Balancing Independent Reading with Class Novels
As the push for choice reading gains momentum, many teachers have been wondering about how to balance independent reading with class novels. Some wonder, is there still a place for…
11 Ways to Use Color-Coding Strategies in the Classroom
Color-coding strategies are fun, but they also wield a deeper value. Colors can have a positive impact on memory and attention. Using color-coding is a great way to provide scaffolding…
Middle School Books Recommended by Teachers
Looking for books to challenge middle school students while also retaining an element of “appropriateness” in terms of content? Try this list of teacher-recommended texts.
7 Classroom Management Strategies for Addressing Difficult Behaviors
Defiance, purposeful distraction, shredding work, talking back…these difficult behaviors can be hard to address in the middle or high school classroom, especially if more than one student is exhibiting them…
The Big List of Ways to Motivate Struggling Writers
There are few things in the ELA teaching world worse than when a student flat out refuses to write. It happens for a myriad of reasons. Students lack confidence, interest,…
Why Reading Levels Don’t Work in Secondary, and What to Do Instead
Google “reading levels,” and all sorts of things will come up. Leveled reading charts, assessments, parent guides, frameworks, you name it. For good reason, the concept of leveled texts can…
10 Ways to Add Rigor to Vocabulary Instruction with Picture Associations
Students are drawn to visuals. Movie clips, memes, cartoons, GIFs, coloring pages — you name it. Humans are fascinated with pictures. When teaching vocabulary, one of the best ways we…
How to Teach Sentence Structure: Simple, Compound, Complex, Compound-Complex
Wondering how to teach sentence structure? We’ve all seen plenty of student writing where sentence fluency issues abound. Teaching students to be aware of various sentence types as well as…
6 Ways to Differentiate Research Paper Lessons
Teaching writing effectively includes research. And, how we differentiate research lessons matters. If you’re not sure how to teach the same concepts and skills to learners with diverse abilities and…
10 Simple Ways to Add Creativity to ELA Lessons
You’re on a mission to add creativity to your lesson plans in order to engage students in meaningful learning. Excellent! Your students will thank you. When we think about making…
Halloween Lessons for Middle and High School
Looking for engaging Halloween lessons and activities that maintain the integrity of a middle or high school classroom? Secondary students enjoy celebrating the holidays just as much as anyone else,…
Scaffolding a Booksnap Lesson: Amplify Reading Comprehension
Looking for a fun booksnap lesson? Booksnaps are one of the newer trends in reading education. They originated with Tara Martin on Twitter and have steadily grown in popularity in…
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