Build relationships with your students ALL year

 

New teachers are repeatedly told that it's essential to establish strong relationships with their students, and I am one of the voices contributing to the chorus. This is because I know relationships are the foundation on which you will build your ability to manage and engage your students. Building that foundation deserves time and effort. It also requires cultivation all year long, not just at the beginning. But HOW do you do that? What exactly can you do to create a strong climate and to build relationships with your students all year, not just in the first days of class? I'm going to give you the why first, and then a whole bunch of strategies for the how.

Time spent on relationship-building is never a waste

Recently, I read a post in a Facebook group where a new teacher was asking how much time to spend on getting-to-know-you activities. I was shocked, I must say, at how many teachers jumped in, calling them a waste of time. Others stated that they didn't do them because they wanted students to know from the beginning that their class was rigorous. 

I have to disagree with both of these reasons. Getting-to-know-you activities are not a waste of time, and they do not indicate that your class will be "slack." In fact, they are an essential tool for classroom management.

First, let's distinguish between icebreakers and getting-to-know-you activities. Icebreakers are often overused at staff meetings and PD sessions and are, let's be honest, the bane of an introvert's existence. If you want to use icebreakers - short activities that usually require students to stand, move, and talk to people they don't know well - keep those to a minimum and then move on to activities that help you get to know your students and to build a classroom community.

Why? When a student feels like you see them, when they know you actually care, they are less likely to act up in class and are more likely to engage. It's that simple. It does not mean they will always be perfectly behaved and the best students you've ever had, but a climate where everyone feels comfortable and welcome makes a big difference.

And that takes some time - time that is well spent and not wasted.

Climate Building at the First of the Year

First, learn your students' names quickly and use them often. This way, you can spark a sense of connection right away. Be at the door before and after class, so you can be ready to welcome your students into your world. This is the perfect time to get to know your students as people by talking to them about things unrelated to your course. Make this a practice all year, not just in the early days.

Once through that door, my first days of school activities serve a triple purpose: they introduce the course, build the climate for our class, and begin to review ELA skills.

Some teachers want to dive into content right away because they don't feel like they have time to waste. They also want students to know that theirs is a rigorous class. However, getting-to-know-you exercises and rigor are not mutually exclusive - especially if you start teaching content while you use them. 

For example, both of these beginning-of-the-year activities focus on climate building AND reviewing important ELA skills: Creating the Story of Our Class and an Introductions and Conclusions activity. Each one allowed me to start teaching while still getting to know my students.

Give Students a Voice in Setting the Climate

One of the first things I did with my students was to have a big discussion about what we wanted the climate of our class to be like - and I showed them right from the beginning that I wanted to give them some voice and choice during our time together. To do this, we worked together to set the expectations for the class. During this activity, students began to develop the skills they need to collaborate and share ideas, something they will be expected to do throughout the school year.  You get more details about that process here.

I also put the focus on expectations, not rules. This puts a more positive spin on behavior, especially if you model and reinforce the expectations that were set. And, when you can frame your reinforcement of these expectations positively, students react better because you are also building your relationship with them. This is a practice that you can use all year, not just at the beginning.

Build relationships all year:

Cultivating your relationships with your students is not just a task for the first days of school; in fact, it will pay dividends if you build relationships with your students all year. Here are some strategies you can use (click here to grab more details)

✱ Make it a regular habit to be at the door, greeting your students. Not only is this a friendly practice, but it is also the perfect time to have any private chats you might need to have with particular students.

✱ Pick three–five students a day that you will make a special effort to have a chat with. The chats don’t have to be long; it could just be a quick question on their way in the door. The point is that you are deliberate in making sure you spend a little time with each student. These should be positive in nature, rather than the discussions you may need to have about behavior or missing assignments.

✱ Share yourself and build in opportunities for times when students can share themselves too. Writing prompts, journals, etc, are excellent vehicles for this.

✱ Sit in on small group discussions and act as a participant. You're there to be part of the discussion, not to just listen in. This can be a powerful way to get to know them and model good discussion practices while you're there.

