Calling all budding authors, poets, and storytellers in your classes. Writing competitions are a great way to motivate students to write. They give students a real world context for writing and also give students the chance to earn prizes.
Book Shelfie Activity to Foster a Love of Reading
Your First FIVE Lessons of the School Year
The first five lessons of a secondary ELA class are essential for setting the tone for the rest of the year. It’s also a stressful time to readjust to school hours, meet new students, and get back into a routine once again. That’s why I’ve put together your first FIVE lessons of the school year. All right here, done for you.
Teaching Poetic Devices with Pop Songs
Engaging Students with Scavenger Hunts in Secondary ELA
5 Podcast Episodes for Halloween in Secondary ELA
End of the Year Note Ideas for Students
At the end of the school year, I always find myself wanting to convey to my students everything that they’ve meant to me over the course of the school year. I want them to know that I care— even if it was a difficult year for the student in my class. I want them to remember that they had an English teacher who believed in them and wants the best for them.
Zombie-Inspired Assignments for Secondary ELA... Because Zombies are COOL
PowerPoint Party: A Fun Persuasion Game
In their pure sense, PowerPoint Parties started becoming popular due to COVID, and friends/ family members would get together (albeit virtually) to present a PowerPoint on a topic of interest. This eventually morphed into a fun game for high school and college-age students (is it ok for me to add “drinking game” in here?). Currently, PowerPoint Parties have become popular on TikTok, which provided the inspiration for this post. Head over to TikTok and search for “PowerPoint Parties” to find ideas… be forewarned that some of these ideas will not be “school appropriate” but still humorous.
“First Week Back” Activities for Secondary ELA
Starting a new semester— whether at the beginning of the school year or calendar year— is a time of tough transition as we begin to restart our minds and work habits. It’s a difficult transition for both students, teachers, and administrators— but I don’t have to tell you that. You know that feeling of dread at the beginning of a new term, and there’s no way to sugarcoat it.
Three Necessary Lessons for the Beginning of the Year in ELA
The beginning of the school year is a time to reintroduce students to routine, classroom procedures, and the habits of homework and studying…. but I don’t need to tell you that! For us as English teachers, the beginning of the school year means reviewing and reteaching skills that our students will SWEAR they were NOT taught “last year.” We know the joke; we know that isn’t true!
The Junk Journal Novel Project for Secondary ELA
3 Thanksgiving Activities to Recognize Native Americans
Thanksgiving season provides ELA teachers with the perfect opportunity to engage students in meaningful reading, writing, and speaking activities that can target creative writing, analysis, as well as multiculturalism. It’s an important time of the year not only to give thanks but also to acknowledge both voices in the foundation of the United States: the colonists and the Native Americans.
Starting the School Year with the College Essay
If there is one writing assignment that has real life and real world purpose, it’s the college essay. I have never seen my students more motivated to write and more motivated to work on writing than with this particular assignment. And the reason is simple: this writing assignment truly matters to students.
How to Avoid the Summer Slide with Summer Reading Challenges & One-Pager Projects
Five End of the Year Activities for Google Slides
How to Make a Choice Board on Google Slides
8 Engaging ELA Lessons for Valentine's Day
10 Engaging Ways to Introduce a Shakespeare Unit
Hooking students into Shakespeare can be a daunting task. There’s the language barrier, the different time period, funny clothing, acting…. it’s no wonder students can be reluctant at the beginning of a Shakespeare unit. But here are ten engaging ways to introduce a Shakespeare unit that will hook them from the first day. Be sure to check out the related 20 activities in the Ultimate Shakespeare Introduction Kit for even more ideas and activities!
