One of the most frustrating things about teaching middle school is that a lesson can be genuinely good and still fall flat. You planned it carefully….It covers exactly what students need to learn….You even added an activity you were sure they would enjoy. Then you look around the room and see blank faces, half-hearted answers,
Student Engagement Isn’t About Entertaining Them Read More »
I used to think engagement had to be flashy. That the kids would only be interested if there were bells and whistles and everything was thematic and fun. So I went all in. I actually built a hospital room in my classroom once. The students were “operating” their way through the test prep. I hung
Engagement Strategies That Still Work in a Below-Level Class Read More »
Teaching Greek and Latin Roots Without Boring Your Students Words like biology, astronomy, therapy, and philosophy all have something in common. They’re built from Greek and Latin roots. Once students start recognizing those roots, something really powerful happens: they stop feeling completely lost when they encounter unfamiliar words. Instead of guessing randomly, they can break
Greek and Latin Roots Activities for Middle School Read More »
If you’re teaching middle schoolers like I am, you know how much growth and change they go through during these years. They’re navigating new challenges, learning to balance responsibilities, and figuring out who they are—all while adjusting to the increasing academic demands. During this time, one of the most important skills they need to develop
6 Reasons why Middle School Reading is Important Read More »
Discover middle school books that captivate readers attention
The Top Middle School Books To Read this Year Read More »
Discover six creative strategies to make reading exciting for middle schoolers
Top Ways to Get Middle Schoolers Excited About Reading Read More »
Discover creative ways to use doodle notes to make grammar lessons engaging, interactive, and memorable for your students.
Why You Should Be Using Doodle Notes in Your Classroom Read More »
Grammar review doesn’t always have to be about filling out worksheets or endless drills. In fact, grammar can be one of the most fun parts of your ELA class when you introduce online games into the mix. There’s no limit to how creative and engaging grammar activities can be, especially when you’re trying to keep
4 Interactive Online Games to Teach Grammar Read More »
In middle school, fostering a love for reading is important. Besides the books we offer our students, games are a great way to promote reading. Yes, I said it… GAMES!! Games can help boost reading skills, especially when played in small groups. They provide an interactive way to engage students and make learning more enjoyable
Top 5 Games to Boost Reading in Middle School Read More »
Time and time again, teachers may find it challenging to keep students engaged while teaching grammar curriculum—repeat, repeat, repeat, the same type of worksheet, and the same look in your students’ eyes when you announce today’s grammar lesson. Sound familiar? I always felt that teaching grammar was an uphill battle, especially with subjects like commas,
How I transformed my grammar curriculum Read More »
This is the second blog post in a series about standards-based assessment. On the previous blog, we discussed that standards-based assessments (SBA) are a way to evaluate students’ learning based on one single standard or indicator. We also talked about five reasons why you should use SBA in your classroom. Before you read this blog
How To Use Standard-Based Assessment Data Read More »
Tracking data sounds like the farthest thing from a good time, but I firmly stand by it. A few years ago, I was feeling lost in my content. We were moving ahead on schedule with the curriculum, but I felt like my students were falling farther and farther behind. Could standards based assessments be the
Why You Should Track Data in Middle School ELA Read More »
What are two words likely to make a teacher’s head spin? Assessments and data. We hear these words frequently in education, and it’s often assumed that we must be experts at them. However, while teachers are experts in their content areas, we haven’t all been adequately taught about the different types of assessments and what
5 Ways To Assess Student’s Learning Read More »
In the FREE Punctuation Posters resource, you will find 10 different posters for display around your classroom. These posters include semicolon (;), ellipses (…), period (.), parentheses (()), quotation marks (“ ”), colon (:), apostrophe (‘), question mark (?), comma (,), and exclamation point (!). Each poster spells out the word each character represents, in addition
Punctuation Posters For Middle School Read More »