✱ Use your feedback to make a connection with your students. For example, if they are writing a narrative about when their first pet died, you can write a note that validates their feelings –oh, that must have been so hard – or that connects it to your own experience - I’ll never forget how I felt when my dog died.

✱  Ask them to help you solve problems. For example, if the class has been too noisy, or there's been too much phone use, put it to them: how can we solve this problem? Building a classroom code of conduct together can be very powerful for building climate and managing behaviour (Get ideas for this here and here).

✱ Admit when you "fail"; apologize when you need to. Both of these things model good human behavior to your students and help them see you as a person who wants to connect with them.

✱ Lighten up when you need to. Have a sense of humor. If they say something funny, take a minute to laugh, as long as it's not inappropriate. Take some time off for fun - you'll be able to make up that time if your students know when it's time to focus.

👉🏻 If you'd like to get more details about how you can build relationships with your students all year, click here for the download.

If you'd like some ready-to-use and engaging resources for relationship building, check these out:

Setting Classroom Norms Stations

The Story of Our Class

Teaching Resilience

 

Get more community-building ideas from

The Daring English Teacher

Presto Plans

Mrs Orman

English Classroom Decor Ideas for Middle and High School

By Presto Plans

Are you looking forward to the fresh start a new school year brings? For many of us, that new beginning starts with setting up our classrooms. Even in middle and high school, a well-designed space can spark curiosity, support learning, and help students feel like they belong. Most importantly, classroom decor doesn't need to break the bank to be effective!

In this post, I'm sharing my practical and creative English classroom decor ideas for middle and high school students. Whether you're setting up a room from scratch or simply looking for a change as you begin a new school year, these budget-friendly suggestions support engagement, learning, and build a sense of community. Let's dive into some ways that you can bring fresh energy to your middle or high school ELA classroom this school year!

1. Add Humor to Spark Engagement

Classroom decor doesn't have to be serious to be effective—in fact, I find that a touch of humor can help to spark conversations and hook students into learning. A creative English is Weird display can be changed and updated throughout the year and can provide a fun springboard for other learning activities. 

Similarly, posters that encourage students to play with language by considering various grammar quirks are often a hit with middle and high school students. I find that these small touches can help to create a positive classroom culture and make students feel welcome.

You can also borrow from funny memes related to books (or authors) to create an inspiring space for middle and high school students. One of my favourite English classroom decor ideas is to build an attention-grabbing display that ties in with your current unit. This can be especially helpful if you're looking to make a complex text—like Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, for example—more accessible to a teenage audience. 

2. Visible Learning Supports

Some educational philosophies—including Reggio Emilia—refer to the classroom environment as a "third teacher." With this in mind, I like to consider how wall space and bulletin boards can be used to reinforce what students are learning. For example, a display that includes definitions and examples of various types of figurative language is a valuable reference point for students (and could help you avoid answering the same questions over and over again!).

Likewise, displays featuring anchor charts and essay outlines can help students develop more independence as they build their reading and writing skills. I love this type of display because it isn't seasonal or specific to a particular unit. Students can continue to refer to these visuals as needed throughout the year—and you don't need to worry about changing out your bulletin board when things get busy!

3. Create a Literacy-Focused Environment

One of my favourite English classroom decor ideas involves setting up an inviting classroom library. In my experience, even students who say they "don't like reading" can usually be won over with a bit of gentle persistence. An environment that encourages students to pick up a book can make a big difference—especially if you want to encourage a culture of reading.

There are many different ways to set up your classroom library, but here are some of the tips that work well for me:

• Display books on front-facing bookshelves (students really DO judge books by their covers!) 
• Offer creative or flexible seating options 
• Create a cozy atmosphere with soft lighting or a simple rug 
• Rotate book displays to match student interests, current units, or monthly themes

If you're just starting to build your classroom library, don't panic! Some schools and districts have rotating book collections they lend out to classrooms, which are often themed around high-interest topics. Some teachers also have a lot of success on community buy-and-sell social media pages—many families are happy to donate gently-loved books to a classroom library!

4. Use Interactive Displays

I'll never forget the decor ideas I learned when setting up my very first classroom. One idea that stuck with me was the importance of making the walls work for the learning. When students interact with the decor, it becomes part of the educational experience. Interactive displays invite students to directly engage with the classroom environment, helping them take greater ownership of the space and fostering a strong sense of community.

