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 […]
Find ideas for teaching middle school with these full year lesson plans for middle school ELA.
Get an outline for teaching all the reading and writing standards in your Middle School ELA class.
With a new school year upon us, here is a look at 10 must-use secondary ELA teaching units, lessons, and activities for your classroom. These units are
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!
Are you tired of the daily grind of preparing engaging daily ELA bell ringer slides for your middle school students? This editable ELA Warm Ups resource designed for 6th, 7th, & 8th graders is for you. Say goodbye to endless lesson planning and hello to a reliable routine focused on grammar, vocabulary, and writing practice. The Weekly Lineup: 1. Mindful Monday: Students will create a writing response to a meaningful quote. 2. Tricky Tuesday: Students will identify and correct grammatical errors. 3. Wordy Wednesday: Students focus on Greek and Latin Roots as they enhance their vocabulary. 4. Think On It Thursday: Students label the parts of speech in a provided sentence. 5. Flashback Friday: Wrap up the week with a review session where students revisit key topics covered throughout the week's warm-up activities. ✨ My Product Includes✨ 180 days of ELA bellringer activities Answer Key PDF, Google Slides, & PPT Format Editable Resource! Check out my preview for more information! Related Products ⭐ Independent Weekly Reading Logs for Elementary and Middle School ⭐ Daily Journal Writing Prompts Bellringer Activities 6th, 7th, and 8th Grade ⭐ Restart by Gordon Korman Novel Study Lesson Unit Plan Leave feedback and receive TPT credit! Build up TPT credit by leaving feedback on my products. Go to "My Purchases" for a list of what you have previously purchased. Next to the product title is a "Leave Feedback" button. Click and leave a rating and comment to receive your credits. Go to TPT Credits to learn how to redeem your credits on future purchases!
This blog post explores engaging resources, lessons, and activities for making media literacy relevant in the 21st-century classroom.
SAVE your sanity! In August, students are eager and ready to learn. It helps to plan the lessons most directly relevant to life beyond school when first meeting
Full year lesson plans provide huge time savings to busy teachers. It is important to have lesson structures and assignments in your classroom that can be used all year.
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 […]
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!
Hey there, fellow English teacher! I want to share what my secondary English curriculum for the first six weeks of school looks like.
Here are 5 engaging and effective ELA lessons that you can easily leave for a substitute teacher in middle school English Language Arts.
by The Daring English Teacher One of my favorite units to teach in my classroom is rhetorical analysis because students learn the power, beauty, and effectiveness of language. When teaching rhetorical analysis, we teach our students to analyze how the author writes rather than simply looking at what the author writes. We teach our students to look at the author’s effectiveness. We teach our students to look at which strategies an author uses and why those particular strategies are so effective. Teaching our students about rhetorical analysis helps them not only in the classroom setting but also in the real world. Knowing how and why people, corporations, and advertisements can effectively convince and persuade people to take actions, purchase goods, or hold certain values and beliefs play a critical role in informed decision-making skills. And while it may sound like teaching rhetorical analysis might be a bit dry and mundane, that could not be further from the truth. Teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis can be both exciting and entertaining. Getting Started with Rhetorical Analysis When I introduce rhetorical analysis to my students for the first time, I always start with direct instruction and I use this rhetorical analysis unit to introduce the content. By introducing and teaching students about rhetorical analysis, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical devices, they become familiar with the subject. Furthermore, providing students with examples helps them grasp the concept. Rhetorical Analysis with Sticky Notes Teaching Unit Once students have a basic understanding, I then teach modeled annotation and analysis. I teach students how to annotate text, and as we class, we annotate the same text together. To help students gain confidence in their annotation and rhetorical analysis skills, I first have students annotate with me as a whole class. Once they branch out, I have them annotate in pairs and share their annotations with another group and then with the class. By practicing annotations in this scaffolded way, students learn how to annotate the text and identify rhetorical devices and appeals in a manner that helps them build confidence in their skills. Annotating Text Made Easy When beginning to plan your rhetorical analysis unit, it is always good to use a wide variety of texts that represent a diverse group of people, and with teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis, there