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!

Move over school lunch, chicken patties are here revamped and ready to impress. Trust us—this easy chicken patty recipe is nothing like your cafeteria.

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!

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!

Looking to revamp your Computer Technology and Coding Middle School Curriculum and Lesson Plans for 2 YEARS? This Beginner through to Advanced skills Middle School Computer Science and Technology Curriculum develops and enhances essential technolgy and coding skills for middle school students. It also provides students and teachers with a varied curriculum of learning for 2 years which cover the ISTE 2016 standards. All of the material in this curriculum bundle is digital and therefore can be shared with students via Google Drive or Google Classroom. The following curriculum material is included in this bundle: 1. Scope & Sequence of Curriculum Delivery - this is available to download from the Bonus File section. 2. Computer Hardware Central Processing Unit Research Project - Beginner Level Inside my PC Build and Learn activity - Beginner Level Inside my Central Processing Unit - Beginner Level Networks and Security - Advanced Level Primary and Secondary Storage - Advanced Level Technology Laws - Advanced Level Computer Hardware Assessment in Google Forms™ - Advanced Level 3. Coding Bundles Python Text Based Coding - Beginner Level Scratch Programming - Beginner Level Turtle Academy - Beginner Level Python Programming - Advanced Level Scratch Programming - Advanced Level Web Design in HTML - Advanced Level 4. Google Software Skills Google Folders task cards - Beginner Level Google Docs Unit - Beginner Level Google Sheets Unit - Beginner Level Google Slides Unit - Beginner Level Google Docs and Google Drawings Digital Skills Project - Advanced Level 5. Internet Safety for Middle School Social Networks & Information - Beginner Level Online Grooming - Beginner Level Chat Rooms - Beginner Level Cyberbullying - Beginner Level Copyright and Plagiarism - Beginner Level Sexting - Beginner Level Fake and Real News - Advanced Level Email Etiquette - Advanced Level Cyberbullying - Advanced Level Digital Footprint - Advanced Level Defamation of Character - Advanced Level Data Protection Act - Advanced Level Inappropriate Content - Advanced Level These Digital Resources come complete with: Colorful lesson presentations which include explanations and student tasks Detailed lesson directions Student worksheets Answer Keys I Can Statements Scope and Sequence ❁❁ Click Here to Follow Me Links to more Curriclum Bundles: Middle School Computer Science and Technology Curriculum - Beginner Skills Middle School Computer Science and Technology Curriculum - Advanced Skills Middle School Computer Science and Technology Curriculum - Beginner to Advanced Skills Benefits for you: Rating this product allows you to collect credits for money off towards your next TPT purchase. Follow me for more Technology & Computer Science resources as well as future offers. Terms of Use: Created by Bal Borde, Copyright © Computer Creations All rights reserved. Purchase of this unit entitles the purchaser the right to reproduce the pages in limited quantities for single classroom use only. Duplication for an entire school, an entire school system or commercial purposes is strictly forbidden without written permission from the publisher. Copying any part of this product and placing it on the Internet in any form (even a personal/classroom website) is strictly forbidden and is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). These items can be picked up in a google search and then shared worldwide for free. If you have any questions about licensing, please contact me on [email protected]

20 middle school routines and procedures to keep your students on the right track and out of trouble. Set your classroom up for success!

It is summer break and therefore project time! I love having time in the summer to get ready for the new school year. My to-do list right...

Student-centered pedagogy or learner-centered teaching strategies are not novel ideas. For the better part of the last decade there has been a major emphasis in teacher education programs to emphasize the use of instructional methods that put the focus on the student rather than the teacher. So let's be real, I am not writing anything revolutionary here!

Add some new teaching approaches to your middle school or high school teacher toolbox with these seven strategies.

Teaching the elements of fiction doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. See how I break it down and teach through stations!

Need a diamond coloring page to fit into your shapes lesson plan for your toddlers, preschoolers, or kindergarteners? You've come to the right place! This diamond coloring worksheet includes the word 'diamond' in bubble letters so your kiddos can color that in addition to the large diamond in the middle of page.

Free Student Planner Printable: 10+ printable pages to keep your student on track this school year. This method is perfect for students to implement on their own.