Some of my most successful interactive displays include:

• Goal Board: At the beginning of the year, students post two goals—one personal, and one academic—to a classroom display board. Throughout the year, they periodically check in and reflect on their progress and set new goals for themselves.

• What Should I Write About?: This display is intended to bust writers' block! I like to include a variety of different prompts, including quotes, interesting visuals (photos, illustrations), comic strips, and more! Depending on your focus, you might want to provide several prompts related to one common theme, or you might prefer to keep things a bit more free-form!

• Weekly Writing Challenge: One of my favorite ways to help students build writing skills is with a structured Writing Challenge activity. Every couple of weeks, reveal a new writing prompt to the class, and spend some time (from 15 minutes up to an hour, depending on the task) writing. Over the year, students will practice a huge range of writing skills, including descriptive, persuasive, and informative writing, as well as poetry, narrative writing, and more!

• Vocabulary Word Wall: This flexible and interactive display helps students keep track of various vocabulary terms related to a specific unit of study, or words they encounter throughout the year. My favourite vocabulary word walls involve students displaying the word in a creative way (like stylizing the "W" in "wind" as a sailboat), including a definition and an example sentence.

5. Leave Space for Student Work

Displaying student work isn't just for elementary school classrooms. I believe that it is important to make room for students to see themselves reflected in the classroom. At the beginning of the school year, I like to dedicate a bulletin board or blank wall for displaying writing samples, creative projects, or even one-sentence responses to a prompt. 

Leaving space open also gives you flexibility to change up your displays throughout the year, keeping things fresh for your students and for you! I find that displays featuring student work are an especially big hit during parent-teacher conferences or when multiple classes of students use the same space. They love to check out each others' work and see what other classes have been up to!

There you go! As the new school year gets underway, I hope these creative English classroom decor ideas help you set up a fabulous learning space for your middle and high school students (and for you, too!). Happy decorating!

Looking for more resources and ideas to start the school year off right in middle or high school ELA? Check out these great links from my friends here at the Secondary English Coffee Shop!

Essay Writing Classroom Bulletin Board from The Classroom Sparrow

ELA Classroom Quote Posters from The Daring English Teacher 

Literary Analysis Posters from Room 213

Poetry Bulletin Board Bundle from Tracee Orman

Activities for engaging first days of school

Back-to-school season can be an exciting time for those who like school, but for many of our students, it can be a time they dread. But fear not! Those of us here at the Secondary English Coffee Shop have crafted some lessons and activities that can help all students feel excited that they landed in your class on the first day of school.

1. Team-Building Activities That Students Love

I always find the first few days of class a bit tiring for students. New teachers, new routines, and new rules! To keep my students engaged and excited, I created this Back to School Escape Room. Students work together to complete school-themed challenges. This is a great way to kick off your school year, as these activities promote communication, cooperation, and team-building skills. This activity is truly one of the best team-building activities to start a new school year. 

~ The Classroom Sparrow

2. Build Skills AND relationships at the same time

I am a huge proponent of the importance of building climate in a classroom, and so I devoted lots of time to it. However, I know some teachers worry about the judgment they will face if they spend too many days on back-to-school activities.

That's why I created a series of climate-building activities that also give your students an introduction to or review of some of the skills and ideas they will be using in your English class all year. The first activity uses Stand Up Stations, where students help create the norms and expectations in your classroom. Next up, they explore some common elements of fiction while creating the Story of Your Class. Finally, they will practice skills for writing intros and conclusions while they reflect on what they want the year to be like for them. You can grab them all in the bundle and get a detailed explanation on how they all work together!

~ Jackie, from ROOM 213

3. Back-to-School Stations for the First Day of School

Get your students moving around the first week of school with this engaging Back to School Stations activity. Your new students will explore the classroom and the course syllabus and also help create some classroom decor this this engaging activity that promotes a positive classroom community. 

You can choose to have students complete all of the stations in one day or spread them out over a series of days to plan your perfect first week of school! This resource includes five different classroom stations your ELA students are sure to love! 