are so many speeches to choose from. Here is a list of my favorite speeches to analyze. Rhetorical Analysis Student Practice Once students have a basic understanding of rhetoric and rhetorical analysis, I move on to independent practice. By doing so, I can use small classroom assignments and activities as formative assessments to gauge student understanding. One way to move toward independence is to ask your students rhetorical analysis questions that get your students thinking critically. In a blog post, I've compiled these 15 rhetorical analysis questions to use when analyzing a text. Another way that you can have students move toward understanding and independence is by having them complete a rhetorical triangle analysis of your selected text. In doing so, students demonstrate their understanding of the text. You can download a free rhetorical organizer HERE! Click here to download a copy of this organizer. Engaging and Fun Rhetorical Analysis Activities Toward the end of my rhetorical analysis unit, I incorporate more fun and engaging activities that allow students to demonstrate their understanding. In a previous blog post, I share my favorite historical and political speeches that are excellent for a rhetorical analysis unit. COMMERCIALS When analyzing rhetoric, my students love watching commercials to see which appeals and devices companies use as marketing strategies. Since commercials are usually thirty seconds to a minute in length, this makes a great warm-up activity. I like to show a commercial right after the bell rings at the start of class, ask students to identify which devices and appeals they find, and explain why those devices and appeals are effective. GROUPS ANALYSIS POSTERS A couple of years ago I had my students complete collaborative rhetorical analysis poster projects. Each group of three to four students received a different political or historical speech to analyze. Students read, annotated, and analyzed the text. Then, they identified various appeals and strategies that the speaker used and wrote a summary of the speech. This project took two fifty-five-minute class periods to complete. I wrote more about this project on my website: Collaborative Rhetorical Analysis Poster Project. ARTISTIC PAPA SQUARES Another one of my favorite rhetorical analysis projects is the artistic PAPA square. PAPA is an acronym that stands for Purpose, Argument, Persona, and Audience. Using this acronym for rhetorical analysis, students create an artistic square that has two requirements: visually, it resembles the topic; and it also analyzes the text for its use of appeals and devices. Usually, I have my students complete this project for one of their sources during our big research unit. You can read more about this project and sign-up to receive a free assignment handout on my website: Artistic PAPA Square. Here are some more amazing resources and teaching tips for rhetorical analysis: Persuasion Techniques Bell Ringers by Nouvelle ELA Persuasive Essay Writing: Snowball Collaborative Activity by Presto Plans Real Life Persuasion Lessons and Activities by Room 213
For many students writing can be intimidating and overwhelming. That's why it's essential to provide students with a variety of writing activities to make learning meaningful and rewarding. Here are a few of my favorite ways to make writing engaging for reluctant writers in your classroom. TIMED WRITING ACTIVITIES Timed writing activities challenge students to race the clock as they write as much as they can during a fixed time period. Students are encouraged to “just write.” There is no pressure for perfection. In fact, the only parameter is that they need to write for the entire time. The fun nature of timed writing activities help students develop confidence as they experiment with the writing craft. Here are a few challenges to try...*** In 5 minutes...make a list of 25 things you can do with a hula hoop. *** In 10 minutes...write a fan letter to your idol persuading them to send you an autograph. *** In 15 minutes...create a new kind of toy for toddlers that entertains busy toddlers. CLICK HERE for 15 more! WRITING HANDBOOK (with examples and prompts) Another way to support reluctant writers is to teach short, targeted mini-lessons to help build students' writing skills. When students are provided with more support and examples of writing, their own writing improves. As their skills develop, so does their confidence. When developing writing mini-lessons, I like to include:*** A specific topic like audience, voice, or word choice. *** Written examples of the skill for students to analyze. *** A writing prompt for students to practice the skill. Find 26 writing mini-lessons HERE. CREATIVE WRITING LESSONS Reluctant writers benefit greatly from creative writing lessons. Not only are creative writing lessons highly engaging, they're also a lot less intimidating than formal writing genres. Also, creative writing lends itself to sharing. When students share their writing they build a community of writers and develop their skills as they listen to each others' writing. Here are some of my favorite FREE creative writing lessons:*** Spooky Story Writing *** Myth Writing Lesson *** Limerick Writing Lesson ENGAGING WRITING UNITS An essential part of writing instruction is guiding