ELA The Miss M Way

As an English Language Arts teacher, you constantly have a million responsibilities on your plate, and your time is valuable.   Because of the myriad of writing assignments in this discipline, grading is a task that often takes up a significant amount of time, especially because you must try your best to grade objectively rather than subjectively.   Here are effective hacks to make grading easy, efficient, and stress-free!   Grading Methods That Are Not Percentages To save time (and your sanity!) reserve the use of percentages for essays and assessments.   For small-scale assignments, try these grading systems instead: Complete / Incomplete Check Plus / Check / Check Minus Points (such as out of four points)   Vocab Practice It is vital for students to enhance their command of the English language, which is why vocabulary work is helpful.   When assigning vocabulary, ask your students to look up the part of speech and definition for each w...

The start of the school year means that you probably have a to-do list that feels to be a mile long.   One of the tasks on that list is to prepare for the annual “Back To School Night” at your school.     If this is your first “Back To School Night,” the thought of preparing can feel daunting.   Here are six tips to ensure that this first interaction with parents and guardians goes smoothly:   1.    Find out if there are must-haves Talk to your supervisor and/or other teachers to find out if there is a particular format that needs to be followed during your informal presentation.   There may be must-haves, such as including specific criteria in a particular order, having a handout for the parents, etc.   Be sure you know what topics you must cover and what materials you need to have available.        2.    Rehearse more talking points than necessary Be sure to find out the duration of each time-sl...

A lesson’s objective gives meaning to a class session.   The dozens of verbs categorized amongst six levels of progressively complex thinking comprise the goals of education, across all grades and subjects.   Those action words (such as “explain” or “construct”), in those six tiers, give life to each lesson’s objective, thanks to the work of Benjamin Bloom.       When I first began teaching, as an alternate route teacher, I had not even heard of Bloom’s Taxonomy, never mind understand its significance to education.   Because of this, I struggled to create lesson plans – I did not know how to write an objective, and my lessons’ instructional procedures were more like busy work than purposeful work.   Once I learned what Bloom’s Taxonomy entailed, I had a less challenging time creating my lessons, plus my lessons began to have substance because they were focused on introducing and enhancing particular skills.     Six Tiers Of Bloom’s Ta...

Working in a new school is both exciting and nerve-wracking.   It can also be challenging, especially when you are in a temporary position as a leave replacement teacher whose first day could be on any given date.   In my time as a leave replacement teacher, in several different districts, I have had my first day in September, December, and even April.       Here are helpful tips and advice to make the most of your time as a leave replacement.     Learn The Building And Meet Your Colleagues Regardless of the month in which your employment begins, it is vital to familiarize yourself with the layout of the school so that you know your way around the building.   Also, it is to your benefit to introduce yourself to staff members of all ranks in all departments as a means of both being friendly and helping you learn names, faces, and job titles.   Please see my post called "How To Feel Comfortable In A New School" for additional ti...

Selecting books that both fit the curriculum and engage your students is a tall order.   Whether you are looking for a whole class book or are compiling choices for independent reading, look no further.     Here are 20 books, by genre, that are sure to be winners in the eyes of your middle school students:   Adventure Hatchet by Gary Paulsen   Diary Fiction The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie   Drama and Coming-of-Age The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech   Dystopian Fiction The Giver by Lois Lowry   Fantasy The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt   Historical Fiction Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Number the Stars by Lois Lowry The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne   Mystery and Suspense The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. C...

The literary terms of “big idea” and “theme” often get used interchangeably even though they are distinct.  This content is typically learned around sixth grade or so, but it can still be helpful to review it with students in any of the secondary grades.   Here are definitions and lists of popular examples for each one, specifically seen in middle school and high school texts.   Big idea is a topic that is revisited several times throughout the text; a big idea is usually one or two words that typically must be inferred from the text.  Here are a few big ideas: Love Courage Good vs. evil   Theme is a moral, a lesson, or a belief about life that is often revealed through the conflicts in the text; a theme is always a complete sentence that must be inferred from the text.  Here are a few themes: Love gives the power to overcome challenges. Courage presents itself when needed most. In the battle of good versus evil, those who are deemed good are not always vic...

As a teacher, there are times when you must allow yourself to be vulnerable and humbled.   One of those times is when you receive feedback.   The constructive comments from your students are perhaps the most valuable ones of all.     Kids have a reputation for speaking the truth, especially when no potential consequences are attached.   Also, they love the idea that an adult is asking for their opinions and thoughts.   Use those elements to your advantage, even if it means momentarily jeopardizing your pride by requesting their review of the lesson that you spent hours creating.        Benefits of feedback from students Naturally, receiving feedback helps you shape your course content and method of instruction moving forward.   Getting insight directly from learners makes sense since they are the one consuming what you deliver.   Feedback helps you shape your classes in a variety of ways: ·     ...