Teaching Middle School ELA

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, we dissect the anatomy of a successful lesson plan — a captivating beginning, a standards-focused middle, and an impactful conclusion. This framework not only ensures your lessons flow effectively but also significantly cuts down planning time, allowing you to leave work at work and actually take back your personal time outside the classroom. After we cover the components of a successful lesson, we spend time guiding you in the steps to take to effectively string together those lessons throughout your entire academic year. We call this process developing your scope and sequence. Once you follow this process and nail down your scope and sequence, you'll find that everything else seems to fall into place extremely easily. You'll even hear from an EB Teacher who tells us how she was able to actually "Kiss the Sunday Scaries goodbye!" Of course, we want this feeling for every single middle school ELA teacher! Tune in to this episode to hear more details about how you can easily begin building your scope and sequence now so that you don't have to spend your summer with the weight of back to school on your shoulders! FREE RESOURCE: Curious about trying Batch Planning this summer? Simply click the link below to grab our 10 Tips to Get Started Batch Planning and take a look at how easy it can be to begin! https://www.ebteacher.com/free-10-tips-for-Batch-Planning Batch Planning is the ONE thing you can do now that will have the biggest impact on your entire school year! BIG NEWS: The EB Teachers' ELA Portal will officially be open for enrollment this summer! If having access to ALL of the items below sounds helpful to you, then we invite you to take a quick moment to add your name to our priority list today! Are you ready for: Pretty incredible, right? Click the link below to add your name to the priority list today: https://www.ebteacher.com/ebtc-priority-list

In this Monday Mindset episode, I am exploring the question: Can an act of kindness truly transform your life? I believe that there is transformative power in serving others that will bring profound joy to your life! By shifting our focus from our own challenges to helping those around us, you will instantly foster gratitude, which assists in reducing any anxious feelings because you're focused on being thankful. I also challenge you to consider the impact incorporating simple acts of service into your daily routine could have on your life and those within your circle! I hope you'll accept this challenge and join me in serving others and experiencing a positive energy boost each and every day! Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, your hosts Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan spend time breaking down their top 3 Must Do's to wrap up this school year and prepare for the fall! It can be very tempting to close up shop in May and leave the prep work for August, but in today's episode you'll learn our suggestions for simple things you can do now that your future self will definitely thank you for! Our top three tips include: 1. Reflect on what worked and what didn't work - this will be extremely helpful with batch planning your lessons for next year. 2. Celebrate your student wins - find creative ways to celebrate your students during this time of the year. 3. Organize and declutter - whether you do this on your own or you recruit student helpers during those slow days that last week of school, leaving your classroom cleaned out and organized for August will be a weight lifted off your shoulders before summer break! Incorporating these 3 strategies into your end of year routine will be the key to a summer break where you can truly rest, relax, and recharge! Tune in today to hear these tips explained in this helpful episode! BIG NEWS: The EB Teachers' ELA Portal will officially be open for enrollment this summer!If having access to ALL of the below sounds helpful to you, then we invite you to take a quick moment to add your name to our priority list today!Are you ready for: Pretty incredible, right?Click the link below to add your name to the priority list today: https://www.ebteacher.com/ebtc-priority-list Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Get ready for a moment of reflection in today's Monday Mindset! I'm taking this time to discuss the importance of shifting your focus from the relentless pursuit of what's ahead, to reflecting on the victories you've already achieved! Acknowledging achievements isn't just about giving ourselves a pat on the back—it's about laying the foundation of confidence and gratitude that will support our future endeavors. By shining a spotlight on our past victories, we're actively boosting our resilience and empowering ourselves for the challenges ahead. Without gratitude for our experiences and the people who've helped us along the way, we risk missing the true value of our endeavors. So join me, as I take a much-needed breath to appreciate the past and prepare to face the future! Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, we're encouraging you to shake the pressure of finding a magical new ELA unit to finish your school year with fun and engagement. Yep, you heard us right! While engagement and rigor are just as important at the end of the school year, we are challenging the idea that you need to search for something "brand new" to make that happen inside your classroom! Perhaps hitting the "rewind" button to review activities your students already know and love could be just as interesting! We're giving you two ideas in this episode that will not only add a little sparkle to your end-of-year lessons, but they also provide a natural way to review multiple ELA concepts at once! Your students will love showing off what they've learned and have fun while doing it! You'll hear about: - Using hexagonal thinking to give students the opportunity to connect various ELA skills and concepts - Using the "sticky note" method for students to collaborate and reflect on what they've learned Grab a pen and paper to jot down these ideas as you listen in! BIG NEWS: The EB Teachers' ELA Portal will officially be open for enrollment this summer! If having access to ALL of the below sounds helpful to you, then we invite you to take a quick moment to add your name to our priority list today! Are you ready for: Pretty incredible, right?Click the link below to add your name to the priority list today: https://www.ebteacher.com/ebtc-priority-list Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