students through the writing process as they create different genres of writing. In my experience, the ideal writing unit is 2 weeks in duration and includes step-by-step instruction for each aspect of the writing process. To make longer writing units appealing to reluctant writers, the key is to make the topics engaging. For instance, here are some engaging topics for different styles of writing... *** Descriptive Writing - Imaginary Pet Sketch (mystery animal) *** Persuasive Writing - Write a roller coaster advertisement *** Informative Writing - Create a historical news article WRITING MINI-LESSONS One of the best ways to help reluctant writers build their skills and confidence is with targeted writing instruction. I love mini-lessons that can be easily incorporated into writing workshop, writing units, writing centers, or everyday writing instruction. When developing writing mini-lessons, I try to make sure they are... *** Quick and targeted *** Fun and engaging *** Filled with practice Check out my 10 favorite writing lessons HERE. CHOICES Teachers have long known that choices are the key for engaging reluctant learners. The same holds true for writers. One of the easiest ways to motivate students is to give them choices when responding to writing. Grab this free choice board filled with writing prompts here. WRITING PROMPTS Reluctant writers need lots of opportunities to write. The more they write, the easier it will get. The easier it gets, the more success they'll feel as they write. There are lots of ways to use writing prompts in the classroom... *** Warm-up activity *** Homework assignment *** Learning station task Grab a FREE set of 20 fun writing prompts HERE. ---------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you've found a few ideas for helping your reluctant writers transition into confident writers! Thanks for stopping by, Mary Beth P.S. Check out this blog post filled with 3 secrets to fantastic writing instruction.
Need Wonder activities for your classroom or home school Wonder teaching resources? We have Wonder lesson plans, Wonder worksheets, and more ideas for book projects, kindness activities for middle school, and diversity lessons to make a great study unit for students using both the novel by RJ Palacio and teaching with movies (including the popular precepts project!).
This blog post explores engaging resources, lessons, and activities for making media literacy relevant in the 21st-century classroom.
Teach students and kids about careers with these 19 free worksheets and lesson plans. Career exploration for students to do.
by The Daring English Teacher One of my favorite units to teach in my classroom is rhetorical analysis because students learn the power, beauty, and effectiveness of language. When teaching rhetorical analysis, we teach our students to analyze how the author writes rather than simply looking at what the author writes. We teach our students to look at the author’s effectiveness. We teach our students to look at which strategies an author uses and why those particular strategies are so effective. Teaching our students about rhetorical analysis helps them not only in the classroom setting but also in the real world. Knowing how and why people, corporations, and advertisements can effectively convince and persuade people to take actions, purchase goods, or hold certain values and beliefs play a critical role in informed decision-making skills. And while it may sound like teaching rhetorical analysis might be a bit dry and mundane, that could not be further from the truth. Teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis can be both exciting and entertaining. Getting Started with Rhetorical Analysis When I introduce rhetorical analysis to my students for the first time, I always start with direct instruction and I use this rhetorical analysis unit to introduce the content. By introducing and teaching students about rhetorical analysis, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical devices, they become familiar with the subject. Furthermore, providing students with examples helps them grasp the concept. Rhetorical Analysis with Sticky Notes Teaching Unit Once students have a basic understanding, I then teach modeled annotation and analysis. I teach students how to annotate text, and as we class, we annotate the same text together. To help students gain confidence in their annotation and rhetorical analysis skills, I first have students annotate with me as a whole class. Once they branch out, I have them annotate in pairs and share their annotations with another group and then with the class. By practicing annotations in this scaffolded way, students learn how to annotate the text and identify rhetorical devices and appeals in a manner that helps them build confidence in their skills. Annotating Text Made Easy When beginning to plan your rhetorical analysis unit, it is always good to use a wide variety of texts that represent a diverse group of people, and with teaching rhetoric and rhetorical analysis, there are so many speeches to choose from. Here is a list of my favorite speeches to analyze. Rhetorical Analysis Student Practice Once students have a basic understanding of rhetoric and rhetorical analysis, I move on to independent practice. By doing so, I can use small