How to Teach Essay Writing to Make Your Writers Stronger in 5 Easy Steps
Wondering how to teach essay writing and still make it engaging for your students? Teaching essay writing can feel like an uphill battle, right? We’ve all been there—staring at a pile of papers wondering how some students missed the mark despite clear instructions. It’s tough because writing isn’t just about putting words on a page; […]
7 Simple Short Story Literary Prompts You Need for Your Classroom
Searching for an authentic way to help your students analyze short story literary elements? As ELA teachers, we know that our students struggle to move past identifying literary elements to analyzing their purpose. So often my students feel like it’s enough that they found the conflict. But let’s be real. We should be expecting so […]
How This Ultimate SPACE CAT Example Will Actually Improve Your Students’ Writing
Searching for a stronger SPACE CAT example to help your students understand rhetorical analysis? Unlike other types of analysis, rhetorical analysis tends to trip up our students. However, with the right system, students can easily evaluate the intentions and choices of any writer or speaker. That’s where the SPACE CAT acronym comes in to help. […]
Teaching How to Write Conclusion for Rhetorical Analysis in 5 Easy Steps
Needing some help teaching how to write conclusion for rhetorical analysis? Do you feel like by the time you get to conclusions, you and your students are tired of writing? Maybe you just assume that students know how to wrap up their thoughts. Or maybe you don’t really know how to differentiate the different parts […]
Five First Week of Class Activities for High School ELA
If you are like me, you might be starting the second semester which means planning your first week of class activities. Having to start over can be a great thing but at the same time, you just don’t have that same excitement that the beginning of the year brings. So, what better way to get […]
How to Build Better Discussion with Socratic Seminars
My favorite days of teaching are when I don’t have to do any of the work, and I can sit at my desk and just observe my students doing the hard work like with socratic seminars. One of the best ways to have an “easy” day in the classroom is to hold a Socratic Seminar. […]
How to Incorporate Student Blogs
With the high pressure of state mandated standardized testing , teachers are in need of ways to have their students write more in preparation for these tests likes using student blogs. Instead of turning to the practice prompts, I allow student choice in my classroom. Every other week for the entire semester, the students create […]