All in One Podcast for Middle School Language Arts Teachers

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the eighth in the series, with a focus on classroom updates.  It's the middle of the year and the honeymoon is long over. The routine feels, well, routine. Kids are getting antsy, and your classroom is looking like it has seen bet...

If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating an ELA curriculum map for your middle school classes. This month, we will focus on a social issues reading unit that incorporates literacy circles. We will discuss: How to get prepared for a month-long unit on a social issues reading unit L...

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the seventh in the series, with a focus on motivating students. It’s the middle of the year and motivating students is tough.  You are probably noticing that many are not turning in their best work and that their overall habits ar...

If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating an ELA curriculum map for your middle school classes. This month, we will focus on opinion writing. We will discuss: Why kids need a solid unit on opinion writing A step-by-step plan that includes pre-assessment, selecting topics, mini-less...

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the sixth in the series, with a focus on interventions for struggling students. You’ll experience many types of learners throughout your teaching career. Although some students seem to always need extra assistance, all students sometim...

It's the middle of the school year and we are continuing with curriculum mapping!  If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes.  This month:  Informational Text We will discuss: How to get prepared for a month-long unit on informational text A step-by-step pl...

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the fifth in the series, with a focus on constant tardiness and absenteeism. You know how it is. You plan your lessons. You get to school early so that you are prepared for the day. You grade on the weekend to be sure you can give effe...

The school year is under way and it's time for curriculum mapping!  If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes.   We will discuss: How to get prepared for month 5 A step-by-step plan for your students to write a literary essay on theme Let's connect! Membership:&...

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the fourth in the series, with a focus on parent-teacher communication. Parent-teacher communication is so much more than newsletters and report cards. Having good classroom management, is, believe it or not, dependent upon how the par...

The school year is under way and it's time for curriculum mapping!  If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes.   We will discuss: How to get prepared for month 4 Everything you need for a successful historical fiction unit Let's connect! Membership:  Join t...

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the third in the series, with a focus on class participation. As a teacher of over thirty years, I’ve mentored many new teachers both officially and unofficially. By far, the biggest question and concern I’ve heard is getting a better...

The school year is under way and it's time for curriculum mapping!  If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes.   We will discuss:  Independent Reading Planning and teaching a literary analysis essay Let's connect! Membership:  Join the All in One Middl...

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the second in the series. As a teacher of over thirty years, I’ve mentored many new teachers both officially and unofficially. By far, the biggest question and concern I’ve heard is getting a better handle on classroom management. This...

If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. We will discuss:  Integrating Grammar Integrating Vocabulary Main Unit - Character Analysis Starting First Chapter Fridays Let's connect! Membership:  Join the All in One Middle...

Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan.  This is the first of the series. As a teacher of over thirty years, I’ve mentored many new teachers both officially and unofficially. By far, the biggest question and concern I’ve heard is getting a better handle on classroom management. This...

If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. We will discuss:  Getting Started - Back to School Main Unit - Personal Narrative Starting First Chapter Fridays Let's connect! Membership:  Join the All in One Middle School Me...

The end of year countdown is on! You feel like you should be winding down, but as every educator knows, this is crunch time. You are working harder than ever, yet your list keeps getting longer and longer. How to handle it? Read here for your end of year countdown with 1 week left of school.  We will discuss:  Finishing grading Getting your room in order End of year activities Your day 1...

It’s the end of the school year, and you are feeling frazzled. You are trying to get things done on your end-of-the-year teacher checklist, but it somehow just keeps getting longer and longer. The answer? A solid plan where you map out your end-of-the-year teacher checklist a month before school ends. Read here for your plan with 2 weeks left of school. We will discuss: Starting (or continuing) th...

It’s the end of the school year, and teachers everywhere are feeling the pressure. You are tending to your end-of-year teacher checklist, but it seems to be growing rather than shrinking. The answer? A solid plan where you map out your end-of-year teacher tasks a month before school ends. Read here for your plan with 3 weeks left of school. We will discuss: Re-assessing your end-of-year calendar S...

It’s the end of the school year, and teachers everywhere are feeling the pressure. You are tending to your “to-do” list, but it seems to get exponentially bigger even while you are working hard. The answer? A solid plan where you map out your end-of-year teacher tasks a month before school ends. Listen here for your plan with 4 weeks left of school. We will discuss: Creating a calendar Planning yo...

 April is National Poetry Month, but it doesn't have to be April to introduce your students to novels in verse. Novels in verse appeal to students because they tend to move quickly and are told in rhythmic, interesting ways. Introducing your students to quality novels in this genre is a great addition to your poetry unit, and in my opinion, a great end-of-year reading unit.  We will disc...

If you teach poetry in your middle school ELA class, you know it can be a struggle. Kids often go into your poetry lessons with the attitude that poems are not interesting, they are hard to write, and that it’s too difficult to understand poems.  It's therefore imperative to begin with poems that are engaging and will hook them right away.  I have 10 great suggestions for you in this pod...

If you teach poetry in your middle school ELA class, you know it can be a struggle. Kids often go into your poetry lessons with the attitude that poems are not interesting, they are hard to write, and that it’s too difficult to understand poems. The answer? Start with songs for poetry analysis. Since I’ve never met a middle schooler who hasn’t obsessed over music, this is the easiest way to hook y...

I might be in the minority, but I absolutely love teaching poetry. I especially love having kids write poems because I get to know my students on a deeper and more meaningful level. One of the steps to becoming a good poet is to be a good reader of poetry. However, many middle school kids don’t know where to start. Therefore, you need a good plan of action for poetry analysis. The key? Keep it sim...

Teaching poetry...we either love it or hate it. I'm in the "love" category. Why? Poems are simply songs without the music...and middle schoolers love music. Once they understand that, and once we simplify the poetry writing process, they usually are in the "love" category as well. One way to simplify the process is by giving kids specific types of poems to write. We will discuss how to write: Foun...