~ Christina, the Daring English Teacher. 

4. The Classroom Challenge

Kick off the school year on a positive note with this engaging Back to School Activities Classroom Challenge! Designed to foster connection, teamwork, and creativity, this challenge offers 20 activities that encourage kindness, collaboration, and self-expression among students. From icebreaker games to collaborative projects, each activity is designed to promote a positive classroom community and allow students to share their ideas and opinions in a supportive environment. Whether you choose to implement these challenges daily, weekly, or monthly, this resource provides a versatile and fun way to build rapport among students and establish a welcoming classroom atmosphere from the start. 

- Bonnie, from Presto Plans

5. Unique Get-To-Know-You Activity for the First Week

Try something different this year (and have some ready-made classroom decor) with this fun and unique get-to-know-you activity: Back to School Letter Project. 

Students choose a letter that represents them (it could be associated with their name, or a favorite team, etc.). Then they follow the prompts (you can use my prompts or create your own in my editable version) to decorate their letter. On the back, they'll write a quick paragraph on why they chose that letter.

You can display the letters on a board, wall, or in the hallway, so the students can learn about their classmates. It's a fast way to get to know your students AND learn about their writing skills. I included a grading rubric.

~Tracee Orman 

From Apathetic to Engaged: Strategies to Motivate Reluctant Learners

Yes, it’s summer, and you should be resting and relaxing, not thinking about school. But you landed here because it’s still on your mind. You keep drifting back to your classroom, and you’re wondering what you can do next year to motivate unmotivated students. You’re tired of all of the apathy. You’re sick of being the one doing all the work in your classroom. We totally get it, and we're ready to help with some ideas you can try to engage and energize your students this fall.

First, Jackie from ROOM 213, knows that allowing students to move, even if it’s just for a short stand-and-talk, can make all the difference in the world for student engagement. Over the years, she's developed many strategies that energize reluctant learners through moving-to-learn, and you can check out her tips in this post: 5 Easy Ways to Add Movement in Your Classroom.

The Daring English Teacher suggests that one of the best ways classroom teachers can build and establish a positive classroom community with their students is by incorporating SEL, mindset, and mindfulness activities throughout the school year.  In this post, she explains how doing so can positively impact students and their engagement in learning.

When Presto Plans got ready for the first few weeks of school, one of the most important things she considered was what routines she wanted to establish for teaching ELA. Students thrive on predictability and structure - and let’s face it, so do we! Establishing good middle school classroom routines right from the get-go is one of the best ways to increase student motivation. Check out this post for 5 Routines to Transform Your Secondary Classroom.

We can’t forget the importance of classroom decor in keeping our students motivated. That doesn’t mean you have to spend a bundle of time and money setting up an amazing classroom for pics on social media; it can be as simple as creating a bulletin board that keeps students focused on their learning. The Classroom Sparrow knows that not only do bulletin boards add a pop of creativity, but students genuinely enjoy the change. On this post, she shares a few ways you can easily add a burst of color to your classroom while, at the same time, making the content meaningful and engaging.

And finally, we can't energize our students when we are exhausted, right? Mrs Orman offers lots of tips for dealing with this overwhelming job of ours. Teaching alone is a lot. But add all the extras that are piled on teachers and it’s no wonder teachers are leaving the profession by droves. Early in her career, she took on too many "extras," but as the years went by, she found ways to deal with the added responsibilities. In this post, Tracee shares some ways she gained time and kept her sanity.

There’s nothing wrong with letting your mind churn over the possibilities for increasing student motivation, even when you are supposed to be on vacation. In fact, when your mind is at rest, you often get some of your best ideas. We hope that you’ve found some usable classroom strategies in the posts that we shared, ones that will help you engage and energize your new students in the fall.

Let us know if you have any questions!

5 AI-Resistant Assignments

 

This post is not about the pros and cons of using AI in an English classroom. It's a post for teachers who want their students to do their own work and their own thinking. As frustrating as this process has become, assigning something hard to plagiarize is still possible. The best part? You can do so and build the skills and confidence your students need to do the writing themselves. Read on and I'll share some ideas for 5 AI-resistant assignments:

Will any assignment ever be completely AI-proof? Sadly, probably not. But if you want to make it more likely your students don't turn to ChatGPT, to do their assignments, the ones that follow will help. That's because they require students to create something of their own while they build important ELA skills.

