The beginning of the school year is an important time to assess the writing skill levels of new students in our English classes. One way to do this is to assign a diagnostic essay in order to "diagnose" each student's writing level. This creative approach to essay writing helps students t
Filler Activities for ELA (blog post) What can you do with five extra minutes in secondary ELA? Here are a few ideas to engage students until the bell.
It's time to go back to school! With the back-to-school season upon us, it is time to start planning back-to-school activities for the first week of school.
As students head back to school, ELA teachers everywhere are considering how they are going to begin the school year, so I wanted to walk you through one of my favorite lesson plans entitled, “Why do we read?” As an educator, there are few things as exciting and rewarding as introducing a young person to […]
Learn why one-pagers are one of my go-to activities for breaking down complex topics and texts. Understand what they are, why you and your students will love them, and how to implement them in your ELA classroom. I even have the advice to help you tackle the biggest obstacle you’ll encounter with this activity.
Back to school in your ELA classroom just got easier. Starting a brand new school year requires a ton of planning and organization. These freebies are a great way to ease the stress and start
Are your students disinterested and tired of the traditional ways of learning characterization? Have you been searching for a really fun, student-centered, interactive way to eliminate their boredom? Well, look no further! I present to you a wonderful student-collaboration activity that will get your students involved and excited for a character analysis for any novel, […]
Get organized with a daily and weekly ELA plan so that you feel confident and prepared. Planning the structure of a class period varies by unit. Start here!
Movement in the classroom is beneficial for many reasons. First and foremost, getting up to move in the classroom might help anxious students relieve stress.
As teachers begin planning for back to school, I see an abundance of creative classrooms filling my Instagram and Pinterest feeds. I love seeing how other
This past school year was a great one. With every school year that passes, I like to take a moment and reflect on activities that were successful in the
Grab your copy of FREE ELA Curriculum Maps grades 6th-8th and save yourself a year's worth of planning! Digital maps with a planner, calendar, and more!
Wondering how to structure your middle school language arts daily schedule? Here's the planning template I developed to find my ideal stride!
Supercharge your morning work with I Heart Literacy! Each page features a fun theme so your students will not only be practicing reading and ELA skills, but will also be learning about a curriculum-based topic. A wide variety of Common Core skills are addressed. Try these five free pages for free! Happy Teaching! Rachel Lynette ... Read More about Morning Work ELA and Reading Freebie!
Hey there, fellow English teacher! I want to share what my secondary English curriculum for the first six weeks of school looks like.
Now that the 2017-2018 school year has come to a close, I am spending some time reflecting on my practice as an educator. While there were some lows of the
The burning question that most new, and even experienced, teachers have is what types of writing to teach and how to structure it all within a school year. Most of us are beholden to meet state standards and this can leave us feeling like we are teaching to the test rather than helping students produce […]
The first day of school doesn't have to be boring! This blog post explains what to do for the best first day of school!
Hey Friends!! It's been a minute!Let me just start by saying that I've had such a great summer. I had intended to do a lot of work, but I just couldn't. I needed a little
Are you looking for a stress-free first week of ELA activities for high school classroom? Look no further! Keep reading for ideas, tips, and lesson plans for the first week (and beyond)! #backtoschoolactivities #elateacher #highschoolela
Try this free, fun, and interactive middle school ELA games in your classroom to teach grammar and literacy ELA skills!
Have you been wanting to try stations in your Secondary ELA classroom but aren't sure where to start? Read through this quick post where we share 8 station ideas and how to use them with your ELA students.
I giggled to myself as I created the title to this blog post! If you are new to my blog, I'll have you know that this is the THIRD time I've written an "ELA in
Much like students who spend more hours on the hook of an essay than they do the bulk of an essay, I often found myself with a case of English teacher writing block when it came to planning my first day of school activities. Though I have ten years (x two semesters each) of ... Read More about First Day of School Activities for High School and Middle School English
Get an outline for teaching all the reading and writing standards in your Middle School ELA class.