classroom assignments and activities as formative assessments to gauge student understanding. One way to move toward independence is to ask your students rhetorical analysis questions that get your students thinking critically. In a blog post, I've compiled these 15 rhetorical analysis questions to use when analyzing a text. Another way that you can have students move toward understanding and independence is by having them complete a rhetorical triangle analysis of your selected text. In doing so, students demonstrate their understanding of the text. You can download a free rhetorical organizer HERE! Click here to download a copy of this organizer. Engaging and Fun Rhetorical Analysis Activities Toward the end of my rhetorical analysis unit, I incorporate more fun and engaging activities that allow students to demonstrate their understanding. In a previous blog post, I share my favorite historical and political speeches that are excellent for a rhetorical analysis unit. COMMERCIALS When analyzing rhetoric, my students love watching commercials to see which appeals and devices companies use as marketing strategies. Since commercials are usually thirty seconds to a minute in length, this makes a great warm-up activity. I like to show a commercial right after the bell rings at the start of class, ask students to identify which devices and appeals they find, and explain why those devices and appeals are effective. GROUPS ANALYSIS POSTERS A couple of years ago I had my students complete collaborative rhetorical analysis poster projects. Each group of three to four students received a different political or historical speech to analyze. Students read, annotated, and analyzed the text. Then, they identified various appeals and strategies that the speaker used and wrote a summary of the speech. This project took two fifty-five-minute class periods to complete. I wrote more about this project on my website: Collaborative Rhetorical Analysis Poster Project. ARTISTIC PAPA SQUARES Another one of my favorite rhetorical analysis projects is the artistic PAPA square. PAPA is an acronym that stands for Purpose, Argument, Persona, and Audience. Using this acronym for rhetorical analysis, students create an artistic square that has two requirements: visually, it resembles the topic; and it also analyzes the text for its use of appeals and devices. Usually, I have my students complete this project for one of their sources during our big research unit. You can read more about this project and sign-up to receive a free assignment handout on my website: Artistic PAPA Square. Here are some more amazing resources and teaching tips for rhetorical analysis: Persuasion Techniques Bell Ringers by Nouvelle ELA Persuasive Essay Writing: Snowball Collaborative Activity by Presto Plans Real Life Persuasion Lessons and Activities by Room 213
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!
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
What does a successful writing workshop look like? Here are strategies that will ensure successful writing workshops all year.
10 Creative Short Story Activities for the Secondary ELA Classroom. This post contains engaging and exciting lessons for teaching story stories.
Time. This is what all teachers want. Time to teach. Time to plan. Time to collaborate. Time for (useful) professional development. Across the nation, schedules for teachers are inconsistent. Some districts give ELA teachers 40 minutes a day, others give 2 hours. Some teachers give loads of planning time, and others force teachers to cover classes during their only free time. This inconsistency is what leads to the students getting so many different types of education, some more valuable than ot
Teaching rhetorical analysis is one of my absolute favorite units to complete with my students. I love teaching my students about rhetorical strategies and devices, analyzing what makes an effective and persuasive argument, and reading critical speeches with my students. Here is a quick list of some of my favorite speeches for rhetorical analysis.
Sick days...they're inevitable. Prepare for substitute lessons in advance, and then rest easy! Read the simple strategies in My Best ELA Substitute Plans.
Hello Friends!! I'm here today to post my lesson plans from week two of summer school. Yes, we did just wrap up week three, but I've had a bunch of computer issues, along with a
If you are looking for some high-interest activities, try using animated shorts to teach inference. Free handouts focus on student learning.
Long Range Plans Click on the grade level and grab these free long-range plans.
To receive free and awesome lesson plans in your email all year long, click here! If you’d like to pay with a PO, request a quote here!
This mini-lesson gives your students an opportunity to see the teacher model skill or term, and then the students practice this on their own.
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.
While teaching the parts of speech is oftentimes a lesson that one would find in the elementary classroom, high school students also need to know their parts of speech. Learn about how to teach the parts of speech with these simple steps.
Are you looking for a lesson that teaches empathy, compassion and kindness? Check out this amazing activity to instill these traits.