In today's Monday Mindset, I'm presenting the idea of tipping the scales from anxiety to optimism with a simple, yet profound mental shift! Imagine if, instead of fretting over the direst outcomes, you spent that energy picturing the best possible scenarios! Let's walk through the process of balancing your perspectives to foster a more hopeful approach to life's hurdles. By envisioning the brightest outcomes, you'll lay the groundwork for a more proactive and solution-oriented mindset—preparing yourself to not only dream of success but to achieve it. Why not give visualization a try? You might just be surprised by the outcome! Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, we're diving into a very opinionated topic: Grading. The majority of the team members that make up the behind-the-scenes of EB Academics were once educators themselves at a variety of different grade levels. So we thought it would be perfect to "poll the team" and gather their most helpful tips for managing the demands of grading work in the ELA classroom. We breakdown the tips below and more: - Use TeacherMade or Google Forms to turn those hard copies digital and foster faster grading - Allow students to select which in-class essay they most want you to grade - Allow students to revise essays for a higher grade but only after they've met for a 1:1 conference with you - Staggering your units between classes so your grading doesn't pile up at once - Grading as you go through a unit or essay - Resist the urge to grade the full essay; focus on improvements in a specific part of their essay -Randomly select items that will be graded rather than grading every piece of work - Lock your door during grading sessions to prevent interruptions - Shake the guilt of not grading everything - Always use rubrics and even consider letting students self-grade - Batch Plan so your prep periods can be used for grading instead of planning After listening in, you're sure to have a few tips to add to your routine to shave off those very valuable minutes you spend grading! Get ready for an incredibly practical and helpful episode! BIG NEWS: The EB Teachers' ELA Portal will officially be open for enrollment this summer! If having access to ALL of the below sounds helpful to you, then we invite you to take a quick moment to add your name to our priority list today! Are you ready for: Pretty incredible, right?Click the link below to add your name to the priority list today: https://www.ebteacher.com/ebtc-priority-list Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Get ready for a fresh perspective on time and how it impacts our ability to be present with our surroundings in this Monday Mindset! I take a minute to unravel how getting lost in experiences that captivate us can warp our sense of time, leading us to a state of pure presence. What if you find something this week that will immerse you so deeply that time becomes irrelevant? It's an invitation to be fully present, and in doing so, enhance your well-being, gratitude, and connection to the world around you. Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, your hosts, Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan sat down to discuss a fresh method to try with your students when trying to give their creativity a boost! Tune in as they dive into the SCAMPER method and walk you through a unique example for you to see it in action. SCAMPER stands for: Substitute Combine Adapt Modify/Magnify Purpose/Put to other uses Eliminate…and… Rearrange/Reverse You'll discover innovative ways you can incorporate this process into your next lessons to give your students a tangible way to develop new and creative ideas. As your students work through this method they are practicing problem-solving, critical thinking, and respectful group collaboration! Jessica wraps things up by sharing two ways you could use this method inside your classroom this week! Idea #1: Storytelling Techniques - This process would be perfect to try with traditional fairy tales for guiding students through how students could fracture them! Idea #2: Character Development - These questions can be rinsed and repeated for any novel or short story as a way to think deeper and make connections! (Also try this with Socratic Seminars or Silent Debate questions) To hear more about this fun concept, be sure to listen in! Get ready for an exceptionally helpful episode! BIG NEWS: The EB Teachers' ELA Portal will officially be open for enrollment this summer! If having access to ALL of the below sounds helpful to you, then we invite you to take a quick moment to add your name to our priority list today! Are you ready for: Pretty incredible, right?Click the link below to add your name to the priority list today: https://www.ebteacher.com/ebtc-priority-list Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