Tips for Primary Teachers.
This post contains the animated short film "Glued." Download the accompanying handout leveled for upper elementary students to teach theme.
From anchor charts to board games and free printables, these ideas will drive the concept home.
For the most part, reasoning, deducing, inferring, and critical thinking are not skills that come naturally to our students. Rather, they must be nurtured and developed. We want our students to become critical thinkers so they can reason and apply logic to solve novel problems throughout their lives. These skills will set them up to...
First impressions are powerful. Make your first statement to your students a positive one.
Take a deep dive into the common 5 structure options for your ELA literacy block with benefits of each outlined in an informative & actionable manner.
Your class syllabus does not have to be boring! It can be interesting & informative. Grab a free, editable printable AND DIGITAL syllabus.
This oh-so-helpful 5th grade Morning Work resource will save your sanity and your time during those hectic mornings in the classroom! An entire year’s worth of ready-to-go, NO-PREP Math and ELA Morning Work and bell ringers is included in this engaging, helpful, 5th grade spiral review resource. Click the PREVIEW button above for an idea of everything included! Click HERE to try one week of 5th Grade Morning Math FREE! Click HERE to see 2nd Grade Morning Work for the Year. Click HERE to see 3rd Grade Morning Work for the Year. Click HERE to see 4th Grade Morning Work for the Year. All 180 Morning Work slides are designed to help your students review and practice critical 5th grade skills in an independent setting while teachers can spend time working on small tasks with individual students or take care of those typical morning tasks in the busy classroom. This resource is NO PREP and copy-free…..simply display the slide for the day and you are set to go for morning work! It’s that easy! Each day’s morning work slide or worksheet includes: Daily Quote Word of the Day Grammar Check Editing Tidbit Word Problem Fast Math Review Math Problem This Morning Work for the Year has: Daily Projectable PowerPoint Slides Daily Printable Worksheets Daily Google Slides Blank Google Form Template (for students' answers) User Guide Answer Keys Fellow teacher-author Kim Miller and I have teamed up to create the most helpful morning resource possible. Simply display the digital slide for the day, and have your students complete the questions and tasks in a journal or on the provided student response sheet. The year-long resource includes 180 slides of 5th Grade Morning Work for Math and ELA. We have provided the slides in three separate formats. You choose the format that works best for your digital situation in your classroom: Powerpoint – Project the slide for the day onto your interactive whiteboard or display on your computer. Google Drive – In case your school computer does not have Powerpoint, OR if you wish to use this resource on a tablet or electronic device, you can use the link provided to access the Google version! Printable Worksheet - Print each day's morning work out on ready-to-go worksheets. Make a packet for the week for even easier classroom/paper management! This resource also includes digital answer sheets for students to use in the virtual classroom setting. You can provide your students with answer sheets in Google Slides™ or Google Forms™. You choose the option that works best for you! You’ll never have to struggle to have a well-organized start to your school day again! With this one resource, you will save hours of time, begin your day with a consistent routine, and help your students practice and master those important 5th grade skills. This paperless Morning Work resource is also great to use in other ways: Small Group Work Math Centers ELA Centers Homework Early Finishers Test Prep Skills Review Don't forget that leaving feedback earns you points toward FREE TPT purchases. I love that feedback! Also, FOLLOW ME and be notified when new products are uploaded. New products are always 50% off for the first 24 hours they are posted. It pays to follow me! As always, please contact me with any questions! Thank you so much, Shelly Rees
When sharing about our homeschool rhythm a few weeks ago I mentioned that I wanted to write a post about how I plan our year without a curriculum and I
This post could alternatively be titled "what works for me" because lets face it, there are a million ways to do centers, and what wo...
Help the learning process with these simple strategies for making studennt thinking visible. Perfect for middle and high school English classes.
Here are four steps to teach your middle school students how to find the central idea of informational text. It's a step by step method you can follow to determine the central idea.
