10 Back-to-School Essentials Every Middle School English Teacher Needs As a Middle School English teacher, I’m constantly searching for tools that make my job easier and my whole teacher life more efficient. Here are 10 essential tools that I personally love and use in my own classroom. From organization to
If you’re swimming in confusing standards as a result of changing grade levels or content areas, you may wish you had a quick-reference cheat sheet that just laid it all out for you in one place. Introducing the Expository Reading & Writing Unit Cheat Sheet for our dynamic 6th, 7th,
Ethos, pathos, and logos are rhetorical strategies often used in persuasive writing and speech to appeal to an audience’s emotions, credibility, and logic, respectively. Understanding and analyzing these rhetorical strategies can help students become more critical readers and effective writers, enabling them to identify persuasive techniques in texts and use
First things first (especially if you’re new to Middle School English) → In middle school ELA classrooms, teachers often incorporate various types of expository reading to engage students and develop their comprehension and critical thinking skills. Some of the most common types of expository reading materials teachers use to round
When designing narrative reading and writing units for 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade students aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), there are distinct differences (and some similarities, of course) tailored to the developmental progression and academic expectations of each grade level. I crafted a quick “cheat sheet” of sorts
Welcome, Middle School ELA teachers! 📚✨ I’m assuming you’re here because you’re looking to simplify the process of planning a narrative reading and writing unit. Welp, you’re in the right place! Let’s navigate this journey together, armed with practical strategies to streamline your planning process, saving you time and reducing
LEARNING GAME NECESSITIES The first three essentials in my year-end toolkit are games I love using in my classroom across pretty much all grade levels. They save my sanity when we have weird schedule issues at the end of the year, like when half the class is gone for a
For Middle School Writing Teachers: Whether you’re prepping your students for an upcoming test, or simply looking for hands-on examples to use all year long that teach the constructed response, I’ve got you covered. When it comes to standards that require students to use text evidence to write a “short
“But I’m stuck!” “They’re trying to trick us!” “I have, like, NO idea!” “None of the answer choices makes sense!” “I think all the answer choices could be the right one.” Do any of those^ frustrating comments from students sound familiar? They’re the complaints that come from students when they
As middle school reading teachers, we’re often told to “meet them where they are” and to “close the gaps” regarding students who read (sometimes far) below grade level. When middle school students struggle with reading comprehension—which limits their ability to analyze, build connections, and develop their own thoughts about what
Whether you’re crunched for time, or you just want to focus on a few high-impact test review skills without overwhelming yourself or your students, I’ve got you covered. In fact, the three skills I’m sharing with you are wildly helpful to implement all throughout the year—-not just for test prep
I’ll share a personal situation that was a TERRIBLE formal observation (and what I did about it and how I shifted my mindset). It was my first year at a new middle school and the principal at the time kept scheduling my observation and then unscheduling it multiple times… Or
Before we jump into the five methods, here’s the foundational thinking of each of the five strategies: Don’t grade every “thing” on every assignment. Choose one or two key focus areas to actually grade instead. In fact, don’t grade every assignment, either! Sometimes a quick check mark, stamp, or verbal
(1) Using PearDeck with Google Slides… Game changer! You get to see what everyone knows, not just the only two kids willing to answer. → It’s an add-on that lets you add a variety of questions (multiple choice, short answer, “drawing”, etc). Students login to the presentation on a computer
Does this sound familiar? Could this be you right now? It’s Sunday night, and my teacher breaking point has ruined my whole weekend because last week was awful, and I’ve spent the weekend so upset while also dreading Monday. Self-sabotage, self-care, self-esteem, self-doubt, all piled up on stress over personal