I think almost every teenager knows how to argue.
At least, that has been my experience with my personal teenager and the 1,000+ I have taught throughout the years.
However, when they are asked to locate an argument in a text, they are suddenly not the experts we thought they were.
Here are the 4 steps (plus one bonus step at the beginning) I use to teach my students the basics of how to identify and analyze arguments and claims. 👉
Raise your hand if teaching central idea makes you want to bang your head against the wall?! 🤦♀️
I have found that when you ask students to tell you the central idea of an article, there are two types of responses: The one where they retell every single detail from the article and the one where they just respond with one or two words related to the topic. You might have that rare unicorn of a student who knows how to drill down to the central idea, but more than likely your students can use some help with this concept.
If so, I’m here with 4 steps you can follow to teach central idea to your middle school students!
Read MoreOne year I asked my students about their resolutions, and was shocked at how many of them didn’t even know what I was talking about. I made a commitment right then that I would incorporate goal setting into our classroom. It’s a valuable skill to learn how to analyze where you are and visualize where you want to be. Click to read the activities I do with my students to help them with goal setting and motivation.
Read MoreIn order to breathe some life into my inference lessons for my students who show an understanding of inference, I came up with three activities that require students to apply their knowledge of inference and text evidence.
If you have students who are bored and need something engaging and fun, check out these three ideas.
Read MoreAfter all of our relationship building activities, one of the first things I teach is how to write a constructed response using text evidence. There are a lot of strategies you can use like RACE or ACES, but my favorite way to teach this is the RTQT method. In my experience, students are able to remember and expand on the different components with quality responses.
Now you might be sitting there wondering, What exactly is RTQT? Click through to read about this fun strategy!
Read MoreAre you struggling with trying to figure out how you’re going to structure your ELA class?
Did you check out the pacing guide and wonder how to fit all the things into one period?
Or, do you just want to check out how someone else organizes their day to see if there is something new you can add to your class?
This Structure Secrets video takes you behind the scenes and shows exactly what I do on a daily basis-down to the minute.
Read MoreAs teachers, we have been blessed with an amazing opportunity to connect and build relationships with young people who need someone in their corner cheering them on.
I know it’s not easy with the demands of high stakes testing, all the hats we have to wear, and trying to get through all of the standards. The good news is, though, there are little things we can implement that can help us start to build strong and lasting relationships with our students.
Here are five easy ideas to help get you going.
Does the first day of school make you a little nervous? Sure you have your fun bulletin boards up, assigned seats ready to go, and your classroom library all set up, but now what?
What do you do when 30 middle schoolers actually walk into your classroom, sit in the plastic blue seats, and stare expectantly at you?
Because I know it can be a little daunting to plan for the first day along with the hundreds of other things you have to think about, I’m going to share what I do on day one. Click for tips, ideas, and resources!
Over the years, my bell ringers have developed and grown to include meaningful and engaging tasks. I have found that if I do the same type of bell ringer every single day, students get bored. I don’t blame them. It would be like eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich everyday for lunch. I’m the type of person who likes to throw in a square retro pizza and some tater tots into the lunch rotation, so my bell ringers need some variety too.
I have four core bell ringer activities that I rotate through throughout the year. Each set takes a week to complete, so we do two of each type in one quarter. Click to read all about them!
Do your students struggle with reading and understanding poetry? Do you hear something along the lines of…“Ugh. We hate poetry. It’s so hard! I can never understand it!” To be honest, this is a fair response. Analyzing poetry does take effort and it is a skill that has to be taught.
Although there are exceptions, interpreting poetry is not something that comes naturally to middle schoolers or adults. It is totally understandable to be hesitant to teach poetry. Without an analyzing framework, it can be a daunting task. Click to read about the 8 active reading steps that will help make this process a little easier!
Based on teacher demand, I am creating an awesome resource that will be part of the Bellringer Capsule!
The content for The Grammar Series is based on over 600 votes on what teachers, like you and me, think middle school students struggle with the most.
Click to learn more!
Read MoreThe number one question I see on forums is, what books should I read with my middle school students? There are so many great choices out there because young adult literature is rocking. To help you get started, here are 12 of my favorite books that I have read with my students throughout the years.
Read MoreResearch proves that when you have intentional and explicit vocabulary instruction, reading ability and comprehension increases. So the question is, how do you make your vocabulary instruction intentional and explicit? This post explains the 5 steps I use each week to teach vocabulary to my middle school students.
Read MoreMaybe you're new to the secondary world, or maybe you just need a reset. Whatever the situation, just know this is exactly what you need to almost eliminate discipline problems and get your classroom running smoothly. Here are 5 routines that will get you going. All routines are tried, tested, and work with are fun middle schoolers.
Read MoreTeaching inference in middle school can be somewhat of a challenge. Am I right? I hear you! I know how hard it is to teach and review inference with your students. The struggle is totally real! Here are the 6 step by step activities I use in my own classroom to help students develop and build their inference skills. Click to learn more!
Read MoreLook at you! You’re amazing just for searching for ideas to help your students. This post is a growing resource for teachers who want to make remote learning meaningful for their middle school students. Click through to find standards based, quality, and engaging digital lessons for your middle school ELA classroom.
Read MoreFigurative language is one of my favorite things to teach! Since it is found everywhere, it is one of the first standards we focus on in class. I thank if we can start off the year with a deep understanding of this concept, I can refer back to it again and again as we go through the year. Here are the 5 easy to implement lessons that I use to help students dig deep into their understanding of figurative language.
Read MoreAfter several years of playing around with TpT, I decided to get serious about making extra money with this amazing website. These are the 5 easy steps I took to increase my profit with Teachers pay Teachers. Click through to learn how you can turn a profit, too and for a free checklist to get you started!
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