The start of a new school year or new semester is the perfect time to establish new classroom routines! Whether it be a bell-ringer routine for the middle
Finding great resources online is the best! In this post (and podcast episode) I’m sharing my favorite sites for free creative lesson plans and teaching ideas online. Listen in below, or read on to learn about my favorite online resources.
Hi Folks!!Hope everyone is well. My family has been plagued with the stomach bug for almost two weeks now. We are just starting to emerge from the haze and put ourselves back together again. (I've
Hey there, fellow English teacher! I want to share what my secondary English curriculum for the first six weeks of school looks like.
Caught the flu from a family member? Don't sweat it (pun intended) - you've got more options for prepping your substitute teacher than you think. Although I'm not a substitute teacher myself, I teach in a building that has a REALLY hard time getting enough substitute teachers, so I've *somewhat* been in that role by filling in for other teachers, both planned in advance or at the last minute. If you're in a middle or high school setting, you've probably noticed that the primary world seems to have cutesy solutions all over Pinterest for substitute teachers, and our sphere is more silent on this topic. News Flash: You don't need a cute "sub tub", or even a perfect printed pile of lessons on your desk when the other teacher walks in the door. But there are a few things that ARE essential before you're gone for any length of time. So here's a starter list of ideas to get you started! Do this first (before you get sick)... 1. Make your sub binder or folder. Pick a bright binder or folder and keep it in an obvious place - on top of, or near your desk - so that a sub could find it easily, even if it's not laid out front and center for him or her. Make sure your sub folder includes: A detailed, annotated version of your daily schedule - including any notes about where to go or what to expect! Copies of all your class lists/rosters, and/or any attendance forms you want to be used. Don't be afraid to annotate this list with any special notes about students, including allergies or behavioral FYI's. (Note: if your attendance is electronic, include directions for how to deal with that!) Copies of seating charts, if you use them. Emergency paperwork, such as directions of what to do if there's a fire drill or other alarm. Don't assume your sub is familiar with classroom or building norms! Technology instructions, whether that's how-to details about how to use your projector or rules about the technology that STUDENTS are allowed to use. 2. Appoint one student helper per class period. Pick a responsible student in every class period who you can trust to follow your rules, and ask him or her to be the sub's appointed helper. This student could be trusted to pass out or collect papers, be a "runner" to the office, or perhaps verify if a classroom rule is true or not. Once you have that set up, be sure to write the names of your student helpers in the sub binder somewhere (perhaps with each class period list/roster). 3. Post your classroom rules (either in general, or for Sub Days) Laminate and post a paper on the wall/board that has student rules or reminders on it. Doing so can give the sub something to fall back on, and cue the students to be on decent behavior... Are there rules that you want to make sure are followed? Will students be rewarded upon your return if you get a good report? Will today's activity be worth double the points? Options for Sub Lessons This is the more controversial part of my post because teachers have very strong and varied opinions about the "best" way to spend such a day of lessons. But here's my no-judgment list of ideas anyway. 1. Have a preprinted, stand-alone lesson in your binder. A popular option among many teachers is providing a single, easy-to-teach and easy-to-complete lesson or activity that is mutually beneficial for the sub and students. Here are a few of my own sub-friendly lessons that would NOT require technology: Theme mini-lesson: apply to any novel or short story! Greek & Latin Roots Activities, to inject a little vocab into the day Poetry Mad Libs, to read and imitate classic American or British lit poems! Here are a few that would require some tech, such as a projector: Public Speaking, according to TED: play videos and complete guided notes! Word Crimes: Activities to go with the music video ...Enter the Controversy... The suggestion I gave above is fine. It's what a lot of people do... BUT, you don't HAVE to leave behind a printed lesson, and you don't have to stay up late writing a quiz for the sub to pass out. (Gasp.) There are easier options, if you're willing (and allowed) to use them! 2. Give students a reading day. If you have an independent reading program already in place, OR if you are in the middle of a literature unit, why not just give students a reading day? They'd probably appreciate the "bonus" time to get caught up (or ahead) in their current books! 