Teaching students how to write a multi-paragraph essay is a process, and it isn’t something that can be taught in one class period, nor is it a skill that we should expect our incoming students to know. Before I even assign my students a multi-paragraph essay, I first take several weeks to teach paragraph writing, and I typically do this with my short story unit. You can read more about this process in my blog post about how I break down writing instruction. However, once my students are ready to make the jump from paragraphs to an essay, I still continue to break down my writing instruction. When I teach essay writing in my high school English class, I break it down paragraph-by-paragraph. All of the lessons that I will refer to throughout this blog post are included in this print and digital essay writing teaching unit . Start with brainstorming I am a huge fan of group brainstorming, especially since I usually have some EL and SPED students mainstreamed in my college prep English cl...

If I could choose one skill that every one of my students achieves by the time they leave my classroom, it would be how to have a personal conversation with every piece of literature they read. That’s why I focus so much on teaching text annotation to my classes. It’s an essential close reading strategy that provides innumerable benefits to a young person’s life (both in school and out). As educators, you and I both know that annotating a text is more than simply circling random words and underlining what may or may not be topic sentences. Annotation helps students track their thinking as they read in order to reflect on the evolution of their understanding. When applied effectively, the practice of annotation encourages rich interactions between reader and text. As with all things worth doing, teaching text annotation to your students requires a differentiated approach, consistent practice, and follow-through. You’ll always have a few “squeaky wheels” who insist there’s no point in ma...

Knowing how to research is an important skill for our students, but it can seem overwhelming and tedious when students first see a research assignment. When it comes to teaching students how to research and how to write a research paper, it is definitely a process. Teaching research paper writing takes time. Check out some of my favorite tips for teaching research in secondary ELA.  1. Teach well-thought-out research questions. This is one of the first skills to focus on because it sets the tone for the whole project. Students either need to be given the research questions, or they should have some sort of teacher-check to make sure they are keeping to the topic. Questions that are too broad will leave them sifting through too much information, and questions that are too narrow will make it hard for them to find sources and do their research. You can assist students by walking them through a short process of evaluating their topic and completing some preliminary research.  2. Teach the...