One of the most common frustrations in the middle school ELA classroom sounds something like this: “Where in the text did you find that?” And the student responds: “I just know.” Students may understand what they are reading, but getting them to prove their thinking with text evidence can be another challenge entirely. Some students …
Teaching nonfiction can sometimes feel a little less exciting than diving into a great short story or novel. But nonfiction texts are everywhere, and helping students understand how those texts are organized is one of the most useful reading skills we can teach. One of the best places to start is with nonfiction text features. …
Teaching story elements in middle school may sound simple at first. After all, most students have been learning about characters, setting, and plot since elementary school. But in middle school, the goal changes. Students are no longer simply identifying who the characters are or where a story takes place. They need to begin analyzing how …
The first time you tell middle school students that they are going to read Shakespeare, you may hear a few groans. You might also hear questions like: “Why does he talk like that?” “Is this even English?” “Do we really have to read this?” Shakespeare can feel intimidating to middle school students—and sometimes to teachers, …
Walk into almost any middle school ELA classroom, and you will find students reading at very different levels. One student may finish a novel in two days. Another may struggle to get through a single page without support. Some students understand what they read but have difficulty writing about it. Others can decode the words …
Conflict is one of those literary elements that students usually understand long before they know the academic vocabulary for it. They recognize when two characters are fighting, when someone is struggling with a difficult decision, or when a character is trying to survive a dangerous situation. The challenge is helping students move beyond simply saying, …
Comparing two texts sounds simple enough—until students actually have to do it. Many middle school students can tell you what happens in Text A and what happens in Text B. The real challenge comes when they are asked to explain how the texts are similar, how they are different, and why those similarities and differences …
Starting a new novel can be one of the most exciting parts of an ELA classroom—or one of the most challenging. Teachers may be eager to dive into a story, but students do not always share that enthusiasm. Hand students a novel, announce that they will be reading it for the next few weeks, and …
The moment you announce a poetry unit, you may hear a few sighs from around the classroom. Some students immediately assume poetry will be confusing. Others picture endless worksheets asking them to identify metaphors, rhyme schemes, and unfamiliar vocabulary. A few may insist that they simply “do not get poetry.” Fortunately, poetry does not have …
Test preparation season can create anxiety for both teachers and students. Teachers feel pressure to review an entire year’s worth of reading standards, while students may feel as though every class period has become another long practice test. Practice passages can help students prepare for standardized reading assessments, but only when they are used intentionally. …