Book reports and summaries are a thing of the past. Engage your middle and high school students with five book report alternatives that will leave them asking for more and, most importantly, building vital reading and analysis skills along the way. 1. Assign one pagers at the end of a novel. One pagers are engaging, allow for creativity, and lead to higher level thinking and analysis. Assigning a one pager is easy and works for any novel. Follow these simple guidelines: • Make it standards base
There are so many excellent movies for kids that teachers can and should show in class. Here are 6 Reasons to Show Movies in Class (without feeling guilty)
For this interactive lesson, students will use the board in order to interact with each other. It also provides a means for assessment during a class period. Students can collaborate and use the board to brainstorm new ideas, share information, or reflect upon the lesson/ activity/ project from th
I read once that Albert Einstein remarked it is a miracle curiosity survives formal education. This observation has stuck with me: a pesky stone in my shoe. Somehow, amongst all the curricular demands, standardised testing, graduation requirements, examination preparation, and everything else which pulls at me, I desperately want to instill a sense of wonder, curiosity, and excitement in my students. I desire for them to love learning, to ask questions, to be curious about what they see, read, and hear. And one of the best – and simplest – ways I have found to do this, is the use of lesson openers which excite and engage. Inspired by the concept of provocations in the Reggio Emilia Approach1, I open learning experiences in an open-ended way which provokes student exploration, discussion, creativity, and ideas. This way, when we move into the content of the lesson, students are already engaged; their curiosity is hopefully piqued, and they’re more receptive to learning. Below are five simple ways I open classes in order to provoke engagement, discussion, and curiosity. Click here to get a downloadable version to stick in your daily planner, or on your desk as a reminder when lesson planning! INSTRUCTIONS: Place an object (which links to the lesson content) in the center of the room. For added intrigue and curiosity, place it under a cloth to ‘reveal’ when students are settled. Then use the exploration of this object to springboard into the lesson of the day: through a discussion, writing exercise, word association game, etc. For example: for a writing class about using varied sentence types, the object could be a bowl of sweets, and students write about the experience of eating one for the very first time. Or, it’s an informational text lesson, using a newspaper article on how social media impacts beauty standards, the object might be a pile of make-up, and students discuss their personal associations with these products. [Nouvelle ELA has a similar lesson for analyzing symbols: get it here] IDEAS FOR GOING FURTHER: Wait a while before you explain the presence of the mystery object: perhaps even have students spend time thinking about it and making predictions for why it is there (you may want to give them one or two clues). Equally, if appropriate, have the desks arranged in groups and place different objects on different desks. For example: in an introductory lesson for a unit on ‘Identity’ place different pieces of fruit around the room, and have students move to the one that most represents them, and then encourage them to explain their choice. WHY IT IS EFFECTIVE: Any time you add a little mystery or present something unexpected in the classroom, it will pique students’ curiosity. When they are intrigued and curious, they’re primed to engage and learn. Indeed, the emotion of curiosity has long been recognized as a vital motivating factor driving learning2. INSTRUCTIONS: Write a provocative statement on the board which links to the lesson content. (e.g. If you’re studying Romeo and Juliet: It is possible to fall in love the first time you meet someone. Or reading Maya Angelou’s ‘Still I Rise’? What about: Your dignity is always within your own control.) Then place tape, or indicate an imaginary line, across the room, with one end as “Completely Agree” and the other as “Completely Disagree.” Give students a minute to consider the statement and then have them stand on the line to indicate their opinions. [You might also want to check out the Daring English Teacher's blog post on Introducing Complex Ideas to Students] IDEAS FOR GOING FURTHER: Once students have taken their places, ask a couple of students on opposite ends to speak to each other: to debate and defend their positions. Or, have students turn to the person next to them and discuss, seeing if they really are in the right places, or if they should switch (if they feel stronger than their neighbor on the line). Finally, at the end of the lesson, why not do the activity again and see if any of them have changed their positions? WHY IT IS EFFECTIVE: This not only gets students thinking critically about key themes and issues, but it is also an effective way to make their thinking visible, and to push them to take a stand. Moreover, requiring students to give reasons for why they picked where they did, helps them back up their opinions with evidence and reason. INSTRUCTIONS: Think about the content of the lesson, and then try to mimic something of the mood/setting/theme in the classroom environment. While pinterest-worthy classroom transformations are wonderful, that’s not what I am talking about here. You can set the mood in quick and easy ways, which will engage students’ senses when they walk in the door. For example: when studying Lord of the Flies, visually project a jungle screensaver on the board, with ambient sounds. This doesn’t have to be just for literature