Tools to Help You Teach Middle School ELA
Writing workshop can transform your classroom! Sounds magical, doesn’t it? I believe it’s true — and here is why: 1. Real Writers & Real Work Often students feel like they write something, it gets corrected, and…end of process. In a workshop, students grapple with the entire writing process: revision, determining what they really want to […] Read more…
If you assign homework, even if it’s just daily reading, you’ve probably encountered this excuse for incomplete work: “I didn’t have time…” Perhaps you’ve even had parents send notes or emails repeating the same thing — their child didn’t have time to complete homework. Kids are busy — that’s true, but are they managing their […] 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…
Ready to start using dystopia literature in your book clubs? Students LOVE it! From The Hunger Games and beyond…the genre is popular! That’s why it is a perfect match for your book clubs. What are the best ways to get started? Let’s dig in: Students can’t seem to get enough of them, and there are so many great […] Read more…
Do your students write their own works cited page? It’s just so easy to use an online tool, but what wouldn’t your rather that your students understand how to create their own? I teach my students how to create a works cited page from scratch — or the old, fashioned way as they like to […] Read more…
What’s a “classic” piece of literature? Mark Twain defined it as “something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.” Those words might ring true when you sit down to read War and Peace or Moby Dick, but what about middle school classics? Modern Classic Novels in Middle School A classic includes enduring themes, relatable […] Read more…
How do you use historical fiction? If you’re in a self-contained classroom, using historical fiction is a natural connection with your social studies content. It is an awesome way to build background knowledge and help students make strong connections. But what about me? I don’t teach social studies. I do know what our social studies […] Read more…
There are so many wonderful series written for middle schoolers. Here are some favorites: Series are important business when it comes to keeping middle school students reading. They are also great to add to your literature circle rotation since you can offer a “gateway” book. Reluctant readers love them because they are easy to slip […] Read more…
We all know the issues with middle school and reading. Weaknesses in reading skills can take a toll on student achievement as we ask and expect them to read more — both in volume and depth. But nonfiction is so tempting, so tantalizing, so dramatic…just dare your reluctant readers not to pick up a […] 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…