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You're in the right place for action steps and take-aways if you're a busy Middle School ELA teacher who prefers personal family time over prepping for class. You want to teach with confidence while also leaving at a very decent time each day. On that note, welcome to the library where I only share the kind of recommendations + advice that'll uplevel your classroom without taking away from your personal life.
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Latest from the Blog
Elements of Fiction and Short Stories Mini-Lessons for Middle School English Language Arts
Where to even begin (or end, or support, or extend) your elements of fiction / short story unit in Middle School English Language Arts & Reading . . . I’ll share my favorite mini-lesson topics with you here so you can think about what concepts you might want to include
No-Prep Ways to Teach Grammar in Middle School English Language Arts Class
We say “grammar” but really, that’s an umbrella under which we have things like usage, mechanics, parts of speech, sentence structure, etc. The word grammar covers all of it (that may seem obvious, but if you’ve been teaching math for 10 years and you just got “voluntold” to teach English
Elements of Argument & Persuasion Mini-Lessons for Middle School English Language Arts
Locating or creating resources to support elements of argument and persuasion is time-consuming and frustrating, especially when you’ve already taught the concepts and need more materials! I’ve created a collection of my top 10 mini-lessons and learning experiences (I’ll share them with you in a sec) so you can teach,
How to Flip Your Classroom One Piece at a Time: Middle School English Language Arts
Flipping your instruction (in case you’re new to the concept) is where students are introduced to material through videos or other digital content on their own time, usually outside of class (but I’ll show you other methods, too). The idea is that instead of the teacher teaching a concept in
Non-Fiction / Expository Paired Passages for Middle School English Language Arts
Finding on-level paired passages ready to go for Middle School ELA that are Accessible for your struggling readers Challenging enough for your high fliers Engaging so no one is bored Designed to promote discussion with built-in teachable moments . . . And that don’t take a whole week to teach
How to Help Struggling Readers in the Middle School ELA Classroom
I love connecting with teachers and coaching teachers through the issues and pain points that come with serving students in middle school English / Language Arts. I’ve had a couple of questions recently about what to do with students reading below grade level in middle school. It’s an issue that
8 Short Stories for Middle School ELA That Show Different Generations Learning from Each Other
Analyzing family dynamics across cultures and time periods and generations is usually very relatable, relevant, and interesting for middle school students. To get you started, here are eight short fiction stories that you can read with your Middle School ELA students in 20 minutes or less about different generations learning
Virtual Field Trip Discussion + Ideas
Here’s how to incorporate virtual field trips into your Middle School ELA Classroom. Time: 15 minutes or less for each one Rationale: Enhance speaking and listening skills while providing opportunities for authentic reading and writing both during and after any of the virtual tours. Make connections between text, world, and
No-Prep Student Engagement Ideas for ANY Time of Year
The hardest thing right now seems to be engagement . . . Student engagement, student motivation (and teacher motivation, too!). Here’s something that can definitely help you if you need fresh ideas for the days ahead: Save them for your own toolbox, and implement them as you wish 😊 🎉Play
Middle School ELA Vocabulary Lists & Strategies (with no extra prep or teacher stress)
Want the ONE magical ELA list of vocabulary for middle school students so that they’ll: Grow in their overall comprehension? Read with more clarity and fluency? Become confident and creative in discussions? Not to sound all doom and gloom, but there truly isn’t one magical list that’ll make that happen
How to Teach Greek & Latin Root Words (in the Middle School ELA Classroom)
Crazy-but-true fact: About 80 percent of the entries in any English dictionary are borrowed, mainly from Latin. Over 60 percent of all English words have Greek or Latin roots. In the vocabulary of the sciences and technology, the figure rises to over 90 percent. – Dictionary.com I didn’t quite realize
How to Use Exit Tickets with Ease & Strategy (in the Middle School ELA Classroom)
Questions about Exit Tickets pop up quite often from teachers I work with in the Middle School ELA Teachers Lesson Plan Membership community, so the purpose of this post is to gather together some helpful tips, specific examples, and memorable strategies for Exit Tickets so you can use them better
How to Introduce a Novel with Fun and Creativity (in the Middle School ELA Classroom)
The BEST, most engaging way to introduce a novel that will have students literally BEGGING (no joke, no hyperbole here) to read the book already is with a simple, zero-prep game of “20 Questions” you can pull out of your back pocket (figuratively speaking) anytime you wish. I absolutely love
Cheap & Easy Places to Find Books for Your Middle School ELA Classroom Library
It’s the life of a Middle School ELA Teacher, wanting to grow your classroom library. . . getting great-fit books into the hands of kids at this age is a dream AND a reality once you figure out how to connect them with books or genres they discover they love!
Popular Books for Middle School Students
One of the most commonly-asked questions that pops up on a weekly basis in our super-active Middle School ELA Teachers FB group is “What are your favorite books to teach?” Another variation of that comes something like this: “What books do your middle school kiddos love?” As English teachers, we
