Tools to Help You Teach Middle School ELA
Use RAFT prompts engage students in creative writing responses to engage students in writing that is exciting and imaginative. All writing should be creative — no matter what the subject. But, too often the prompts we provide our students are dull. No wonder we’re nodding off as we grade! By using RAFT as a formula […] Read more…
Teaching creative writing? Not sure where to start? I’ve got you! Let’s get planning! How to Teach Creative Writing All writing is (or at least should be) creative. However, if you are teaching a specific creative writing class, here are some tips to keep it moving: Let’s look at each of these in more […] Read more…
Have your students discovered Artificial Intelligence writing tools yet? Would you even know? AI programs have become — well — a lot like Sci Fi becoming reality. Artificial Intelligence is already here If you’ve used Siri, Google, or Alexa — you’ve used AI. We love it, right? Get directions, order from the store, settle the […] Read more…
Ready to teach your students how to write a memoir essay? Here are steps to help you teach effectively and your students to produce a meaningful piece of writing. Let’s dive in! What is a memoir essay? A memoir is a personal essay that explores an event that a person has experienced. It’s different from […] Read more…
You don’t need an advanced degree to know that we can benefit from practicing gratitude. As a teacher, you are in a unique and powerful position to help your students consider, think about, and practice gratitude. What are some good ways to do that? Let’s dive in! The benefits of developing gratitude (for all of […] Read more…
There are many prewriting strategies you can use to help your students get ready to write. Here is a list of 11 and how to use them. Teaching writing can be a daunting task, but by breaking the writing process up, you’re students will be more successful. The best place to start writing instruction is […] Read more…
It’s easy to lose track of time when students are working on a writing task. Suddenly, a project that you thought would take a week or two has stretched out to three, four, or…will it ever be finished? The danger of long writing assignments It’s not the number of pages, but the number of days […] Read more…
We are always trying to simplify grading. And we need to! As ELA teachers, we grade a lot and need to communicate with our students as they journey through the learning process. How can we do that? Read on for more on this! Ready to Simplify Grading? Are you ready to put away your red […] Read more…
Video and narrative writing go hand in hand. As you prepare your students to begin writing narratives, you’ll want to teach them the elements of the genre. But before they even put pen to paper, you can use videos to teach narrative writing. Why? We are surrounded by stories. Commercials, TV shows, movies, video games, […] Read more…
The granddaddy of poems: the sonnet. Of all the poetry forms we can teach, it’s the most intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be! Teaching the sonnet is challenging, but a great way for students to practice critical thinking skills. Let’s dive in! What’s to love about sonnets? Sonnets provide the “whole enchilada” for poetry […] Read more…