lessons: if you’re spending the lesson writing, have students enter with ambient coffee shop sounds, or stormy weather (great for writing horror stories!). Check out the website A Soft Murmur for this: go play around with their sound settings. IDEAS FOR GOING FURTHER: If possible, engage more senses: play with lighting, images, smells, touch, etc. Or – to really engage students’ imaginations – before playing the ambient noises, have them settle down, and close their eyes. Then give them a scenario to imagine as you slowly turn up the volume on the ambient sounds. For example: in a lesson on Emily Dickenson’s “The Railway Train,” start by playing the sound of a train and ask students to imagine this sound as an animal: what would it be and why? WHY IT IS EFFECTIVE: Engaging the senses is a powerful learning tool: when we create a multisensory experience in the classroom, not only does it pique students’ curiosity, but it can also make the learning more memorable. Indeed, when engaging multiple senses, we optimise the learning mechanisms in the brain, and tap into the many different ways different students learn best3. INSTRUCTIONS: It is as simple as this: play a current song or music video, show an extract from a current TV series, use a trailer for a recent movie: anything which links the content of the day’s lesson with students’ interests and lives outside of class. For example: before we studied The Great Gatsby (click for resources), I played Lorde’s Royals and asked students what the song meant to them. Before telling students anything about Lord of the Flies, we watched the trailer for The 100 and discussed what such a situation would be like. IDEAS FOR GOING FURTHER: Have students suggest the media you present: at the end of a previous class, explain the broad content of the next class (themes, main topic, etc.) and ask students to suggest appropriate songs, video clips, games, etc., which would make for engaging lesson openers. This way, they too are making connections to their learning, and you are making sure the references are highly relevant! WHY IT IS EFFECTIVE: When we incorporate students’ personal interests and entertainments in the classroom environment, their learning becomes more relevant, engaging, and multi-dimensional. The key here though is making sure it is really something which students’ are currently interested in: not just what we might assume they will be interested in! And the best way to ensure this, is to really spend time building relationships with students, finding out their interests, and knowing what’s currently popular. INSTRUCTIONS: Before class, think about the key theme, topic, or skill which you aim to explore or develop. Then, think of 3-5 key words related to this; write these on the board, or around the room. When students enter, draw their attention to these words, and instruct them to work in pairs to construct a question using the words. For example, before a lesson on Fahrenheit 451 (click for resources), you might use “knowledge” “future” “technology” and “books.” A possible question students might generate: In the future, will books become useless, as we use technology to access knowledge? And this doesn’t have to be limited to lessons on literature: in a lesson about essay writing, words such as “style” “structure” “opinion” and “voice” might generate some engaging questions. IDEAS FOR GOING FURTHER: Once students have formed a question, provide the means for discussing or answering the question: this might be through small-group discussions, through accessing online sources, or through analysis of a text. The key here is you need to be flexible and open to going where students’ questions take the lesson. Why not even ask them how the class should proceed in terms of answering their questions? WHY IT IS EFFECTIVE: Too often, by the time they reach middle/high school, curious questioning has been replaced by incessant answering: students become adept at answering questions, but often lack opportunities to inquire and question. Developing this ability to ask questions will help with developing critical thinking skills, and engaging discussion proficiency. Moreover, students will be hooked from the start of class, and invested in finding out the answers to their questions. So that's it: if you have ANY questions, please feel free to reach out: come find me on Instagram, or email me at [email protected]. Looking for other high-interest, provoking lessons to excite and engage? Check these out: Active Learning Exercises for Reading & Writing by Room 213 READING Escape Room (Activities, Trivia & Puzzle Games for High School ELA) by The Classroom Sparrow MAKER CHALLENGE - Team Building Activity by Presto Plans RESOURCES: 1Strong-Wilson, T., & Ellis, J. (2007). Children and place: Reggio Emilia's environment as third teacher. Theory into practice, 46(1), 40-47. 2Markey, A., & Loewenstein, G. (2014). Curiosity. In International handbook of emotions in education (pp. 238-255). Routledge. 3Shams, L., & Seitz, A. (2008). Benefits of multisensory learning. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(11), 411–417.
Engaging and rigorous lesson plans and ideas to help you teach figurative language to your middle school students.
Starting a new semester— whether at the beginning of the school year or calendar year— is a time of tough transition as we begin to restart our minds and work habits. Here are SEVEN engaging activities for the first week back to school in middle school and high school English Language Arts.
With the beginning of the school year right the corner, it is time to start thinking about which lessons will be most valuable for our students. Starting the
Some of my favorite days in the classroom happen when I facilitate a breakout room activity. Breakout room days are always fast-paced, invigorating, and a
