I wish that I could go back and introduce first-year teacher me to the teacher community I am now a part of: a treasure-trove of wisdom, advice, ideas, help, and digital shoulders to cry on.
Strategies for Teaching Text Annotation by The Daring English Teacher
One of the first lessons I teach every year, regardless of the grade-level I am teaching, is how to closely read and annotate a text. Because I feel this is such a valuable skill for students, I carve out a week of my instruction in the beginning of the school year to help my students get more comfortable with annotating text. [...more]
by The Classroom Sparrow
Yes, interactive notebooks can be useful in middle and high school classes too! If your students are anything like mine, you know they love all things interactive. So, why not try engaging them in a different way from the norm? [...more]
This is a serious issue in secondary classrooms when the required reading is longer and can't be completed in class. There are not enough hours in the semester to get it all done as it is, and besides, kids read at such vastly different rates that some are finished long before others. [...more]
Writing Folders in My Secondary Classroom by Addie Williams
I decided to try something new in my ELA classes last year and I was so thrilled with how it worked out that I'm going to do it again this year! After years of trying to organize students with binders that explode with paper and lost assignments I knew I had to try something different. [...more]
When you can’t avoid bringing student work home, it doesn’t have to be total misery! Check out this list of ideas to help you bring some organization and peace into your evenings. [...more]
15 TV Episodes to Use in ELA by Nouvelle ELA
We’re in a golden age of television, so why not use these fantastic episodes to teach literary devices, plot, and more, all in ONE class period? Check out this list to get started. [...more]
Teaching Growth Mindset in the Secondary Classroom by TheSuperHERO Teacher
We're all familiar with the importance of growth mindset, but often times we see growth mindset being taught at the lower levels as opposed to middle and high school classrooms. We, as teachers, have the opportunity to change that! [...more]
7 Bell Ringer Ideas for the Middle & High School English by Presto Plans
If you asked me what teaching resource I could not live without, I would 100% say bell-ringers! They absolutely transformed the first 5-10 minutes of chaos in my classroom and also engage my students in thoughtful discussion, reflective writing, and new learning. Below are my 7 favorite ways to start my English classes with bell-ringers. [...more] How to Engage Students in the First Few Minutes of a Lesson by Stacey Lloyd
A few weeks ago she asked me how to get students to ‘come to the party’; how to entice them to engage and participate in the learning experience so that it wasn’t a one-sided affair. Yikes! What a question.This got me thinking and I came to an interesting realization: In the first five minutes, I can tell how a lesson is going to be received. [...read more]
I decided to try something new in my ELA classes last year and I was so thrilled with how it worked out that I'm going to do it again this year! After years of trying to organize students with binders that explode with paper and lost assignments I knew I had to try something different. [...more]
25 Ways to Make Grading Less Painful by Secondary Sara
When you can’t avoid bringing student work home, it doesn’t have to be total misery! Check out this list of ideas to help you bring some organization and peace into your evenings. [...more]
We’re in a golden age of television, so why not use these fantastic episodes to teach literary devices, plot, and more, all in ONE class period? Check out this list to get started. [...more]
We're all familiar with the importance of growth mindset, but often times we see growth mindset being taught at the lower levels as opposed to middle and high school classrooms. We, as teachers, have the opportunity to change that! [...more]
If you asked me what teaching resource I could not live without, I would 100% say bell-ringers! They absolutely transformed the first 5-10 minutes of chaos in my classroom and also engage my students in thoughtful discussion, reflective writing, and new learning. Below are my 7 favorite ways to start my English classes with bell-ringers. [...more] How to Engage Students in the First Few Minutes of a Lesson by Stacey Lloyd
A few weeks ago she asked me how to get students to ‘come to the party’; how to entice them to engage and participate in the learning experience so that it wasn’t a one-sided affair. Yikes! What a question.This got me thinking and I came to an interesting realization: In the first five minutes, I can tell how a lesson is going to be received. [...read more] 
