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I’m just under 10 days away from the end of this school year and we all know this was a tough one. We thought last year was but then… but then… However, the emails that I scheduled last year for anticipated tough times this year were a saving grace for me this year. Letters to …
When I started teaching, I knew I had to include vocabulary into my curriculum. Overwhelmed with all of the typical new teacher stress, I adopted the ancient practice of: vocabulary lesson on Monday, Kahoot! Review on Thursday, and vocabulary quiz on Friday. I even created a summative vocabulary test for students to take at the …
Have you ever heard of the flipped classroom? This model has been around for many years, but, with the pandemic, it has become more and more relevant as we dive into online learning. In its essence, the concept is this : the teacher creates a video lesson ahead of time that they share with the …
The ELA Matters team would like to help you keep your students engaged in learning until the last day of class. We’ve put together these easy to implement ideas to help you plan and wrap up your school year.
For Sale: Baby shoes. Never worn. 6 words but a full story, right? It has all of the parts of a story: character, plot (with a climax & implied resolution), and conflict. It also evokes a strong image and emotions. I find such stories are a great way to get students working more closely with …
One thing that I have noticed this year, more than any previous year, is that we have had to go over more basics in freshman English; we have retaught everything from how to raise your hand in class to what a thesis statement is to how to take notes. We actually had a student tell …
We all know that incorporating writing into our middle school or high school English Language Arts classrooms can sometimes be difficult to do every day. There is always a plethora of material to cover and writing every single day doesn’t always make the cut, but it should. Writing daily will not only improve students’ writing, …
The very idea of grammar has students immediately turned off, right? There’s something about it that is dull and difficult and students don’t often see the importance or the benefit to understanding how a sentence works. We know as language-lovers that it’s crucial to correctly word a sentence in order to build better and more …
The end of the school year is an exciting time… but it can also be overwhelming for teachers. There’s so much to get done and there’s nothing worse than running out of time on a cool project or unit. And of course, as much as we look forward to a restful summer and a much …
Journal writing is a great way to incorporate more writing into class, but is it enough to improve student writing skills? I love journal writing for a variety of reasons but mostly because it gets students writing and writing often. We all know the more students write, the better they can develop their skills but …