Writing is, hands down, my subject!! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE teaching writing. But, it hasn't always been this way. I actually hated it when I first started teaching. And, I was terrible at it!! Over the years, I've invested a ridiculous amount of time, money, and energy learning to become a better writing teacher. I've read books, taken classes, attended lectures and workshops, tried ideas out, failed miserably, tried again, felt some successes, tried something else, face-planted again... and on, and on, and on! I finally feel (after 10 years) that at least I'm not damaging students anymore in writing class, and that maybe, just maybe, I am actually leading them in the direction of being a writer. I certainly don't know it all, and I'm sure I never will (but I won't stop trying!!), but I'm going to share with you all I can. ********************************************************************************* Again, I'll start with Professional Development: And again, in no particular order, here are the books that fundamentally changed the way I teach writing: 1. Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher. I've never come across a more "Aha!" producing book on teaching writing. This guy gets it! Practical, use-them-tomorrow lesson ideas and advice for upper elementary/middle/high school students. 2. Lessons That Change Writers by Nancie Atwell. This book is the bomb, especially if you are a new teacher. Step-by-step lesson plans and materials. You will want to get the "binder" that comes with the book. It's pricey, but worth it!! 3. The Art of Teaching Writing by Lucy Calkins. When I win the lottery, I'm packing my family up and moving to NYC. Once there, I will pay Columbia University all my money to let me take classes with this amazing woman! Lucy so gets it! A true master teacher. 4. Writing Essentials by Regie Routman. Again, Regie ROCKS! Just read her! 5. A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher. True story... I once had a student ask if Ralph Fletcher was my boyfriend because I talk about him all.the.time in class. Seriously, it's like he is there with me, co-teaching all the way! You will see he makes my list THREE times, but that's code for READ ALL HIS BOOKS! You will never teach writing the same! 6. What a Writer Needs by Ralph Fletcher. I'm linking you to the new edition, but I admit that I've only read the first edition. It doesn't matter. Everything he says is right, so you can't go wrong with whatever edition you read. 7. Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer's Notebook by Aimee Buckner. If I had my way, I'd ONLY teach writing through writer's notebook all day long! By far, writer's notebook is my most powerful teaching tool and I've watched it work magic on writing-resistant kids. This book is fun and practical. Get it!! 8. A Fresh Look at Writing by Donald Graves. If we could all approach teaching the way that Donald Graves does, the world would be a better place. He is like the Mr. Rogers of writing instruction. 9. Everyday Editing by Jeff Anderson. You will never teach grammar and mechanics again in a way that can be likened to watching paint dry or linoleum peel. This guys so gets writing and so gets kids! 10. Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi. I can't think of a more practical book! ********************************************************************************* Writing: The Video Here's my video. It's sorta long, sorta amateur, BUT it covers a lot of the essentials on how writing works in my classroom: ********************************************************************************* Writer's Workshop: This is the only model that I use. Though there are a million tiny differences that can make this look different in every single classroom, the basic idea is: Teach a mini-lesson (ideally with a mentor text). Give students ample time to practice writing. Share, give feedback, revise. For me, the Writer's Notebook is an integral part of this process. It is where students do all of their practicing. Now, WN purists believe that all the material generated in the notebook is solely determined by the student. I'd LOVE to be able to teach this way, but because of the constraints of standards and state testing, I find that I have to have a bit more control in what goes into our notebooks, so I deviate a bit from the WN purist model. Like most middle school teachers working in a Common Core State, I teach three main types of writing: narrative, inform/explain, and argument. My big units look like this: Narrative Writing Workshop Writing to Inform/Explain Workshop Argument Writing Workshop But, I have been feverishly working to update my writing curriculum to be more 7th grade-friendly. I also wanted to find a way to integrate Writer's Notebook even more into my workshops, especially when teaching writing to inform/explain, which doesn't always lend itself well to WN... at least in ways that I've found in practice! The results of this effort are several, short (2 weeks), quick-paced workshop units that are designed to get students writing several pieces in our studied genres, but using some of the choice and freedom found in WN. I like to think of it as "guided choice." I give students the genre and a broad topic, but they get to explore and choose the more specific details of their piece. My plan is to teach several of these quick units, along with the longer, more in-depth units, sprinkled with some writing fun in between!! If you'd like to save a BUNDLE, you can purchase these two BUNDLES and get my whole year of writing instruction: So, this is one of my static pages and I will be updating as things change, so be sure to check back every now and again to see what's new! Happy Teaching!!

Student-centered pedagogy or learner-centered teaching strategies are not novel ideas. For the better part of the last decade there has been a major emphasis in teacher education programs to emphasize the use of instructional methods that put the focus on the student rather than the teacher. So let's be real, I am not writing anything revolutionary here!