3. Give students a work day/ study hall. If they already have a project or assignment in motion, why not just give them a writing day and/or study hall? Most secondary students have enough homework on their plates that they'd use a study hall fairly efficiently (not to mention that they'd appreciate the "break"!) 4. Give a writing prompt and/or timed writing. In your sub binder, leave a writing prompt that the sub can write on the board, along with any directions you wish to give students. It can be a timed, in-class activity that they must finish and turn in within the class period, OR one that they start in class and finish (or proofread) for homework. Gone for more than one day? When I'm going to be gone for a longer period of time, I'm thinking a lot about what I can comfortably ask another teacher to do... that is still good use of student time... that won't make me feel guilty for what I'm asking of the teacher. Here are just a few multi-day or multi-week lessons that are self-explanatory enough in someone else's hands! Choice Writing Menus: Seasonal prompts that let students write in multiple genres on relevant topics... very self-explanatory and conducive to in-class writing time Five Paragraph Essay Unit: Easy-to-follow single lessons that could culminate in an essay Short Story Unit that puts some of the teacher role on students, instead of the sub! Two Truths and a Lie: Creative writing with a twist 15 Minutes of Fame, my best-selling public speaking project for a reason! Just read the teacher/buyer comments to see why it might work well in your absence. Why Grammar? Unit, if you want to weave in some nonfiction reading and writing Have other ideas for substitute teachers? I'd love to hear them in the comments!
With so much content to cover in the middle school ELA and high school classroom, it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. Here is a look at my favorite ELA
With distance learning in full swing, here’s a closer look at ten resources that English teachers can digitally assign their students. All of my SMARTePlans
Looking for some ways to engage students in American literature? Check out tips for working with technology, rhetoric, and poetry!
Finding great resources online is the best! In this post (and podcast episode) I’m sharing my favorite sites for free creative lesson plans and teaching ideas online. Listen in below, or read on to learn about my favorite online resources.
Article of the week is a key literacy strategy to help middle and high school students improve their reading and writing skills.
10 ideas for planning engaging novel units: creative, engaging lesson ideas for your next whole-class novel unit
Teaching research skills to middle school students is a gigantic task! Here are 10 Ideas to Make Teaching Research Easier!
All to often, our list of Black poets and artists gets limited to the writers who have been anthologized over an over again. I see Langston Hughes “Harlem” and Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool” and Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise” over and over again. These poets, phenomenal poets, are often reduced to
“Everyone is telling me to teach grammar, but no one has told me HOW yet! There’s so much information and so many ideas, and I’m just overwhelmed!” If you’ve ever...
One of the first lessons I teach every single year, regardless of the grade-level I am teaching, is how to closely read and annotate a text. Because I feel
If you want to see me plan a GREAT lesson, don’t come find me on a Sunday afternoon when I’ve deliberately set aside a chunk of time for some hardcore planning. I’ll be priming my…
32 advice column letters and replies that may be used to create skits, monologues and more. Great substitute teacher drama lesson plan.
Peak into Room 213's lesson plans: her kids are learning about prewriting & are brainstorming with candy. They are also working on speaking & listening.