So let's dive in, and explore 5 AI-resistant assignments that students find engaging - which is the first step in getting them to bypass tools like ChatGPT.

AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #1: ONE-SLIDERS

My first AI-resistant assignment is the one-slider. You have probably heard of the one-pager; the one-slider is the same concept, but it's done digitally, on a slide. Students capture an essential idea - characterization, theme, etc. - using a combination of images and text. They illustrate their learning visually in a way that requires critical thinking and creativity.

Use One-Sliders when you want students to demonstrate their ability to:

• Be focused and organized

• Do literary analysis or research

• Support their ideas

• Carefully select quotations

• Understand how images can be used to represent ideas

• Think critically

The final product looks very different than a written analysis, but the skills students need to use are the same. These one-sliders are also a great way to add in some visual literacy to your course - while also circumventing AI use by your students.

The best part? Students LOVE doing these assignments, and they are easier to assess, especially if you have a rubric ready to use.

Students can create these on a platform like Canva, or you can grab one of my resources. Each one guides students through the brainstorming process and helps them get focused and organized. You can check out my ready-made one-sliders for any text here and the ones for research here. You'll get instructions, templates, samples, assessment checklists, and more!

AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #2: RESEARCH MAGAZINE

The research paper is an assignment that has traditionally been most prone to plagiarism. Now, artificial intelligence tools have made it even easier for students to pass in a paper they haven't written themselves.

I first used a research magazine as an alternative to the essay when I saw the success of my one-sliders. My students still had lessons and practice with research skills like finding credible sources, selecting evidence, embedding quotes, etc., but they presented their ideas in a digital magazine rather than a research paper.

This research magazine is focused on a thesis and is logically organized. It still has the required sources, quotes, and works cited page - but it's in a format that the students love working with. Like the one-sliders, they find this assignment so much more engaging than the traditional essay. It requires them to use the same skills as a paper, but they also have to think critically about how they present the ideas and the images and links they choose - a process that makes it far harder to turn to AI.

Use a research magazine when you want students to demonstrate their ability to:

• Focus on a thesis

• Develop a logical argument

• Support ideas with research

• Find credible sources

• Carefully select, embed, and cite quotations

• Use paraphrased information effectively

• Illustrate effective language choices

• Demonstrate an understanding of how visuals support points

• Think critically

Once again, students could use Canva to create these magazines. But, if you want a ready-to-go process with lesson plans for you, and tips and templates for your students, I've got you covered!

AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #3: HEXAGONAL THINKING ANALYSIS

If you follow my blog or Instagram, you know I am a huge fan of hexagonal thinking activities (or "fun-agon" as a student once exclaimed). Hexagonal thinking is an activity that requires students to collaborate and think critically about a topic or text. And while it's a wonderfully engaging in-class activity, it's also one that can be used as an AI-resisitant assignment.

How? Well, first, you would do the hexagonal activity, where students make connections between the topics they have been given. However, you build in another layer and ask them to record points made by their group mates. These could be points they agree with or want to refute.

Then students take one of the connections that they discussed in their group and write an analysis of it. They need to explain the connection, support it with evidence from the text AND with evidence from their discussion. This puts the focus on what was learned during the discussion which is much harder to get with the assistance of AI.

Use hexagonal thinking assignments when you want students to demonstrate their ability to:

• Make connections between ideas or within texts

• Do literary analysis

• Support their analysis with quotations and textual evidence

• Collaborate with classmates

• Explain their analysis is a focused, organized piece of writing

Grab a free template for this here.

AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #4: SHORT PROCESS-BASED ASSIGNMENTS

One reason why students turn to AI to do their work is that they don't have confidence in their abilities. That is why this is my favorite of the 5 AI-resistant assignments.

