There’s something about the word “essay” that instantly turns the smiles of middle school students into expressions of dread. Of course, we can’t avoid it when the time comes for teaching the essay. But there are some strategies we can use to show our students it’s not as difficult or taxing as they might think. Struggling writers can gain confidence and produce successful writing in a supportive environment with lots…
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Middle School English
15 Strategies to Ramp up Your Vocabulary Instruction
If you’re an English teacher, vocabulary instruction goes with the territory. We teach so much literature, right? And there are LOTS of challenging words to bring to our students’ attention and have them work with before and as they read. But do you ever feel like the words your students study drift right out of their minds as soon as you move on to the next unit? And then there…
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The Secret to a Great BOOK PASS (and 30 Middle School Titles to Use!)
We all want our students hooked on reading, right? I’ve been using reading workshop with my classes since 1995, and that’s actually when I started doing the Book Pass! I read about it in a red teacher binder of English activities, and it’s been a hit every year. When we finish the pass, I have students swarming over the books! They’re asking me to reserve titles for them and…
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