Middle School Literacy

Each school year a unique mix of middle school students enter the doors of my classroom. Each with a story, each with different strengths, each with different weaknesses. I never take this responsibility lightly because what this means for me, as their teacher, is that I don't get to take the already published book off the shelf and write the same story as I did last year. Instead, we create and co-author a new story together. A story that I could never dream up or predict until it happens…

The pencils are sharpened, your classroom is clean and the bell rings…gulp…here they come! My feelings on the first week of school are conflicted. On one hand, it’s one of the most important weeks. Explaining and practicing the class procedures and expectations sets the tone for the rest of the school year. Success is vital. On the other hand, I’m so excited to start teaching my historical content that waiting until all the expectations are explained requires a lot of patience! Every teacher…

I was reading a book on helium. I couldn't put it down!

How would you like some ideas to use Wordle in your ELA classroom? In this blog post, you will find Wordle ideas for your classroom that will engage your middle school and upper elementary students in vocabulary activities and word acquisition. Get all these great ideas for your middle school ELA classroom.

You know that collective sigh, the one that choruses around the room when you enthusiastically announce, "Class, the next unit we'll be entering into is poetry!" If poetry is taught the right way, students should be cheering at the thought of a Poetry Workshop day. Below I will outline the "why" of Poetry Workshop along with tips and tricks that I have picked up to make any poetry unit a raging success in your middle school classroom. If you like what you read below and want to implement a…

Tips to support productive science discussions in NGSS middle and high school science classrooms.

Teaching blackout poetry is an engaging way to help spruce up your poetry unit. Show a few examples, and your students will be eager to create a blackout masterpiece of their own. Keep reading to learn what blackout poetry is and just what you need to do to teach it. So, you’re thinking about teaching… Read More »A Beginner’s Guide To Teaching Blackout Poetry

Get our students moving in the secondary ELA classroom with these active learning ideas and strategies. Encourage collaboration! Active learning ideas for the middle school ELA and high school English classroom. #teachingactivities #teachingstrategies #activelearning #learningstations #middleschoolELA #highschoolEnglish #secondaryELA #2ndaryELA

Picture Books in Middle School | Using picture books in your classroom can engage reluctant readers, help introduce a lesson, and build community. Check out tips & resources for using picture books in middle school from The Hanson Hallway at The Secondary English Coffee Shop.

As teachers, we all know the correlation between the amount of time that kids spend reading and their reading levels; quite simply, the more kids read, the better they will be at it. Studies consistently show the key role that reading volume plays in the development of comprehension, vocabulary, general knowledge, and cognitive structures. In Reading in the Wild, Donalyn Miller states that "we cannot overlook one truth: no matter what standards we implement or reading tests we administer…