Blog

Are you ready to skip the stress associated with teaching in the weeks leading up to winter break? This December, turn your classroom into a festive learning environment rooted in routines, realistic expectations, and holiday… Read More »A Teacher’s Guide to Surviving (and Thriving) This Holiday Season

Looking to bridge the learning gaps in your classroom? Help students work through complex topics and texts with effective scaffolding strategies. Learn how to use scaffolded instruction to establish a supportive learning environment where every… Read More »11 Effective Scaffolding Strategies for Secondary ELA

Narrative writing can be a struggle for many secondary students, making it a challenging genre to teach. After reading this post, you can say goodbye to hearing moans and groans and grading disjointed stories! Steal… Read More »9 Tips for Teaching Narrative Writing in Secondary ELA

Engage your students in an exploration of self-discovery through poetry! In this post, I share my favorite poems that explore themes of identity, self-acceptance, and self-discovery that my students enjoy and relate to most. Now,… Read More »Exploring Identity Through Poetry: 6 Poems About Identity for Middle School ELA

Are you looking to turn your reluctant readers into active and engaged participants? Implement these 11 strategies in your classroom, and you just might have those students eager to read. (You read that right.) In… Read More »A Teacher’s Guide to Engaging Reluctant Readers

Learn the trick for engaging even your most reluctant readers. Add some of these high-interest titles to your classroom library, and your students will be on their way to discovering a new love for reading.… Read More »High-Interest Texts for Reluctant Readers in Secondary ELA

Spooky season is upon us! And that means it’s the first opportunity to bring the holiday spirit into our middle school classrooms. After all, why should primary teachers and students have all the fun? With… Read More »10 Fun Halloween Ideas for Your Middle School ELA Classroom

Before you jump into reading your next classroom text, prepare students for success by incorporating engaging pre-reading activities. No idea where to start? No worries! Read this post for a list of effective activities to… Read More »My 6 Favorite Pre-Reading Activities in Secondary ELA

Preparing for a new unit but need help figuring out where to start? Encourage students to buy into your next ELA unit with this post full of valuable strategies and engaging activities. Whether you’re struggling… Read More »6 Creative Ways to Kickstart Your Next ELA Unit