Let’s be honest: middle school engagement is not a cute little bonus. It’s survival. Because if students aren’t engaged in ELA, they’re not quietly “not engaged.” They’re actively… creative about it. They’re: So when teachers tell me they want stations, what they really mean is: “I want my students working
I worked in a school a few years ago where “formative assessment” meant all the pretty things: A full 12-ft “data wall” in our PLC conference room along with teeny-tiny Excel docs so we could ALSO “track 12 standards in 6 colors on a spreadsheet” at home (yeah, right). Ok,
You know that moment when you start class by saying, “Okay friends, today we’re writing…” …and a solid chunk of your class reacts like you just announced your school is moving to a 7-day school week? Yeah…Writing in middle school is a whole thing. For struggling writers, writing isn’t just
If you’ve ever read a student speech or essay and thought… …then like so many of us, you’re working through the paragraph flow problem zone. Students struggle with how ideas connect, which isn’t solved by just “teaching transitions.” It’s: Teach HOW transitions reveal the logic of the writing. Let me
Let’s talk about reading comprehension in middle school. Not the Pinterest version. The real version. The version where: And you’re over here trying to teach “analysis” and “theme” and “text evidence” while also wondering if your coffee counts as a meal. So when people say things like:✨ “Just do close
Let me guess. Your Middle School ELA students are “using evidence”… technically… in the same way I “meal prep” when I buy a rotisserie chicken and call it self-care. They’re dropping a quote into their paragraph like it’s a mic drop… and then walking away. No explanation. No connection. No
What I wish I’d figured out a long time ago was how to stop reinventing the wheel for every novel and instead, follow a structure for myself that I could basically rinse+repeat regardless of the type of novel I was doing. And really, when it comes down to it, whatever
It’s true: Middle schoolers don’t exactly jump for joy when it’s time to write. 😬 Too often, they hear “writing” and instantly picture a formal, five-paragraph essay with embedded quotes and text evidence and transitions that bridge it all together. But writing doesn’t always have to mean MLA formatting, thesis
There’s something about January that just begs for fresh starts—new planners, new goals, and maybe even a new pack of flair pens. In my Middle School ELA classroom, I like to lean into that energy with “New Beginnings” stations. They give students a chance to practice the same core skills
If you’ve ever scrolled through teacher Instagram and thought, “Wait, she’s doing an entire Dickens-themed escape room with twinkle lights, costumes, AND a hot cocoa bar?!”—pause right there. Listen: You do not have to compete with Pinterest-perfect, five-week-long A Christmas Carol extravaganzas to be a good teacher. You also don’t
Goal: Thematically-linked stations that incorporate fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for engaging ways to review+practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, and grammar concepts December in middle school ELA has its own special kind of magic. Between holiday concerts, hot chocolate in travel mugs, and students counting down the days until Christmas
You know that weird stretch of school between Thanksgiving and Christmas break? I’m talking about the days when students are either half-asleep from turkey leftovers or wildly sugar-buzzed from non-stop candy canes. At this point, we’re all counting down to Christmas break while wrapping up loose ends so we can
Goal: Thematically-linked stations that incorporate fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for engaging ways to review+practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, vocabulary, and grammar concepts November always sneaks up fast, doesn’t it? One day it’s pumpkins and spooky stories, and the next we’re talking turkey and gratitude journals. In my classroom, November is
Middle School ELA isn’t exactly known for being the place where students beg to do grammar each day. And I get it! I mean… me, neither! (Or… me, either?). The secret trick that works for me (what I’ve shared time and time again during the lesson plan membership Q+A Zoom
Hands-on, brain-based learning and retention comes most genuinely through the writing process, but “The Writing Process” doesn’t have to be formal or essay-style to meet students’ needs. We process and remember more deeply and more meaningfully when we write about our own thinking or when we refer back to something