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We have all entered a professional development session thinking about the never-ending to-do list we have as teachers. Add the additional steps for English teachers to grade the piles of paragraphs, essays, and presentations. I end up feeling disgruntled sitting in a meeting that feels like it could have been an email or filled with …
It’s Mid-November and many students are already counting down the days until winter break. While it’s natural for students to get excited about the prospect of a few weeks away from school, it’s important to keep them engaged in learning throughout December. The ELA Matters team has come together to bring you some ideas to …
By creating a space where students feel comfortable reading, you can help foster a love of reading in your students. Encouraging students to read on a regular basis can help them develop strong reading skills and a lifelong love of reading.
Do your students utilize your classroom library or has it become an expensive decoration in the back of the room? We here at ELA Matters understand the importance of having a classroom library, not just pretty books on shelves, but a library where students find books they want to read, they can relate to, they …
One of the biggest challenges as a secondary teacher is how quickly you need to get to know your students. You have a lot to do, but know the value of taking the time to get to know your students – not just who they are personally but who they are as readers and writers.
Vocabulary is one of the biggest struggles my students face in my room. They often just skip over unknown or difficult words because it is easier than trying to figure out the meaning. I strongly believe that using context clues is one of the biggest and most important lessons we teach our students. We need …
Summer reading is required for many high school students and your school may ask that you recommend novels for your students to read this year. Samantha from Samantha in Secondary is bringing you a list that will help you update your arsenal. Instead of recommending novels that have been done time and time again, refresh …
This week Samantha K is sharing how she tackles vocabulary in the upper-grade levels. It’s nothing fancy, but it is an idea to add to your toolbox. She works to balance the fun element of learning with the long-term skill focus with older students. When it comes to vocabulary, Samantha looks at the goals for …
This year for Teacher Appreciation week, we here at ELA Matters want to THANK YOU for your commitment to your students. We are gifting to you several ideas and freebies throughout this post to help you finish the year strong!
We’ve all had this experience: You hand your students a copy of the text and invite them to “annotate the text.” You’re expecting to see margins filled with student writing – making their thinking visible to both you and them. Instead, you see clean crisp margins. Not a written comment in sight. If you’re lucky, …