It's actually more of an approach, as one of the best ways to avoid plagiarism is with a focus on the process. I used such an approach with every major assignment, breaking down the thinking process that is required. For example, when we were doing persuasion, I started by getting my students to discuss some "hot" topics and to work through their responses in class. They would:

• Do an initial reflection on how they feel about the topic
• View videos that give them more information
• Read & annotate other texts that explore both sides of the issue
• Identify fact and opinion in the mentor texts
• Discuss the mentor texts and clarify their ideas with peers
• Select quotations to support their ideas
• Engage in an informal debate with classmates
• Write a formal response

We did this skill-building exercise several times before I even broached the idea of an essay. Then, when it was time for students to write one, we spent almost two weeks working through the process in class. They had to submit a good copy, but also all of the steps of the process. This did not eliminate the possibility of plagiarism, but cut it down considerably. 

Check the activities for persuasion out here and read more about my process here and here.

AI-RESISTANT ASSIGNMENT #5: IN-CLASS ESSAYS

Ultimately, the best way to AI-proof your students' work is to have them do it all in class, using pen and paper. If the first AI-resistant assignments aren't enough to assess your students' skills, then an in-class essay is the way to go.

This is not ideal. I'm aware. Something is lost when students don't get the time to work on improving a draft. However, I believe you can still give them some of that time with in-class assignments. By focusing on the process - and completing each step in class - you can slow down that in-class essay and make it more likely that students will do their own work.

I've written about this - and shared strategies and a free planning guide - here.

I know that the struggle to get authentic student work is real. We want them to think and build their skills, and the only way to do that is with strategies that boost their confidence, so they do the writing themselves.

I hope that one of my 5 AI-resistant assignments is something you can use with your students. If you'd also like to discuss the pros and cons of AI use in society and school, check out this resource.

Reach out anytime you have any questions!

Jackie, ROOM 213

Check out these resources too:

AI and Academic Integrity - The Daring English Teacher

Snowball Writing- Presto Plans

5 Routines to Transform Your ELA Classroom

 

By Presto Plans

When I plan for the first few weeks of school, one of the most important things I like to consider is what routines I want to establish for teaching ELA. Students thrive on predictability and structure - and let’s face it, so do we! I find that establishing good middle school classroom routines right from the get-go is one of the best ways to set up a new school year. 

When students know what to expect in their learning space, it takes all the guesswork out of classroom management. I've always found that middle or high school classroom routines helped give me a few extra moments during the day to connect individually with students, take attendance, collect forms, or even just enjoy a few sips of coffee while it’s still hot! Here are five routines that every ELA teacher should use.

1) Bell-Ringers

One of the most game-changing routines that I ever incorporated in my classroom are bell-ringers. Bell-ringers helped to smooth out the transition of moving from class to class (this can be tough for middle schoolers - and chaotic for their teacher!), and really set the tone for learning in the classroom. I also find they’re a really useful way for students to practice specific ELA skills related to writing and reading comprehension.

If you’ve never used bell-ringers as part of your routines for teaching middle school ELA, here’s how they work.  As students come into your classroom, they can immediately begin a short, focused, and targeted activity that introduces, reinforces, or allows them to practice a concept related to a certain area of ELA. Each of these short tasks takes about five to ten minutes to complete.

Over the years, I’ve expanded my bell-ringers to include skill-focused activities related to specific days of the week. Although each of my bell-ringer sets are different, here's an example of how I structured my third volume:

• Monday Mistakes: Students correct the errors in a short passage.

• Tuesday Terms: An opportunity to examine unfamiliar words and use context clues to determine their meaning.

• Wednesday Wise Words: Students explore the deeper meanings (and their own personal interpretations) of famous quotes.

• Thursday Thoughts: After viewing a short video or reading a brief excerpt of text, students share their reflections in writing.

• Friday Figurative Language: A weekly opportunity to practice finding (and using) a variety of types of figurative language.

If you’d like to check out the magic of bell-ringers for yourself, try out a free sample (including four weeks of daily activities!) of my full-year programs!

2) Sustained Silent Reading (SSR)

Setting aside dedicated time for students to enjoy books is a pretty standard routine in a lot of elementary school classrooms, but can sometimes become less of a priority in middle and high school ELA. I can definitely see why this happens - there are so many standards to cover! However, I still think that a regular reading routine can support older students as well.

