Tools to Help You Teach Middle School ELA
Teaching with a unit plan makes your weekly lesson planning a snap. It also helps you organize and plan your year. Here are some quick steps to unit planning that will really work! If you’ve already created a year long plan, you’ll use that to pick the unit you want to create. If your yearlong plan […] Read more…
Ready for back to school? Here are — activities to get you started on the right foot. Get to know your students One of the most important aspects of starting a new school year is getting to know your students. There are so many advantages of getting to know your students: 10 Ways to get […] Read more…
Dystopian literature remains popular with middle school students, and they can’t seem to get enough of this genre. Books like The Hunger Games or The Giver have been popular since they first hit shelves. But putting aside the most popular books in the genre, what other options do we keep in our library? There’s a lot […] Read more…
Share these fantasy series with your students. Fantasy is a great genre to use in your classroom. Students love the magic and wonder of stories like The Hobbit or Harry Potter. But setting aside Tolkien and Rowling, there’s a whole slew of fantasy ripe for the picking, but where should we start? Whether using them […] Read more…
When it comes to writing fiction, even professionals struggle with creating enjoyable, engaging dialogue. It’s a part of writing that’s deceptively difficult. Why students struggle with writing dialogue At first glance, it seems like dialogue shouldn’t be so difficult to write. Many students don’t understand how dialogue should work. This is a problem, because poorly […] Read more…
Teaching point of view is fun! There are so many creative ways to teach students how to recognize the three types. Follow these tips for your point of view lessons. What is point of view? There are three types of point of view: first person, second person, and third person perspective. Essentially, point of view […] Read more…
Ready to write literature circle lesson plans? This post will guide you through everything you need to know to get started! Whether you call them literature circles or book clubs, this type of reading instruction is a powerful and engaging way to improve reading. Let’s jump in! What are Literature Circles? A literature circle (or […] Read more…
No matter what your students are writing, the most important piece of any essay is a strong, well-defined thesis. But for many students, this can also be the most challenging part of the essay–how can they even start a paper if they don’t even know what they’re writing about? Lucky for your students, then, that […] Read more…
Reading skills are crucial in middle school. We really have such a short time to get students reading, comprehending, and on level. One way to do that is through graphic novels. Graphic novels have been growing in popularity for a long time, but many teachers tend to shy away from bringing them into the classroom. […] Read more…
Books talks are a great way to invigorate reading in your classroom. Students enjoy talking about the books they’re reading, and this can create a reading “buzz” in your class. Here are the steps to creating successful book talks with your students: What are book talks? Before you launch into them, what are they? Book […] Read more…