If Montezuma had an Instagram account, what would he say when Cortez arrived in 1519? My fourth graders have some ideas. We are finishing our study of the conquests of the Inca and Aztec empires and have been reading about … Continue reading →

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!

The Present- For Teaching Plot Twist and Theme This story has the most amazing plot twist! Get your tissues ready! A young boy is behaving like an awful brat. He disrespects his mother when she brings him a new puppy. He even treats the puppy terribly when he discovers it is missing a leg. But […]

I want to share an idea that has saved me some sanity in the past two years when many students are demanding my attention at once.

Have you ever come across an awesome math puzzle online and wished you could make it? One like this: Well, you can easily make hexago...

So, are you itching for winter break to get here or what?!? I am drowning here, people! Between report cards, conferences (for my students and my own kids!), shopping, baking, parties, wrapping... DROWNING!Don't get me

Classroom Management is the one thing that can make or break a school year. These 6 tips will get you on the right track to a successful school year.

Generate unit rates, ratio tables, and graphs in order to determine which baker wins a cupcake bakeoff in this interactive from MPT. In the accompanying classroom activity, students use the interactive and then solve a similar real-life problem. They share their strategies with the class and then conclude by considering ways that unit rates can facilitate comparing rates. To get the most from the lesson, students should be comfortable graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane and converting between fractions and decimals.

Do you need a quick and engaging integers activity? Do your students need a fun integers review? Click HERE to download. These Back 2 School Integer Coloring Pages feature coloring integers to create school supply pictures. Students review integer skills with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. No prep, print and go for grades 6, 7, and 8. Aligned to math standards for middle school math. 2 different color versions of each picture included. THIS BACK 2 SCHOOL INTEGERS PACKET FEATURES: *2 different Engaging Math Activities (2 different versions each) *1 Version of Notebooks, Calculators and Pencils (2 color versions) *1 Version of Calculator, Protractor, Pencil and Ruler (2 color versions) *3 different Banners to hang on a Bulletin Board *NO PREP, Print & GO Activities! (Only materials needed: 4-5 different colored crayons or markers, and a pencil). *FUN & rigorous activities centered on math curriculum *HIGH QUALITY CLIPART is included *Topics covered: Integers *Engage your students in Math for Back to School! Click HERE to download. These activities are a great way to engage students in practicing and reviewing integers. Do you need to display student work for Open House? This is no prep, print and go display for any bulletin board or wall. Easy and quick resource that is perfect for open house for parents and students. Keep your students engaged and have fun with math. Happy Teaching!

This list of computer games targets essential reading, speaking, writing, and listening skills through the interactive context of computer games. Students can enhance their skills through gaming, which is a high-interest way to motivate students-- especially struggling students.

Effortlessly Communicate Your K–8 Curriculum With These Student Handouts Curriculum % %

Bulletin board ideas for middle and high school ELA. Author social media profiles, quote hashtags, idiom and class rules posters, and more.

I recently just finished my first set of Middle School Mentor Sentences to teach grammar. As I’ve started talking about and posting about Mentor Sentences, I’ve realized that most teachers fall into the following categories when it comes to implementing mentor sentences: I have no idea what mentor sentences are, but I am intrigued now. I ... Read more

We wrapped up our chapter on color this week and our final projects might be some of my favorite that we’ve ever done! During our unit on color my students had the chance to create their own color wheel’s and man oh man was that a learning experience. For about 75% of my students that was […]

Listen to this Special Ed Podcast with 15 great ideas for Functional Centers for students with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism in High School. Read more and subscribe today!

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!

A program in Jeffco schools that helps students track the amount of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity they do a day appears to be helping the schools boost test scores as well.

One of the most time-consuming things teachers deal with is student absences! I no longer worry about this because my students completely take care of it!

The Georgia Department of Education English Language Arts division has its very own Twitter account and has been hosting a weekly series this academic school year of “Twitter takeovers”…

It's time to revamp your strategies for behavior management! This post shares highly effective behavior management resources for...

If there’s one thing that students of all ages love and find joy in, it’s music. Thanks to technology, streaming services make all kinds of music available to

Hi friends! I wanted to share with you some of the changes I made to my ELA centers. After Jen Jones came to our school in June, I realized I needed to do a little revamping to my schedule and activit