Halloween is the perfect time to get students excited about reading—stories with a little creep, mystery, and imagination are ideal for middle schoolers. Listen here for 5 Halloween books that strike just the right balance between spooky and engaging. We will discuss:

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Companion Blog Post

Autumn is the perfect season to bring fresh energy into your middle school ELA classroom. With cooler weather, colorful leaves, and plenty of seasonal inspiration, it’s an ideal time to spark creativity and keep students engaged in reading and writing. 

In this post, we’ll explore five engaging autumn classroom activities for middle school ELA. Each activity is designed to be flexible, fun, and easy to adapt for your students, so you can bring the spirit of the season into your curriculum without adding extra stress to your planning.

We will discuss:

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Helpful Links

Companion Blog Post for this Episode

Autumn Vocabulary Escape Room

October Write Around the Room

One-on-One Coaching for Observations and Lessons 

Teaching Writing Workshop Course

Click here to join the Middle School Language Arts Facebook Group

September is the perfect time to refresh your classroom reading list, especially as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Middle school students can gain empathy, cultural understanding, and inspiration through stories that reflect diverse experiences.

In this episode, we will discuss 5 books that are perfect for September reading. There are ideas to go along with each novel, plus a link to my YouTube channel where I read these books as part of my "First Chapter Friday" series.

The books included this month:

Let's connect! 

Links mentioned in this episode:

Companion Blog Post to this Episode

Join me for season 3!

One podcast a month will focus on 5 activities that you can easily implement in your middle school classroom for this month/season.

In this episode, we will discuss 5 engaging bell ringers for your students.

We will discuss bell ringers for:

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Helpful Links

Companion Blog Post for this Episode

Free Bell Ringer Ideas

Seasonal Bell Ringers

One-on-One Coaching for Observations and Lessons 

Teaching Writing Workshop Course

Click here to join the Middle School Language Arts Facebook Group

Join me for season 3!

One podcast a month will focus on 5 books that are perfect for this month/season.

In this episode, we will discuss 5 books that are perfect for the back-to-school season. There are ideas to go along with each novel, plus a link to my YouTube channel where I read these books as part of my "First Chapter Friday" series.

The books included this month:

Let's connect!

Links mentioned in this episode: 

Join me for season 3!  One podcast a month will focus on 5 activities that you can easily implement in your middle school classroom for this month/season.  In this episode, we will discuss 5 engaging activities to do on the first day of school.

We will discuss:

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Links mentioned in this episode: 

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the tenth and final episode in the series, with a focus on adjusting expectations for the end of the year.

It's the end of the year, and there is no type of busy like "teacher-busy" during this time. Your to-do lists both at work and home are a mile long, and it seems that tasks are added daily rather than getting completed. There are class parties, final projects, class trips, and oh...yes..final grading. I would venture to say that final grading at the end of the year is the most time-consuming and tedious of all of your tasks. Listen here for 5 tips to hack your final grading and reduce your stress. 

We will discuss:

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It’s April, and for ELA teachers, that means National Poetry Month! Poetry is the subject that kids think they hate…until they have a skilled teacher who brings passion and creativity to the unit. Listen here for 5 powerful poetry activities to do with your middle schoolers for National Poetry Month.

We will discuss:

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Links mentioned in this episode: 

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the ninth in the series, with a focus on adjusting expectations for the end of the year.

The end of the year is upon us, and it's time to get prepared. If you've been a teacher for at least one year, you know that the end of the year is not for the weak of heart. You'll need to manage state testing, final projects, field days, class trips, grading, and general chaos. Now is the time to prepare and adjust your expectations. Listen here for five helpful ways to adjust your expectations (and help save your sanity) in your middle school classroom.

We will discuss:

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Links mentioned in this episode: 

If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating an ELA curriculum map for your middle school classes. This month, we will focus on creating a novel study.

We will discuss:

Let's connect!

Links mentioned in this episode: