8 Tips for Creating Effective Word Walls in Secondary
English, math, science, history, art, physical education – No matter what the content area, students have to be able to speak the language of the class. Each subject has its…
Fun Ways to Use Mentor Sentences
Mentor sentences have so many potential applications for the secondary classroom. If you’ve never used them or aren’t quite sure about their value, here’s a quick run-down. What are mentor…
First Quarter ELA Curriculum Guide
Looking to create a new language arts curriculum, add to an existing one, or give it a complete overhaul? In this post, you’ll find first quarter ELA curriculum ideas that…
How to Use One Pagers with Literature and Informational Texts
Are you googling one pagers because you’re trying to avoid grading yet another stack of essays? I don’t blame you. That’s how I started, too. Or, maybe you are wondering…
Nonfiction Reading Response Activities for Secondary
Common Core Standards have required that English courses for older students have a heavy emphasis on informational texts. The problem with this mandate? Informational texts aren’t always enticing to reluctant…
Improving Reading Fluency in High School
Do you have students sitting in your high school class who struggle to read fluently? Sure. We all do. The problem is that most teaching programs do not prepare secondary…
How to Motivate Struggling Readers
Teaching reluctant students? Wondering how to motivate struggling readers? Keep reading. In today’s post, I’m sharing some of my favorite ways to connect and encourage students to read when they…
Best Books for Teens by Ruta Sepetys
Looking for high-interest literature? Stick around to find out why three of the best books for teens by Ruta Sepetys deserve a spot in your classroom library. Welcome to “This…
The Importance of Metacognition in Learning
How often do you ask your students to think about thinking? If I am honest with myself, I have done it far less in the past than I am doing…
Reading Anxiety: The Problem with Calling on Students to Read Out Loud
Are you in tune with your students’ phobias? The fear of snakes, the fear of spiders, the fear of dark places, the fear of small spaces….the fear of reading out…
What ELA Teachers Can Learn from a Rockstar Librarian
Teaching reading? ELA teachers are constantly searching for new inspiration. How can we get more students to read? How can we create a warm, inviting literacy culture? How can we…
Classroom Book Clubs: Independent Reading Accountability and Assessments
This post is the third in a three-part series about engaging middle and high school students in choice reading by running a book club in the classroom. Keep reading to…
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