Grammar is one of those “you’ll use it in the real world” skills that, unfortunately, can be difficult to implement in the classroom. Especially if you are hitting on it as a stand-alone unit and not throughout the year. Here are five suggestions to help students improve their grammar. 1. Use real-life examples I have found humor to be the best example, which is why I love looking up “Grammar Fails” with my students. It is a great way to solidify grammar rules. You might also have students look for Grammar Fails throughout the year. They can bring it in for extra credit, and you can build a display in your room of student-found samples. 2. Daily practice I’ve never understood cramming grammar as its own unit. That’s a lot of rules for students to make sense of, and students who don’t already have a good grasp of grammar will struggle. If you want to see improvement, grammar should be practiced daily. Even if you dedicate 2-3 days a week to include grammar practice, you are helping your...

When it comes to teaching writing, there is just so much to teach. To build strong writers, students need to be well-versed in sentence structure, grammar, and how to organize their ideas, just to name a few skills. One of the best ways to teach middle school ELA and high school English students to become stronger writers is by focusing on specific skills one at a time. This way, students are not overwhelmed, and teachers can more easily assess a certain writing skill. Here is a look at ten resources middle school ELA and high school English teachers can use to help build strong writers. Introduction and Thesis Statment Teaching Unit Teaching students how to write a thesis statement is a crucial step in the essay writing process. Whenever I begin a new essay with my students, I always take some time to review thesis statement writing with my students by using this thesis statement teaching unit . This teaching unit comes with an editable presentation and student resources. This unit is...

I can hear it now. One student defiantly raises a hand as I introduce our Latin vocabulary. Before I can even begin explaining the benefits, the student asks, “Why are we learning about this in English class?” Next time you have a student asking why they need to study roots and vocabulary from Greek and Latin, have this list on hand. 1. Greek and Latin are foundational You will be hard-pressed to find vocabulary without influence from Greek or Latin. The truth is, these “ancient” languages heavily influence our modern languages (particularly the Romantic ones). In fact, students who hope to learn other languages, especially Romantic ones, would do well to focus on building vocabulary in English rooted in Latin. Romance languages include French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish, and Latin influences about 80% of the vocabulary in all of these languages. That’s 800 million people whose language is built on Latin alone. 2. Greek and Latin are building blocks English is not consid...

You’ve come to the end of another novel or short story. Now what? If you’re looking to spice up your review activities with something fresh, unique, or just plain different than your average paper, read on! Here are ten ways to review a novel or short story. 1. Socratic Seminars Why write when you can discuss? If you’re unfamiliar with a Socratic Seminar , it is a method to understand information by creating a dialogue in class. Students should find deeper understanding and discuss complex ideas. Works that are “heavy” or require your students to really think about issues are perfect for Socratic Seminars. Socratic Seminar for ANY text! 2. Create a Game You can either have students create their own game with various templates they find online, or you can create a game that students will play in order to review. Either way, it’s a fun excuse to host a game day in your classroom and breaks up the monotony of review, papers, and tests. I really like having students create their own games,...

If you haven’t incorporated peer editing into your essay units, you are truly missing out. Anytime I can use positive peer interactions in an assignment I find heightened engagement and a better turnout of essays. Find my top reasons for including peer editing below, and don’t forget to check out my resources. Reasons why you should include peer editing 1. So students can write to a wider audience. When my students write essays that only I will read, they tend to write what they think I will like. Especially when students write later in the year, they’ve “been there done that” with writing for me. Most students know what I’m nitpicky in, possibly what my own biases are (even the most objective teacher may inadvertently share personal opinions from time to time). When they peer edit, they also consider the other students who will be reading the paper. In fact, I usually preface and emphasize that they are writing for the wider audience and NOT to just me. 2. So students are more engaged...