ELA The Miss M Way

My research and planning in preparation for a mini-unit about mythology for my sixth graders was a fun re-fresher for me.   Through my research, I was reminded that a myth is a traditional story that explains a natural or social phenomenon and presents supernatural events involving gods and heroes.   The three categories of myths include creation myths, origin myths, and hero myths.   I may be aging myself by saying this, but it had been so long since I studied mythology in school that this background information felt new (and exciting!) to me.     I must admit, I heavily relied on resources I found on the internet from other teachers to make my lessons about mythology successful.   My sincere thanks to the community of educators whose materials on the internet made my lessons possible.   I found a slideshow and a short YouTube video that I shared with my students as an introduction to mythology.   Then, I assigned my students a group acti...

Confession: My first teaching position was as a leave replacement teacher for 10 th and 12 th grade English, and I felt like I was in over my head.   Though the position was only for three months, it was the last three months of the school year.   Odds were stacked against me: I was a new teacher with NO CLUE what she was doing, plus my students (especially the 12 th graders) had motivationally checked out to be on summer break.     When planning out the remaining weeks leading up to finals, I knew my lessons for my 10 th graders would revolve around finishing our class novel, but I was at a loss about my 12 th graders.   What material could I cover with my “too cool for school” seniors that would not result in blatantly spewed profanities or (though tame yet painful) overly dramatic eyerolls?   After receiving advice from colleagues and researching lesson ideas on the abyss that is the internet, I triumphantly breathed a sigh of relief when I ...

Narrative writing, the art of written story-telling, is a fundamental writing style.   It is beneficial to have your middle school students refine this type of writing as they will be expected to have nearly mastered it in the coming years. Of course, there is a fun way to help your students hone their narrative writing technique through engaging activities.   Preteens must build off of the writing skills acquired in the early years to create engaging, detailed narratives.   Producing impressive writing will not only improve their grades on writing assignments but your students may actually develop a liking for this creative writing style.     Let’s explore the characteristics of narrative writing!   Elements of a narrative ·         A hook – Every story needs a strong beginning.   Some types of hooks include a question hook, a definition hook, an onomatopoeia hook, and an emotion hook, amongst others. ·   ...

Reading can be a dreadful activity for some and an enjoyable activity for others.     Whether the text is a novel, a poem, or an informative work, each student will fall into one of those two categories.   Sometimes all it takes to turn a reluctant and/or struggling reader into an excited and/or fluent one is the right approach to reading for that student. Whole-class read-aloud with student readers When conducting a whole-class read-aloud, it is beneficial for you, the teacher, to be the first reader.   You will model a variety of elements such as pronunciation, cadence, volume, and expression.   After reading an appropriate length of the text, whether it be one paragraph or several pages, stop to engage the students by posing questions.   The questions can be direct or indirect and can even be used for pair-and-share discussions.   Once you are satisfied with this first round of reflections on the text, ask for student volunteers to r...

Word walls are effective literacy tools that should be used in all subjects and all grade levels.   A word wall displays commonly used words relative to the course content. Familiarization with seeing and hearing these words will help students become comfortable with the words’ meanings and applications. What words belong on a word wall? Weekly vocabulary If you are an English Language Arts teacher, or any teacher who’s a fan of weekly vocabulary quizzes, a word wall is a great resource to have in your classroom.   Each vocabulary word can be written on an index card and then taped to the wall.   Another option is to write each word in a list on a piece of poster paper.   Words can be listed in whichever way you ( and your students ) believe is most logical.   One option is alphabetically, another is ordering by the common root word, and yet another is grouping by a common characteristic, such as words that relate to a particular topic.   ...

Middle school students often have a lot to say and LOVE opportunities to share their opinions and personal views.   Use that sense of self to your advantage.   Create writing prompts that appeal to them.   Here are 42 journal topics, by category, that are guaranteed to engage your middle schoolers. Start Of The School Year These topics will get your students excited for the new academic year.   They will be ready to turn tasks that may seem impossible into accomplishments. 1. What are your academic goals for the year? 2. What are your personal goals for the year? 3. What is something you hope to learn about this year?   Halloween Many kids and teens ( and adults! ) love this October holiday and the scary stories that go with it.   Be cautious though as some of your students may not celebrate Halloween for cultural reasons, while others may have a genuine fear of the holiday.   It may be wise to provide an alternate topic, perhaps ge...