One of my favorite winter-themed books for middle school is Brian’s Winter by Gary Paulsen. It makes for a great novel study during the winter months, as your students will be AMAZED at Brian’s ingenuity to survive the brutal winter. The book is a continuation …
If you teach upper elementary or middle school writing, then you know it is a chore to get students to organize their thoughts and stay on-topic in their essays. The problem often compounds as you transition from 5-paragraph essays to opinion writing to informational writing …
When I first read Wonder by RJ Palacio, I had so many ideas bursting out of my head for how I could teach this incredible novel. In addition to creating my own Wonder novel study unit, I also came up with the character analysis activities …
As an ELA teacher, there are very few things more overwhelming than grading essay assignments. It is important work, but it requires an incredible amount of grading time to do it properly. One way I’ve found to make the process more efficient is to simplify …
It often seems like January is a time when middle school teachers go into turbo TEST PREP mode. In my classroom, in addition to test prep work, we also begin a string of writing assignments and novel units. Despite all these competing priorities, it is …
I headed into my classroom today after two weeks away. I know that is not every teacher’s choice during a break, but it brings me peace of mind. I am one of those teachers who prefers a gentle transition with a bit of preparation as …
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