Tools to Help You Teach Middle School ELA
Do you use daily writing warm ups at the beginning of your writing class? How can you make the most of them? Here are a suggestions to make them work for your students: Writing warm ups + timer Here’s the scene: Your students come into the classroom. As they do every day, they work on […] Read more…
Formative? Summative? What does it all mean to you, your students, and teaching? You need assessments — but how you get them? What kind of assessment is it? And what you do with them? Here is how you can make sense of formative and summative assessments — without the overwhelm! Let’s get started! Wouldn’t it […] Read more…
Rubrics will save you time, help your students improve their skills, and provide fair, balanced assessments. You can use an online rubric maker — or you can create your own that are balanced and fair. Here is the secret “recipe” for creating and using your own. What’s a rubric, anyway? Here’s your etymological lesson for […] Read more…
Do you plan writing projects and provide students with an assignment sheet? Doing so can help you focus instruction and improve student outcomes. Here are some quick steps help you plan your own projects: You are driving home from school, listening to the radio, and daydreaming…suddenly an amazing idea pops into your head for your […] Read more…
Peer reviews are beneficial to the reviewer and reviewee alike. Students benefit most from peer reviews when a few things are set in place. When one of my teaching friends noticed I was using peer reviews in my classroom, she commented that she never used them. Why? “It’s like the blind leading the blind,” she […] Read more…
The end of the school year or semester is wonderful and exciting …except for the waste. Rather than having students chunk their partially used notebooks into the recycling bin, have them upcycle them by creating new notebooks or journals. Here’s how: Whether or not it’s Earth Day , students often need a gentle reminder that […] Read more…
A journal jar is a great way to offer students choices during writer’s workshop or journaling time. I’ve always loved using a journal jar. In the past, my journal jar consisted of topics written on strips of paper and stuck into a jar. Students could pick a slip, glue it to the top of […] Read more…
Ready to organize writing projects so your students’ papers aren’t everywhere? Want your fast finishers to be able to move forward on a writing project and not have to wait for the rest of the class? Ready to provide scaffolding for students who need it? And a checklist for you to streamline grading? Then, you’ll […] Read more…