I was desperate for a better way to teach grammar. On my end, I was overwhelmed with how much I needed to teach: how to get it all done and how to do so logically. For my students, I was concerned about their engagement (not tuning out or getting bored) AND how to ensure that they "got it". These worries are particularly valid if you KNOW your students have knowledge gaps, are going to need a LOT of practice, or aren't doing well with transferring knowledge into their writing. Solution: The Grammar House Cup (game) The idea for the GHC came partially from the "Grammar Olympics", a competition that I witnessed in another high school while student teaching. I decided to go with the Harry Potter theme instead and built my own game board system that differed from the Olympics' structure. The BENEFITS of the GHC game are: Clear organization of a single topic or unit (in the game board format) A "frame" or theme for the whole year Logical sequence of topics/units Increased student buy-in Increased student use of study tools and teacher-provided resources More students going "above and beyond" the minimum because they're motivated to earn points for their houses. The Basic Game Premise We have 4 houses of students (just like in Hogwarts). Students earn points for their house throughout the year, and whichever house has the most points at the end of the fourth quarter (end of the year) wins. Students earn points by completing tasks in the game board (see below). Sometimes the points are connected to an assessment (such as passing a quiz on the first try), and some point opportunities are directly within a student's control (such as doing more practice than is assigned). The biggest prize/motivator is bragging rights. We have an actual trophy, and the winning house/homeroom gets their homeroom name and year added to the trophy (AND gets to keep the trophy in their homeroom the following year). I have also given donuts or food to the winning house. Fortunately, we've been doing the GHC for enough years now that incoming 7th graders are looking forward to it, so that adds to the motivation as well. The Secret of the Game ...is that my game board is actually a very traditional learning sequence in disguise (see image below). For EACH grammar topic... Students watch a flipped video lesson (of me teaching) and fill in their guided notes. (See a DEMO VIDEO on commas here. This is a longer video, and most are shorter than this.) Students independently attempt a practice page after the guided notes. CHOICE practice: Before the quiz, students can get teacher help, do independent practice on IXL (a program we have), or do a "creative project". In-class quiz (after which they either get points for passing OR are required to do "quiz corrections" and show improved mastery). We move on to the next topic of the quarter. (There are 3-4 topics per quarter.) Closer to the test, students complete a practice test as homework (to review), and we go over the practice test answers in class. Students take the quarter test over the 3-4 topics, after which they get points or do corrections (just like they did for quizzes). MEANWHILE, during the game board, students have been picking up points for various reasons, such as... Doing more practice than assigned Doing a "creative project" to show application of learning Completing the game board EARLY (working ahead and not procrastinating). We call this reward "catching the golden snitch". (Scroll down to see the GAME BOARD later in this post!) Points & Grades It's important to note that a house's points are NOT directly connected to grades. ...However, students who earn more points DO tend to perform better on quizzes and tests, because they were earning points by LEARNING. So while GHC "points" and grades are correlated, the points have more to do with effort and participation. Putting Students into Houses I conveniently have a total of 4 class periods (2 each of seventh and eighth grades), and likewise we just HAPPEN to have four homerooms in the middle school. Therefore, I just assigned each homeroom one of the Hogwarts houses. (Obviously, my homeroom is Gryffindor. My social studies teacher in the room next door to mine is a huge ally of the GHC game and agreed to be Slytherin.) I know a sorting hat might have been more fun, but the positive of doing it by homeroom is that it promotes homeroom unity and enthusiasm; it also motivates the homeroom teachers to care about and support the GHC. Launching the Game Teacher setup on my part includes: Prepping this quarter's game board (and all of its respective lesson videos, guided notes, practice sheets, etc.). I organize it all in Google Drive and share a folder to students. Copies of this quarter's grammar notes. (I put ALL the guided notes, practice pages, and practice test into ONE packet for the quarter. If they lose it, they have to print their own replacement from what I shared with them in Drive.) When we begin in the first quarter, there is usually a diagnostic test (see above), and I have to do a lot of explaining of how the game works. However, students learn by doing as we go through the motions of the first topic, and then they learn the routine. What a Game Board Looks Like Here's the most updated view of what my game boards are going to look like this year. (The biggest change is that I'm digitizing more, with a heavily hyperlinked Google Docs game board instead of a paper one.) Let's break this down: Notice that the game board has... A "scoreboard" at left to collect points Deadlines built into the game board A sequence (trail) of action steps At the end of each quarter, I verify each student's points, collect all the totals, and update the scoreboard for each house. This Year's Improvements/Updates As I mentioned earlier, I plan to use the digital game board instead of a paper one, and I also plan to use these free Grammar Stations before each topic's quiz. I'm hoping the stations will help ME pinpoint student struggles in a small group format AND give students more practice time with all the resources I've made available to them. I will also be experimenting more with self-grading quizzes when possible (using Google Forms). I will try to update this blog post later in the year. What topics we teach There is SOME intentional overlap in 7th and 8th grade topics (especially when we are reviewing at the beginning of 8th grade), BUT there are some topics that only 8th graders get (such as verbals, verb moods, and active/passive voice, which are CCSS for 8th grade and not 7th). See my complete/current list of grammar topics here. Can I have all of your lessons, Sara? Yes! You can get all of my grammar topics (or just some of them) in my TpT store. The bundle includes game boards, all lessons/quizzes/tests, the diagnostic test, stations, premade Quizlet sets, and more! RELATED BLOG POSTS: How to Play Grammar Quidditch Turn Your Unit into a Game Board 12 Tips for Teaching Grammar like a Pro 10 Ways to Help Teen Writers Revise You might also like... Game Board Unit template Grammar bell-ringers: volume 1 and volume 2 Student Grammar Video Project "Why Grammar?" Nonfiction Reading Mini-Unit "Word Crimes" music video lesson/activity Grammar Poetry Do you have questions or ideas? Tell me in the comments!
