It’s the not-so-favorite time of year - state testing. And while students may agonize and teachers may groan at the thought of another year of standardized testing in the midst of whatever this new normal is, it’s up to us to prepare our students the best we can. Here are six ideas to help you prep for the test prep season. 1. Get organized This applies to you as well as your students. Think about your game plan. What are you going to accomplish? “Prep for state testing” is too broad a statement. Think about specific tasks, specific knowledge your students need. Think about how you’ll organize your students and how much time you will need. Don’t add more stress to the situation by going in at the last minute with packets you found on the internet but didn’t have time to vet. Be methodical in what you plan. If you’ve waited until the final hour, focus on one or two main test prep areas: writing with evidence or focusing on listening skills. 2. Try something fun Students don’t need endl...

When it comes to teaching middle school and high school English, here are ten lessons to teach in 2022. Thesis Statment Writing   One of the most essential skills a student can learn in a high school English classroom is how to write a well-developed thesis statement. Once students master thesis statement writing, their essays improve tremendously. This thesis statement lesson includes an instructional presentation (that includes good and bad examples) and student materials to make teaching thesis statement writing easy. Thesis Statement Writing Unit Logical Fallacies   Teaching students about logical fallacies is a crucial element in my argumentation unit. By teaching students about logical fallacies, we are teaching students how to better read and analyze information and also how to write stronger arguments. This logical fallacies lesson plan includes a logical fallacies instructional slide and student materials. Logical Fallacies Teaching Unit Colons and Semicolons Teaching stude...

For many educators, trying to convince students that figurative language is what MAKES literature is like telling them there was life before TikTok. Many of them still insist that such claims must surely be urban myths. In all of my time in the secondary ELA classroom, I admit that some of my most challenging lessons have been over figurative language. Students see that phrase and are immediately intimidated, and I don’t necessarily blame them. There’s so much more to it than your basic metaphors and similes. It’s a little intimidating! When introducing my students to more complex literary concepts like allusions, personification, and more, I’ve discovered that it’s all about breaking it down into smaller “chunks” of information so they don’t get too overwhelmed. Of course, there’s a lot of modeling, whole-class discussion, and activities along the way as well. I also think learning should be fun, which is why I’ve come up with these five engaging ideas for teaching figurative language...

One of my favorite poems to assign during my poetry teaching unit is the epistolary poem. When students write their epistolary poems, they really open up, and I always learn so much about them. An epistolary poem is a poem written as a letter, and I introduce this assignment after teaching the basic elements of poetry and poetry analysis to my students. When I teach poetry, I use this Sticky Note Poetry Analysis unit.  Sticky Note Poetry Analysis To start this assignment, I like to begin by sharing Kobe Bryant’s epistolary poem Dear Basketball with my class. This poem is not only engaging, but it is also an excellent mentor text for the students to use when they begin writing their epistolary poem. Teaching the Epistolary Poem Day 1 On the first day of this activity, I share Kobe Bryant’s poem with the class. Before introducing the poem, I review imagery, structure, and apostrophe with students. We first watch the video of the poem. After students watch the video, I then have them re...

One of the best ways to introduce middle school ELA and high school English students to poetry is through verse novels. Incorporating verse novels in your instruction and on the shelves of your classroom library is a great way to show just how great poetry is and how writers can use poetry to tell a story. Here is a list of five exciting and heartfelt verse novels you will want to include on the shelves of your classroom library. Please note: this post contains affiliate links to help cover the cost of running this blog.  Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo Two worlds collide in this novel when sisters, one living in New York and the other in the Dominican, learn about each other. Told in the two different perspectives of each sister, this book grapples with tough issues like loss while also showing common bonds.  Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds In this novel, Will confronts various people from his past as he grapples with the death of his brother and the unspoken rules that run ...