Middle School English

By Presto Plans I first realized the power of bell ringers years ago, thanks to a particularly unruly class that would bounce off my walls after lunch. After consistently wasting the first ten minutes of class getting students seated, settled, and ready to learn, I decided to give bell-ringers a try. They were immediately a classroom game-changer. Bell-ringers—sometimes referred to as “warm ups” or “do nows”— are questions, tasks, or other warm up activities that students complete at the…

Using Pixar films in the English Language Arts classroom is an engaging way to review literary terms. Read this post to learn how you can use this!

So… you’re a first-time middle school ELA teacher. Welcome to the madness, I guess! I’m kidding, but in all honesty, middle school isn’t quite like high school or elementary school. Middle school is its own unique level that you need to be prepared for as you get ready to run your classroom. But before we

Classroom preparation is the key to success!

Since I don't have a vocabulary book or program that I HAVE to follow at my school, I used to always worry if I was doing enough vocabulary instruction. Even when I was theoretically following best practices or authentically investigating words as they came up in texts, I was concerned about if I was really helping my students become better readers. After a lot of trial and error, I'm now proud of what we do for middle school vocabulary, which falls into four main areas: Specific Words for…

Teaching middle school is like no other teaching assignment - like no other task on Earth for that matter. As a teacher, you need to be just the right mix of cool and strict - but most important, calm. You need to have a good relationship with your students overall based on mutual respect. But that's much easier said than done. Here's the thing about middle schoolers in particular: They want to look good in front of their peers. What their peers think of them is of utmost importance to them…

Short stories for middle school - a list of the best short stories for your middle school classroom with tips and teaching ideas.

There is no limit to the amount of fun ELA activities English teachers need to keep their squirrely middle schoolers actively engaged. That’s why I’m thrilled to bring you 5 new middle school ELA games to add to your toolbox! Olivia Gold, a creative middle school ELA teacher from Florida, joins us today to share

Looking for Wordle classroom ideas? Incorporate Wordle into your classroom with this activities, ideas, and templates.

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.