Here’s the way I see it. Yes, our job as teachers is to make sure we are teaching the standards in our curriculum. But in a world where students increasingly communicate through technology, I think it’s also important to create opportunities for them to engage with physical books, too. Fostering a genuine love of reading is why I don’t put too many “rules” around my SSR time. As long as students choose appropriate, good-fit books that they find engaging, pretty much anything goes (yes, even graphic novels and comics!). My hope is that the practice of sustained silent reading (SSR) helps to build students into life-long readers, who continue to be open and empathetic to the stories and experiences of others around them.

I find an SSR routine very helpful if I need to quickly conference with a student, or complete a brief 1:1 or small-group check-in. Over the years, I’ve also noticed that building this type of routine from the beginning of a new school year can also increase students’ stamina, and their ability to focus on a task for longer periods of time.

3) Quick Writes

If your students struggle with the writing process, I’m not exaggerating when I say that quick writes can be an absolute game-changer! I find that some middle schoolers can struggle to generate ideas, or write about a provided prompt. Quick writes allow students to practice these skills in a low-pressure way (that can also be a lot of fun!). Here’s how they work:

At the beginning of class, provide your students with a prompt. This might be an image, a short video, or a quote - pretty much anything goes, as long as it has the potential to spark creativity. Depending on your goals, you may like to help students focus on a particular type of writing (descriptive, narrative, persuasive, etc.). From here, I like to set a timer for about five minutes, and allow students to write freely on this topic.

What I like about quick writes is that they allow students to practice the process of writing without the pressure of evaluation - although they can also act as a springboard for a narrative or functional writing task that incorporates student choice and voice. For example, you might your class complete a week’s worth of quick writes, and then ask them to select their favorite to turn into a full-length short story or persuasive essay! From time to time, I also like to conduct spot-checks of students’ notebooks (or digital files) to gauge their progress as writers over the course of the term.

4) Individual Conferences

I think individual conferences are one of the most valuable tools in any ELA teacher’s toolkit! Conferencing with students holds them directly accountable to their learning goals, and allows me to quickly assess their progress, troubleshoot any tricky areas, and provide praise and encouragement! I try to keep my conferences brief (three to five minutes, tops) and low-pressure for students. 

For me, I find it easiest to incorporate conferences alongside other routines for teaching ELA. For example, I might schedule two or three quick conferences a day during times where the rest of the class is engaged in an activity like a daily bell-ringer, or sustained silent reading. I like to schedule these conferences in advance so that students know what to expect, and I keep brief notes from each student meeting. These notes can be especially useful in preparing for parent-teacher conferences, or when I need to write report card comments!

I also find that in addition to learning about my students’ areas of strength and growth, conferencing also helps me to get to know each member of the class individually. Through conferences, I can quickly learn about students’ extracurricular commitments, personal goals, and other useful information that can help me support them in ther learning.

5) Attendance Questions 

Are you one of those teachers who struggles to get your attendance in on time? I’ve been there, too! Finally, after one too many reminders from the front office, I realized that I needed to incorporate a better routine for taking attendance.

For me, integrating attendance as part of my daily teaching routine for ELA really saved my relationship with the front office (and made things more predictable - and fun! - for my students, too). I found that students really enjoyed it when I posted a daily attendance question on my board. Here’s how this process works:

As students enter the classroom, they can read the daily attendance question on the front board. I’ve had a lot of good success with Would You Rather? and True & False style questions, depending on the group! Then, when you take attendance, each student can call out their answer to the question, rather than simply saying “here” or “present.”

I find this type of routine is a great classroom community-builder, and also helps to smooth out the process of taking attendance for a substitute teacher if you happen to unexpectedly be away for the day!

Hopefully these routines for teaching ELA help you out as you ease back into a new school year!

Looking for more great classroom routines for teaching ELA in middle or high school? Our bloggers in the Coffee Shop have you covered!

A Year of Journal Writing Prompts (over 400 prompts) from Tracee Orman 

Classroom Management Strategies for the Last Minutes of Class from Room 213