and whistles that go with that particular lesson, CommonLit fits all of their needs."

Jeremy Parrish

Senior Administrator for High School ELA

Wake County, NC

Students completing CommonLit 360 lessons on their computers.

"CommonLit is really easy to use and teachers appreciate being able to login to a user-friendly experience... I have personally seen and appreciated the richness of the scaffolding tools that CommonLit offers."

Daniel Potter

English Language Arts Specialist

Alpine School District, UT

Two students smiling while working together on a CommonLit 360 lesson.

"A huge selling point of CommonLit was the diversity of authors and the diversity of the characters in the fiction pieces. Our students heard this from 3rd to 12th grade, fiction is windows and mirrors. CommonLit does a really good job of showing a mirror to the students, so they can see themselves in what they’re reading."

Kevin Walters

ELA Supervisor for grades 3-12

Lakewood Public School District, NJ

Pricing for schools & districts

Level-up your ELA instruction by supporting your team's use of our free Text Library with additional professional development, benchmark assessments, and more.

School Essentials PRO

No multi-year savings

$4,000

/per school /per year

1 year commitment

Engaging Content

CommonLit Text Library

CommonLit 360 Curriculum

Professional Development

On-Demand Training Modules

Kickoff Webinars

Quarterly Virtual Trainings for CommonLit 360

Curriculum Implementation Support for CommonLit 360

Assessments & Data

CommonLit Assessment Series

Administrator Data Dashboard

Unit Skills Assessments for CommonLit 360

Premium Support & Integration

Dedicated Account Manager

ClassLink and Clever Rostering Integrations

Priority User Support

Full Canvas LMS Integration

School Essentials PRO Plus

No multi-year savings

$6,850

/per school /per year

1 year commitment

Engaging Content

CommonLit Text Library

CommonLit 360 Curriculum

Professional Development

On-Demand Training Modules

Kickoff Webinars

Quarterly Virtual Trainings for CommonLit 360

Curriculum Implementation Support for CommonLit 360

Assessments & Data

CommonLit Assessment Series

Administrator Data Dashboard

Unit Skills Assessments for CommonLit 360

Premium Support & Integration

Dedicated Account Manager

ClassLink and Clever Rostering Integrations

Priority User Support

Full Canvas LMS Integration

School Essentials PRO

$4,000

Save $350

$3,650

/per school /per year

2-4 year commitment

Get a quote

Engaging Content

CommonLit Text Library

CommonLit 360 Curriculum

Professional Development

On-Demand Training Modules

Kickoff Webinars

Quarterly Virtual Trainings for CommonLit 360

Curriculum Implementation Support for CommonLit 360

Assessments & Data

CommonLit Assessment Series

Administrator Data Dashboard

Unit Skills Assessments for CommonLit 360

Premium Support & Integration

Dedicated Account Manager

ClassLink and Clever Rostering Integrations

Priority User Support

Full Canvas LMS Integration

School Essentials PRO Plus

$6,850

Save $550

$6,300

/per school /per year

2-4 year commitment

Get a quote

Engaging Content

CommonLit Text Library

CommonLit 360 Curriculum

Professional Development

On-Demand Training Modules

Kickoff Webinars

Quarterly Virtual Trainings for CommonLit 360

Curriculum Implementation Support for CommonLit 360

Assessments & Data

CommonLit Assessment Series

Administrator Data Dashboard

Unit Skills Assessments for CommonLit 360

Premium Support & Integration

Dedicated Account Manager

ClassLink and Clever Rostering Integrations

Priority User Support

Full Canvas LMS Integration

School Essentials PRO

$4,000

Save $600

$3,400

/per school /per year

5+ year commitment

Engaging Content

CommonLit Text Library

CommonLit 360 Curriculum

Professional Development

On-Demand Training Modules

Kickoff Webinars

Quarterly Virtual Trainings from CommonLit 360

Curriculum Implementation Support for CommonLit 360

Assessments & Data

CommonLit Assessment Series

Administrator Data Dashboard

Unit Skills Assessments for CommonLit 360

Premium Support & Integration

Dedicated Account Manager

ClassLink and Clever Rostering Integrations

Priority User Support

Full Canvas LMS Integration

School Essentials PRO Plus

$6,850

Save $1,000

$5,850

/per school /per year

5+ year commitment