If you’re like most English teachers, this school year might be giving you some anxiety. How do I keep my curriculum relevant when the world feels like it’s changing overnight? What ELA lessons for 2025 are going to help prepare my students for an “unprecedented” world?
2025-2026 is shaping up to be another year when critical thinking, source evaluation, and honest conversations about justice are more important than ever.
Between constant misinformation online, the rise of extremist rhetoric, and ongoing conversations about racism and civil rights, our students need the tools to read critically and think deeply.
And let’s be real. We need to teach some empathy in between our grammar and writing lessons, too.
If you’re planning your next semester, here are essential ELA lessons for 2025. These ideas are designed to keep your students engaged and your teaching connected to the real world.
ELA Lessons for 2025 #1: Teach Students to Spot Misinformation
Let’s face it: we’re living in an age of deepfakes, clickbait, and AI-generated nonsense. If students can’t tell a credible source from a shady one, they’re in trouble.
But it’s not just fake news: it’s also misunderstood humor. (I can’t tell you how many times my students have brought me satirical articles from The Onion believing it was factual news.)
Try This:
- Use my FREE Source Credibility Checklist to teach students what makes a source trustworthy.
- Pair it with my How to Do Research Lesson so they learn how to find good information in the first place.
- Then, layer in my Satire Lesson. Students will learn to identify irony, exaggeration, and author’s purpose–essential for decoding modern media.
ELA Lessons for 2025 #2: Dive Into Fascism and Extremism — Before It’s Too Late
It might sound dramatic, but understanding the signs of fascism isn’t just a history lesson — it’s a survival skill.
Recommended Pairing:
- My What is Fascism? Lesson breaks down the key traits of fascist movements in student-friendly language. (And using an activity that will get students up and moving).
- Use this lesson before reading novels like Internment by Samira Ahmed, which imagines a near-future America where Muslim Americans are forced into camps — an eerily relevant discussion of civil rights and authoritarianism. (Learn more about why teaching Internment is awesome in this post.)
ELA Lessons for 2025 #3: Teach a Holocaust Novel Study Unit
With Holocaust denial and distortion on the rise, teaching the Holocaust in an engaging, age-appropriate way is critical.
Try This:
- Use Maus by Art Spiegelman to help students see the personal side of historical tragedy. This Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel makes tough history accessible — and connects perfectly to discussions about propaganda, dehumanization, and fascism. (Learn more about teaching Maus here.)
- Consider pairing Maus with my What is Fascism? Lesson so students can make real-world connections.
- You can use this Stages of Genocide Graphic Organizer Worksheet or WebQuest to give students a clear framework for understanding how genocides unfold step-by-step, from classification and dehumanization to denial.
- Help students see that genocide isn’t just history — it’s something the world has grappled with again and again. This World Genocide Project challenges students to research, compare, and present on genocides around the globe. It’s perfect for fostering empathy and critical thinking about human rights and justice.
ELA Lessons for 2025 #4: Analyze Propaganda and Education in Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is another powerful graphic memoir that shows students what living under oppressive regimes looks like. (You can learn more about why Persepolis is such a powerful novel to teach here.)
My Propaganda & Education in Persepolis Lesson helps students analyze how information is controlled, what “education” really means under authoritarian systems, and how to question what they’re taught.
Bonus:
- This is a perfect springboard for students to compare modern media, censorship, and propaganda techniques in their own country.
ELA Lessons for 2025 #5: Use Literature to Talk About Social Justice and Civil Rights
Nothing sparks empathy and critical thinking like a good story. Novels like The Hate U Give and Born a Crime invite students to examine systemic racism, police violence, and privilege in ways that feel real.
(Never taught these novels? This post explains why you should teach The Hate U Give, and this one explains why you should teach Born a Crime.)
Try This:
- My unit for The Hate U Give digs into modern civil rights and helps students connect the novel to current protests and policies.
- My Born a Crime unit explores race and identity through Trevor Noah’s hilarious (and heartbreaking) memoir.
ELA Lessons for 2025 #6: Build Media Literacy and Research Skills
When students learn to back up their opinions with real evidence, they’re less likely to fall for conspiracy theories and echo chambers.
Try This:
- Pair my Source Credibility resources with my CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) Writing Resources — perfect for practicing argumentative writing grounded in facts.
ELA Lessons for 2025 #7: Encourage Students to See Multiple Perspectives
One antidote to extremism? Exposure to different voices. A World Literature unit or class that crosses cultures can help students see beyond their social media bubbles.
Try This:
- Use Persepolis alongside Maus to show how two graphic memoirs tackle big ideas about oppression, survival, and truth from different cultures and time periods.
- Kick off your World Literature unit with my “Why Study World Literature?: The Danger of a Single Story TED Talk” lesson. This powerful talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie helps students examine how stereotypes are formed and why hearing multiple perspectives matters now more than ever.
ELA Lessons for 2025 #8: Foster Civil Discourse Skills
Students need to learn to disagree respectfully, especially in a tense election year. Don’t be afraid to bring in discussion protocols, Socratic Seminars, or debate frameworks alongside your literature units.
Try This:
- Many of my novel units include guided discussion questions that push students to back up their views with text evidence — a vital life skill in 2025.
Final Thoughts: Why These Lessons Matter
ELA teachers do so much more than teach reading and writing; we help shape how the next generation understands truth, justice, and community.
By choosing essential ELA lessons for 2025 that tackle source credibility, fascism, propaganda, the Holocaust, and social justice head-on, you’re giving your students the tools they need to survive–and thrive–in a complicated world.