Tools to Help You Teach Middle School ELA
No matter how entertaining you are, your students still need to move around and talk during class. Here are some great ways to get students moving, talking, problem solving, and interacting with different classmates. What’s the perfect size for grouping students? Students often struggle in groups. One student make take over and do all the […] Read more…
Plan for a substitute by creating emergency sub plans for your middle school ELA classroom. What’s worse than missing school? Planning for a sub! Even if you have the luxury of planning ahead, preparing for a sub is often more painful than just being at school! Here are some ideas to get you ready! Create […] Read more…
Looking for a unique gift for a teacher? Most teachers have plenty of mugs and candles — but here’s a list of some thoughtful, fun, unique items that would make wonderful teacher gifts — any time of year. 13 Unique Gifts for Teachers 1.For some reason, students love to stare at the classroom clock. If you […] Read more…
How can you create an amazing teaching team? Read on for tips to making the dream a reality. Teaching teams are wonderful. They offer an opportunity for teachers to collaborate, share, problem-solve, and create friendships that extend beyond the school building. That’s the theory, anyway. They can also be dysfunctional, negative, ineffective, and destructive. The […] Read more…
Classroom management strategies that worked at the start of the year may not be as effective as we move from Halloween through the end of the year. Your students’ minds quickly move away from content material to the bulletin board that counts down the days until Christmas (whose idea was that?!) or the Elf on […] Read more…
Should you assign homework? Should it be graded? How should it be managed? Here are some ideas to help you make those decisions. Some schools have done away with homework altogether. Is that right for your school? Your students? Should middle school students be expected to complete homework? Let’s dig deeper. What impact is homework […] Read more…
Checklists can make the difference between a well-run lesson and a disjointed one. A smoothly run classroom and a chaotic one. How? Read on for ways they can make your life easier. Have you read The Checklist Manifestoby Atul Gawande? He proposes that the simple checklist will help streamline complex tasks and reduce errors. While […] Read more…
Looking for some quick organizational tips that will save you time and energy? This post is here to help you! It seems like some people are born organized (take my sister!) and some people, not so much (ummm, that would be me). But there are things we can do to improve our organizational skills. Here […] Read more…
The first day of school is full of organizing, paper passing, and expectations. While kids are happy to reconnect with friends, the business of the first day can be draining. That’s why playing a game on the first day is a great way to engage students. I play Scattergories throughout the year with my class […] Read more…