In today’s Resource Spotlight, I’m going to show you how to make the most of my Reading Comprehension Worksheets for Any Story! This versatile resource will quickly become a staple in your middle grades ELA class. Reading Comprehension: These open-ended activities can be used with any novel or short story your students are reading. Students […] The post Resource Spotlight: Reading Comprehension Worksheets appeared first on Musing From The Middle School ..read more

My All About Me – Back to School Activities is an awesome way to get to know your new students. And they look great hung around your classroom or in the hallway for Back-to-School Night. This resource isn’t just limited to the back-to-school season, though! You can bust this one out throughout the year to […] The post Resource Spotlight: All About Me – Back to School Activities appeared first on Musing From The Middle School ..read more

I’m not a fan of formulaic writing… however, I also recognize that until kids become decent writers, it can be hard to expect them to figure it out on their own. Narrative writing/memoir writing is probably the least “formula” I go, but I do still give students some structure. And over the years, I’ve learned […] The post Planning backwards? Helps with narrative writing! appeared first on Musing From The Middle School ..read more

I know we tend to attribute the wild excitement of the holiday season to elementary students, but middle schoolers are also pretty hyped right about now. Today I’m sharing with you ten essentials that I will be using to keep my kids focused right up until the last school day of 2024! Ugly Christmas Sweater […] The post Keeping Students Focused Heading into Winter Break! appeared first on Musing From The Middle School ..read more

Last week I started my series on using AI in my 7th grade ELA classroom. Go check it out: Part One: Preparing My Students for AI-Assisted Writing and see how I prepped by students for this AI journey. Today, I’m going to share our writing experience.  My Students’ AI-Assisted Writing Journey Now that my students were armed with newfound knowledge and skills from our prep work, my 7th graders set out on their AI-assisted writing adventure with enthusiasm. The process began with crafting a solid outline for their personal narrative essays, laying the groundwork for coherent storytelling. Th ..read more

Recently, I decided to integrate AI into our memoir writing unit. Because this was so new to me, I didn’t begin with a full-proof plan, rather I let each lesson set the tone for the next one. I know that sounds scary to those of you who need a specific plan, but it was actually pretty fun. The kids and I were genuinely learning together and letting our questions and curiosity guide what came next. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to share that journey with you. Today, I’m going to talk about how we prepared for this unit. Next week, I’ll share what this looked like during the writing proces ..read more

As educators, we’re tasked not only with imparting knowledge but also with nurturing the growth and well-being of our students. In recent years, there’s been a growing recognition of the importance of restorative practices in the classroom – approaches that focus on building and maintaining strong relationships while fostering accountability and empathy. While these practices are invaluable for creating a supportive learning environment, it’s essential to acknowledge the emotional toll they can take on teachers and the urgent need for systemic support to address teacher burnout. Developing st ..read more

I’ve lost track of how many different daily schedules I’ve created/attempted since my 90-minute ELA block was condensed to 55 minutes. So much trial and error. So much disappointment and frustration. So much failure. But finally, after two years of trying and tweaking, I’ve got a daily schedule that works. It’s not perfect. And there are plenty of days (and sometimes weeks!) where things do not go as planned, but overall, this is working. A few things first: This is NOT ideal. I will die on the hill that in order to cover all the reading and writing (and speaking and listening!) standards, y ..read more

Since Covid, a lot has changed in our classrooms. Some of those changes have been amazing and absolutely necessary, and others… eh, not so much! Something I realized this year is that I’m allowing for WAY TOO MUCH screen time. During quarantine and remote learning, screens were the only tool we had. And admittedly, I got really dependent on it. But now that we are a few years out, I’ve decided that next year I’m really going to slow my roll when it comes to Chromebooks, and go back to some of the methods that really worked best for my kids prior to remote learning. And thankfully, I know JUST ..read more

As educators, we have the power to inspire a love of reading in our students, but it’s not always an easy task. I’ve talked before about using book tastings and speed dating to get kids excited about reading, and today I’m going to talk about book talks. Book talks are a dynamic way to promote literacy and build a community of readers in your classroom. In this post, we’ll dive into how to prepare an effective presentation that will leave your students excited to pick up their next book. Some of my favorite titles to Book Talk. What are Book Talks and Why are They Important? Book talks are ess ..read more