Teaching literature skills to students is an important part of your English Language Arts program. Get some ready to use teaching ideas from this blog.
When I teach writing in my classroom, I teach it as a process. Every part of the writing process, from the initial brainstorming to peer editing, is equally important and integrally essential to the final draft. It is also important to know how to teach peer editing in an effective way.
Lesson planning is a key skill. Develop a more efficient lesson planning system with these tips. Check out these tips in this blog post.
If you teach at a public school, there is one thing for sure: state standardized tests. Despite how you might feel about standardized tests, our public
This blog post will share strategies to avoid plagiarism, along with advice on how to approach plagiarization in your students' writing.
Flu season is upon us, so I wanted to compile some of my favorite free resources for last-minute sub plans. Everything I've chosen is 100% free and ready to print. These resources don't take a lot
Looking for a way to get students to have fun learning new words AND remember them longer? Try these brain-based vocabulary activities.
Love podcasts? Check out this post in the form of a podcast episode on The Classroom Commute
This blog post will share strategies to avoid plagiarism, along with advice on how to approach plagiarization in your students' writing.
Mentor sentences are an excellent tool to use in the secondary ELA classroom to model essential skills from grammar to literary devices. They reinforce quality writing skills from published in authors in a positive way rather than the traditional sentence correction method that modeled neg
"Why even do this?", students might ask when they are not sure why they need to complete certain tasks. Student motivation and engagement are possibly the most important variables in the learning process. Identifying clear objectives and providing students with a purpose for carrying out various activities will more likely engage them as they will see the benefits of completing the proposed tasks. Because most of my high school ESL learners need a lot of motivation in school, I like to assign di
Whether your students are lethargic or super-charged, adding movement to your lesson plans will help to solve both issues. Not only is it healthy to move throughout the day, but it can also help students focus and become more engaged with the content they are trying to master. Due to the nature of English classes, ELA ... Read More about 10 Ways to Add Movement in the ELA Classroom
Introduce or reivew the five major steps of the writing process with older students using a hands-on appraoch students will remember.
1. Assign a course evaluation. Ask students to reflect on what they have learned. When I first began teaching, I was always hesitant to read the survey results, but I had to get over that. Would some students write rude things? A couple, but the benefit of the sincere feedback I gleaned from the majority of the class was invaluable. At the end of the year, I ask students to think about what lessons were most memorable, how they grew as readers and writers, and what suggestions they had for improving the course. While not every response was earth-shattering, I have gained important insights from this reflective activity. These insights have improved my teaching. Click HERE for an End of the Semester Course Reflection and Evaluation for Secondary ELA. (RWH) 2. Plan for next year. How? Is that even possible during this time of year? Yes, it is! Now, I am not talking about during exam prep, but perhaps during the last few weeks when you can see the light! Take a break during that exam marking. You need it. Your head needs it and your eyes need it, too! During these brief 'refreshment breaks,' I take a few minutes to read blog posts from other teachers, complete preliminary research on up and coming YA books that my students might enjoy next year, and even scroll through some social media posts from other teachers' accounts to see what some of their favorite lessons were over the year that I might like to try! (TCS) 3. Purge. I used to have file cabinets full of student work, example projects, art supplies and extra copies. Eventually, I saw a pattern. Many of the art supplies would dry out over the summer. Once in a while, I'd use an example of a project from a previous year, but most of the time, they would collect dust. As for the extra copies, well, I'm continually changing and tweaking what I do, so those just began to fill up the file cabinets. Purging is important because when you return at the beginning of the next school year, the lack of clutter will make you feel energized. If you feel overwhelmed by the task in May, have students help you. Give everyone a job. Organization, responsibility, and community are important life skills that students can learn during this time. Plus, they love helping. (RWH) 4. Practice Public Speaking. By the end of the