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Including poetry in English classes is a daunting task but it doesn’t have to be! Here are a few quick ideas you can add to the rotation for any text you’re studying. One of the best ways to include poetry before reading a novel or play is to use it as a vehicle for background …
How do you keep your students engaged in a read-aloud? The read-aloud looks a lot different in a secondary classroom. It’s not like the days when I was teaching six and seven-year-olds who ran to the carpet squealing with delight because it was read-aloud time. Many secondary students enjoy a read-aloud because it’s an excellent …
Incorporating a warm-up or “bellringer” activity into your class time can have many benefits. This is an opportunity to hit on skills that might otherwise not make it into your regular lessons, or skills that are important to your “unwritten curriculum” like lessons on life skills and social emotional learning. Another benefit to bellringers is …
Throughout the year we use a variety of desk configurations to help with solo, paired, and group work. But like many of you I share a classroom with other teachers. This means I often have to reset the room at the end of a class period. And let’s be clear moving a ton of desks …
While traditional assessments have a place in the classroom, I always look for innovative ways to assess my students’ learning. In my search, I’ve found that poetry encourages students to think deeply and analyze text. It’s also a way for them to articulate their thoughts in a manner that goes beyond traditional tests and quizzes. …
ELA Matters is a collaborative group of middle school and high school teachers who love to help all teachers. Here are some of the latest posts from our contributors that focus on middle school reading and high school reading with text suggestions, activities, and test prep options too! Carolyn from Middle School Café One of …
After years of hearing about I-Search projects, Miss K finally introduced one in her classroom this year, and it was fantastic. This post will walk through what an I-Search Project is, what elements it can include, what Miss K found worked (and didn’t), and what she would do next time she assigns the project. First, …
Before you begin any new kind of writing, what do you do? Most likely, you head straight to Google and search for other examples of this writing style to help you along. So when it comes to our students learning new writing styles, it makes sense that they would need plenty of opportunities to study …
Descriptive writing is an important skill to learn and master. As a teacher, it can be difficult to help students develop their writing skills while also making the learning process fun and engaging. Fortunately, there are many creative strategies for teaching descriptive writing in middle school. Let’s take a look! Mix it Up with Fun …
Mentor texts are one of the most powerful ways to teach writing because they offer students both a model to follow (in other words, build in scaffolding) as well as inspiration for what to say. If you’re looking for fun and engaging ways to incorporate mentor texts into the secondary ELA classroom, read on for …
