The ELA Classroom and AI (or any class for that matter) can seem scary. This is because it’s not in our normal teacher wheelhouse. Isn’t using AI cheating? That’s what we tell our students NOT to do! Actually, using AI or Artificial Intelligence can give you your life back. That means more time with family and friends and less time trying to create lesson plans that differentiate for all learning levels. It’s also great for test prep. I’ll go ahead and throw this out there… I’ve used it a ton for reviewing both reading comprehension and writing! There are so many AI platforms that can ..read more

Middle School end of year test prep is a combination of the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the academic year. It typically covers a wide range of reading comprehension, critical thinking, and analytical skills. Students may encounter various text types, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, along with different question formats such as multiple-choice, short answer, and essay questions. Strategies for End of Year Test Prep: Review and Reflect: Start the preparation process by reviewing the key concepts and skills covered throughout the year. Reflect on the areas where students ..read more

End of year test prep is a culmination of the skills and knowledge acquired throughout the academic year. It typically covers a wide range of reading comprehension, critical thinking, and analytical skills. Students may encounter various text types, including fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, along with different question formats such as multiple-choice, short answer, and essay questions. Strategies for End of Year Test Prep: Review and Reflect: Start the preparation process by reviewing the key concepts and skills covered throughout the year. Reflect on the areas where students may need addit ..read more

Author’s craft can be a tough standard to teach. After seeing my students struggle with this, I decided to figure out a way to break this down in a way that would make more sense. Here are 3 ways to help your students master this skill. Author’s Craft Anchor Chart I made the anchor chart seen in the image above to post on the wall in the classroom. You can also download this for FREE here! We work through the list in the book(s) or stories we’re reading. We definitely do not do them all in 1 day or even 1 week. This would be extremely overwhelming for everyone. As we’re reading our novel, I f ..read more

It’s hard to think about how to promote learning and engagement when teachers are at what seem to be, an all-time low, both mentally and physically. If you’re in teacher Facebook or other social media groups, you can’t avoid the posts from the extreme amount of teachers sharing that they are overly stressed out, over-worked, unhappy, and are considering leaving the profession altogether. If this is you, you are NOT alone! On a personal note, this year has been the hardest in my teaching career. It appears that the days are gone where teachers were considered the experts in their subject areas ..read more

Trying to find programs that allow for collaboration, engagement, and creativity, can be difficult. This is where Thinglink comes in. Thinglink is a powerful educational tool that allows teachers and students to create engaging content. I heard about this program for a while. It wasn’t until I saw all of the possibilities when creating my own Thinglink 360 Parts of Speech Digital Escape that I was completely sold! This is the first post in a series that will show you how many ways Thinglink can be used in any classroom. With Thinglink you can build real-life learning environments for your stu ..read more

What’s more important in May or June than end of year ELA activities that students will actually enjoy? These are tried and true resources that cause my students to beg for more! You’ll also love the FREEBIE I’ve included… and that all of the activities require virtually ZERO PREP! 1. End of Year Digital Escape Room After testing is over and students (AND TEACHERS) are just DONE, I have a hard time pushing my kids to keep working. Unfortunately, we don’t have a choice, but what we can do is make it fun. That’s where this End of Year Digital Escape Room comes in. It includes reading compr ..read more

Tract is a peer-to-peer personalized learning platform designed to foster creativity, interests, and promote project-based learning for students in grades 3-12. This blog post will share 5 game changing ideas for using Tract in the classroom. Tract sponsored this blog post. However, I only recommend products and/or services I would use in my own classroom. Teachers can use Tract FREE by using the code: LITWITHLYNS. 5 Ideas for Using Tract in the Classroom Student Choice– Do you want your students excited to come to your class? With Tract, that’s exactly what will happen. It’s impossibl ..read more

There is nothing middle school students dread more than test prep! I can’t say that I don’t feel the same… especially this year. Some students have been online while others have been in person. Then there’s the handful of kids who were virtual. All you saw was their ceiling all year, so you don’t know how much of the material they really learned. Most importantly, I wanted middle school ELA test prep activities that I knew would be successful and engaging. Make it Fun Every year when it comes to reviewing prior to taking end of year tests, my goal is always the same. MAKE IT AS FUN AS POSSIBL ..read more

Teaching the Argumentative Essay Writing process as a middle school ELA teacher is something we all know is part of the job… and what a job it is! After tweaking this for years, I’ve finally found what works and what doesn’t. The bottom line- the writing process has to be broken down into steps. Sometimes it even needs to be baby steps. 1. Students have to understand the difference between a statement vs a claim. The claim is the main argument in an essay. If this isn’t clear, then the argumentative writing process can’t move forward. I begin this unit with a statement vs. claim drag-and-drop ..read more