year, most students are more comfortable with their peers after spending months together in a classroom. This is a good time to practice public speaking skills. Use topics that they are familiar with or have a strong opinion about. You might want to complete a short unit on this or just spend a few minutes at the start of every class to talk about issues that are important to them, new events occurring nationally or internationally, or even pop-culture happenings! You may also want to ask students to write a few topics down on a piece of paper, then at the start of each class (or over a few class periods) pull out a new topic and see what everyone has to say about it! (TCS) 5. Try something new. When I have extra time in May, I want to fill it with meaningful content. If you haven't tried an escape room, scaffolding a one-pager, flipping a lesson, asking students to teach an activity, using stations, project-based learning, or jigsaws (just to name a few), now is the time! Students will appreciate the fresh teaching approaches, and you will learn what works best and what doesn't so that you feel more confident about incorporating those activities as part of your standard curriculum. (RWH) 6. Have some fun! I don't know about you, but I love to end the year off with a bang! I need a break and the students do too, but more importantly, I want my students to leave my classes with fun memories because they will remember these for years to come. So, I created an End of the Year Escape Room, where students have to work collaboratively to solve various trivia puzzles (activities or tasks they would technically have to do at the end of the year!) For example, return library books, clean out their desks and lockers, apply for a summer job, pick up their yearbooks and finally, pass the exam! This activity is a win-win for all. Your students can enjoy a bit of friendly competition and you can enjoy watching them having fun and working together. The best part? NO GRADING! You may choose to assign marks for participation, but I do not anticipate you will have too many issues with students not wanting to take part! 😃 (TCS) 7. Teach Kindness. The end of the school year is the perfect time to engage in meaningful activities that apply to real life. Standardized testing is over, the bulk of the curriculum is taught, and the weather is warm. Students appreciate meaningful discussions, and the end of the school year is often a time where some teens begin to demonstrate more maturity. Teachers can show movies like Wonder, read and discuss novels like Tuesdays with Morrie, or even teach students how to use kindness emails to encourage others. (RWH) 8. Change up the decor. This is a good time to freshen up your bulletin boards and posters that you might have hanging around your room. Add a burst of color to your classroom by using tissue paper as a background. It's both easy and very affordable! Also, a fun way to add a burst of color to your whiteboards would be to add magnetic strips (or tape) to the back of your borders and simply apply those to the perimeter. It's also a great way to organize different sections on a whiteboard. For example, a homework area. (TCS) 9. Encourage reading. At the end of the school year, one of my goals is to get students to make a summer reading list. I want them talking about books. I want them making book recommendations, reflecting on how they have grown as a reader, and analyzing what aspects of books they enjoy most. Take students to the public library. Let them peruse the shelves. Invite your librarian to do book talks. Have students record book commercials and post them on a class website that they can access over the summer. Host discussion groups so students can share their favorite texts from the school year. Coordinate with the teachers who your students will have the following year to organize a summer reading program. Do whatever it takes to ignite their passion for reading. (RWH) 10. Set goals. This is an activity that can be done by both students and teachers. What are some things that you did well this year? What do you hope to do the same or change next year? Start with making a bucket list of things that you wish to do over the summer break, which will help you prepare for the fall. Whether it's reading, writing or working towards an athletic goal, setting your sights on new things will encourage you to strive harder to reach your goals. So, grab a notebook and get writing!(TCS) Thanks for reading our post! We hope that we have given you a few ideas to wrap up the next few weeks! What are a few things that you do at the end of the year? The Classroom Sparrow & Reading and Writing Haven
10 simple ways to get your students moving to learn. On this blog post Room 213 shares classroom-tested strategies that are sure to engage.
For my entire career, I've had a lengthy block of time to teach ELA. (Note: For my district, ELA encompasses all the English Language Arts Common Core Standards.) At most, I've had 106 minutes, and
