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] 
I allow students to pick a book from a selection of 5-6 titles that are all based on a similar theme. Some students pick titles based on what their friends pick, but most will pick based on their interests. I have 5 copies of each title so I end up with groups of 4-5 students depending on class size. We have spent time at my school working together to create kits of books that we are confident that students will enjoy at each grade level. For example, our 9th Grade Kit is themed around "The World Around Us" and includes the following books:
I typically give students 4 weeks to complete a novel study and therefore I must create a strict reading schedule. Within their 4 week study, they complete activities for each Lit Circle Meeting and then a final project. Students divide the number of pages in their book by four and come up with the number of pages they must read per week. For the most part, however, students complete their books well before they need to because typically they really enjoy them. I do however, monitor their reading through their Lit Circle Meetings - I make sure to stop by each meeting, engage in the discussion, and check that all work has been completed and that students are on task. Student reading schedules are included in my 
With Lit Circles my students meet 1-2 times per week as a group to discuss the book. Students must come to the meeting with a favorite quote, three questions for their classmates, and having read up to the designated point in the book. Students share and discuss their quotes, answer each other's questions and generally share ideas they have about the book. I allow students about 30 minutes for their meeting - although there have been many days when we've gone longer due to some awesome discussions. 
Students are given ample reading time in my class. I know that many of them have after-school jobs, compete in sports, are active in clubs, and are generally quite busy. Allowing students to complete some of their reading in class means there is less pressure on them to squeeze it in among everything else. It also emphasizes the importance I place on reading. If the weather is nice, we'll read outside. Sometimes we'll read in the school library using their comfy chairs and quiet spaces. Creating a quiet space for my students to read comfortably is important to me so I've added reading lamps (softer light) to a few corners of my room and some cozy chairs the kids rotate through.
Hopefully, your students have enjoyed the books they've read so much that they want to share with their classmates. Grab a 
