Are you struggling to find ways to get your Middle School ELA students to show growth? Um . . . You’re NOT alone.
In fact, I hear questions about this topic fairly often. It’s not easy to be in charge of a whole class and then HAVE to provide data to prove that your students are growing.
Do you want me to teach, or do you want me to prove that I’m teaching? Because I can do one or the other really well–not both!!
So what can you do as a teacher when your time is already spread so thin?
Tip #1: Think about your students’ growth in categories.
I find it’s helpful to try to think about growth in categories, such as social/emotional growth or consistency in work completion.
While school districts are looking for more data-driven and standards-based skills, I’ve learned that what drives THOSE skills comes from other more intangible forces.
You know your student who is struggling with consistency will inevitably struggle in other areas of his academic work. Or your student who can’t seem to feel comfortable around her peers will struggle with reading aloud or with presentations.
So don’t be afraid to focus on (and CELEBRATE) growth in areas that are less data-driven.
This actually leads me to my second tip…
Tip #2: Teach your Middle School ELA students to value growth over good grades.
This comes down to cultivating the right culture in your classroom.
It’s SO EASY for students to obsess over their letter grades. (How many students in the last week have asked if you’ve graded their assignment yet??)
And I can’t blame them for focusing so much on getting A’s or B’s. Our educational system through college forces kids to strive to get good grades or risk losing scholarships, sports participation, etc.
But you and I both know that obsessing over grades isn’t necessarily going to cause our students to genuinely grow. And in fact, it can even cause MAJOR anxiety in some kids… (which only hinders their growth even more!)
That’s why it’s crucial that you remind your students that growth is more important than their grades—WITHOUT giving them excuses to let their grades suffer!!
Here are a few ways to do that:
A) In the beginning of class every now and then, ask students how they feel they’ve grown as students and what lessons they’re learning along the way. Provide positive feedback when they offer an answer that ISN’T grades-focused.
B) Ask them what they’ve learned this year that’s surprised them. Learning that makes kids go “Oh wow, I didn’t know about that!” allows them to engage with the lessons and even enjoy it… leading to a growth- and learning-oriented mindset.
C) Set aside time during a class during the beginning of the semester when students can journal about how they want to grow as students (especially regarding Middle School ELA).
Do they want to read faster? Do they want to understand the big words in their books better? Do they want to simply enjoy reading more?
Remind them to think about their growth goals throughout the semester and ask them how they’re doing.
Tip #3: Differentiate your students’ needs.
It’s also important that you keep your eye on where your students are growing and where they’re NOT.
For example, a student might show growth in comprehension in nonfiction while their comprehension in fictions dips a little.
Or maybe their vocabulary-in-context shows regular growth while academic/domain-specific vocabulary drops (like they can figure out the gist of unfamiliar words while reading, but they still struggle with what a standards-based question is asking them to do).
This is where differentiating becomes helpful. Differentiating your students’ needs doesn’t necessarily mean that each student gets a different assignment. That’s WAY too much work for you!!! (Plus, the standards for growth for Middle School ELA students are the same, no matter their needs. So in that way, you need to have consistent standards for your class.)
But even though all your students may get the same assignments, you can ask different questions to see where the kids are getting it … and where they’re not.
Sometimes this might mean simply wording your assignment questions in different ways and letting students choose which question makes sense for them to respond to. (This is the BEST way to get rid of those “I can’t!” or “I don’t want to” excuses.)
For instance, you might ask a question verbally but also write the question in a slightly different way on the board—and then ask a student to paraphrase. Suddenly the class has 3 different ways they can understand the question … and each of those questions will likely resonate with different students!!
Conclusion: Celebrate ALL growth.
What I really hope you walk away with here is that all areas of growth your students show are important.
As a Middle School ELA teacher, sometimes I end up tracking things and seeing growth in areas that call for celebration, even when those little areas maybe aren’t the ones listed on the lovely “data trackers” LOL.
But the good thing is that growth—no matter what form—can encourage your students to grow in other areas, too. 😊
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