On today's Monday Mindset, I'm taking a moment to intimately reflect on how maintaining a positive outlook rather than chasing perpetual happiness will profoundly shape your life's journey! Join me as I traverse the emotional journey that life presents, from the peaks of joy to the valleys of sorrow. I'll candidly share how personal loss became a testament to resilience and the belief in a universe that conspires for our good. When we embrace the potential of positivity to bring peace and meaning, no matter what life throws at us, we will find growth and contentment in every twist and turn of life's paths. Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, Jessica is joined by EB Academics' Curriculum Writer, Pat, and together they dive into an innovative use of ChatGPT for your middle school classroom! Pat presents this engaging concept by explaining how you can use ChatGPT to generate task cards that are fantastic to use with your students who seem to always finish their assignments early! They showcase the ease with which you can tailor your task cards to different types of learners and how simple they can be to create with the help of AI. You'll learn how to create task cards that are flexible to meet the diverse needs of your students while fostering creativity and engagement in the classroom. With practical tips and insights, Jessica and Pat demonstrate how ChatGPT can enhance lesson planning and student learning experiences, making it a valuable tool for educators seeking to boost their efficiencies and support student growth. Get ready for an exceptionally helpful episode! Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

In today's Monday Mindset I'm giving you permission to want more out of life! In this episode, I challenge the idea that wanting more from your life means you are discontent or unhappy. Instead, I lean into the concept that wanting more is not only natural but necessary for a life full of intention and authenticity. So let's do away with the guilt and embrace the possibility that we can aspire to chase our dreams no matter what age or circumstance we may currently find ourselves in. I'm excited for you to tune in and hold space for the brightness your future has in store for you. Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, Jessica, Pat introduce Jay, EB's resident differentiation expert for ELL and SPED students! Together they host a conversation focused on effective teaching methodologies tailored to accommodate diverse learning needs. They take a deep dive into strategies such as fostering trust and community among students, implementing collaborative group work, and employing ongoing assessment methods. Their conversation underscores the importance of personalized instruction for different levels of learning. They explore ways to involve students in their own learning journey through honest prompts, student choice, and individualized check-ins, all while emphasizing the significance of leveraging available resources and collaborative efforts to create inclusive and supportive learning environments. Get ready for an episode full of practical strategies that will benefit every level of learner in your classroom! Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

In today's Monday Mindset, I'm exploring a life mantra that can instantly break down the walls of a "stuck" mindset! Marie Forleo's infectious philosophy that 'everything is figureoutable' breathes new life into the way we tackle problems. I pay tribute to that mindset in this episode, reflecting on the belief that every challenge has a solution waiting to be uncovered. I want you to take a moment to consider that every obstacle can actually be an opportunity to grow in more ways than one! You'll notice the positive impact of altering our deep-seated beliefs to see that everything—from scheduling snafus to larger life hurdles—is, indeed, figureoutable. Listen in and learn how to weave this mindset into the fabric of your daily life, guaranteeing that no matter what comes your way, you'll have the tools and the tenacity to figure it out. Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, join your hosts Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan as they delve into the diverse approaches of teacher development programs across the globe. Drawing from conversations from a recent article titled, What the World Can Teach Us by Harry K. Wong, Ted Britton, and Tom Ganser, they uncover intriguing insights into how different countries support and nurture their educators. They discuss how the approaches found in countries like China, New Zealand, Japan, and France, are used for continuous improvement of their teachers and should inspire similar initiatives in US schools. Throughout the episode, your hosts identify three key themes: structured and comprehensive induction programs, a focus on lifelong learning, and the importance of collaboration among educators. You'll be encouraged to consider how these international models could even be incorporated into teacher support systems in your schools. Tune in to gain fresh perspectives on teacher development and discover practical insights for enhancing professional growth in education. You may even feel motivated to share this episode with your administrator! Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Have you heard the old Julie Andrews quote, "When life shuts one door, another window opens." ? In today's Monday Mindset, I reflect on how those closed doors in our lives often nudge us toward paths we're meant to walk. By shifting our perspective of rejection to one of needed redirection, we can receive those circumstances in a whole new way! We'll explore the philosophy of embracing the open doors and recognizing the closed ones as gifts in disguise. Tune in and consider how this perspective can inspire confidence in the face of life's unexpected circumstances and ultimately lead us exactly where we are meant to be! Here's to another day of intentional living!

Get ready for an important episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast! Listen in as your hosts, Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan tackle the topic of middle school ELA research units and exactly how you can make them engaging and memorable for your students. In this episode, we're sharing personal experiences and practical tips for creating research projects that your students will actually enjoy. From key components like crafting essential questions and finding reliable sources to organizing evidence and creating works cited pages, we've got you covered with fresh ideas. You'll also hear a unique and fun research unit idea that will have your students hooked from the start. Imagine inviting them to "Camp Explore" where they embark on a fictional camping adventure and must research and budget for essential camping supplies. It's hands-on, practical, and most importantly, engaging! We'll provide step-by-step instructions on how to set up this research unit, and we've even got tips on incorporating games and activities to wrap up the unit with a celebration of your students' hard work. Listen now and get inspired to take your research units to a whole new level! Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Are you ready to take a moment to consider whether or not you're living in the past, present, or future? In today's Monday Mindset, I reflect on the importance of self-reflecting on exactly where you are operating from. So often we choose to allow frustration or regrets from our past or the fear of the future to completely destroy our mindset and the choices we make today. I invite you to consider taking your thoughts captive and reflect on whether or not they're helpful or actually having a negative impact on your life. It's very likely that those thoughts and emotions that do not serve you are stemming from something in your past or a fear of the unknown. It can be a challenging cycle to break, but it is definitely one that is worth your focus and effort. I'm excited for you to take a quick moment to listen in today! Here's to another day of intentional living!

On this episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast we're diving into the topic of making informational texts your students' new favorite genre! Navigating through the complexities of analyzing informational texts can often be a daunting task for our middle school students. In today's episode, we discuss the simple yet powerful trick we used time and time again to actually empower our students when tackling a new informational text. This innovative tool was crafted to guide students through the intricate process of summarizing, analyzing, and reflecting on their reading. Tune in as we break down each component of analyzing informational text by using the visual of an inverted triangle. We start with the expansive top section where students craft a tag and summary of the text, then transition to the middle section, where students condense their summary using the SWBST method, and finally, we arrive at the pinnacle of the triangle, where students distill their analysis into a succinct main idea! You'll also grab great classroom discussion starters and thought-provoking questions to encourage students' critical thinking through each stage of the process! (So be sure to grab a pen and paper to take quick notes!) Whether you've taught informational texts for 1 year or 30 years, this episode will leave you with fresh tools and strategies to invigorate your classroom instruction! Tune in for an episode full of actionable takeaways! Link mentioned: https://www.ebteacher.com/infotext Are you enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review! To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Get ready for a deep dive into self-reflection on today's Monday Mindset! In this episode, I present the question, "What defines a luxury in your life?". This conversation should challenge the status quo of what the world considers a "luxury" and really push you to consider what you personally value. Ramit Sethi, the author of "I Will Teach You to Be Rich," offered a fresh perspective on crafting a rich life beyond financial success. I'll take a moment to reflect on his point of view which places a focus on a balance between saving diligently for the future and savoring the present's priceless moments. I explore how a weekend bike ride or a cherished family tradition can be as fulfilling as any material possession and encourage you to intentionally integrate what you define as "luxury" into your everyday life. I hope this episode can be your inspiration to shape a life brimming with personalized luxuries that set you apart from what your feed may want you to think is luxury. Here's to another day of intentional living!