Tools to Help You Teach Middle School ELA
Do your students need examples of a hook for an essay? If you’ve ever read a student paper that starts “In this essay, I will…” you know your students need help with hooks. If your students struggle with writing an intro, here are simple strategies and hooks that will make this easier for them. What’s […] Read more…
Ready to use mini lessons in your writing workshop, but not sure how? This post will take you the entire process from choosing your lessons to teaching. Let’s get started! What’s a mini lesson? A mini lesson is a short, 10 – 15 minute lesson that you teach by modeling a skill for your students. […] 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 start teaching argumentative writing? Arguments and middle school students go hand in hand! Looking for essay topics and ideas to help your students? Read on! What is an argument? That seems like a silly question, but ask your students and you’ll be surprised at the responses you get! What you really want to […] Read more…
Ready to teach expository writing? Here are the steps to get your students from the beginning to the end of the writing process. Before your students jump into expository writing, make sure they understand what it is. What is expository writing? Whether you refer to it as expository or informative writing, expository texts explain. They […] Read more…
Wondering how to teach narrative writing? Whether you’re using writing workshop or whole-class instruction, this post has you covered. Read on to find step-by-step help in teaching your students what narrative writing is and how to write them. Let’s get started! 1. What is narrative writing? You want to make sure that your students understand […] Read more…
I recently received a message from a teacher asking for help with her struggling middle school writers. She knew that all of her plans, units, and writing prompts were not going to be effective teaching tools if her students didn’t grasp the writing fundamentals they needed. Perhaps you spent an entire in-service day planning your […] Read more…
What do writing anxiety and a trip to the hospital have in common? As of the date on this post, I’m recovering from a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction. While I was in the hospital, I spent a good part of the day (and nights) discussing, describing and rating my pain. This was facilitated by […] 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…