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Teaching Middle School ELA

Welcome to the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, where we help English Language Arts teachers create dynamic, engaging lessons while balancing the everyday responsibilities of teaching middle school.

I’m Caitlin Mitchell, a longtime ELA educator and curriculum creator, and I know firsthand how challenging it can be to manage grading, planning, and student needs—while still trying to have a life outside the classroom. That’s why every Tuesday and Thursday, I bring you practical strategies, curriculum inspiration, and innovative teaching ideas to help you feel confident, prepared, and energized.

Whether you’re looking to revamp your writing instruction, streamline your planning process, or engage even the most reluctant readers and writers, you’ll find actionable support here. You’ll also hear real classroom stories, fresh lesson ideas, and occasional interviews with other passionate educators.

If you teach reading and writing to middle schoolers and want to stay inspired and up-to-date with best practices in ELA education, you’re in the right place. Tune in every week and let’s transform your teaching—together.

Latest Episodes:

Are You Making This Mistake At the Beginning of Your Units? - 110 Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

Today, we share some of our favorite engaging “Into” lesson plan ideas that can be repurposed over and over again throughout the year so that your planning can be efficient, and your students will be excited to start each new unit. We also share why it is so essential to begin your units in this way. Listen in to get a lesson-planning formula that will save you time and get you better results!

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

How to Meaningfully Celebrate Women’s History Month in an ELA Classroom - 109 Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

Today, we share our tried-and-true Women’s History Month Brochure Project that will engage students and push their thinking. Whether you want to just listen in and get ideas for a similar project, or buy our read-to-teach resource, we know this episode will provide you with a timely and meaningful learning experience for your students.

Links mentioned in this episode:

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Leaders-History-Vashti-Harrison/dp/0316475114/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KSGZX56UQK3I&dchild=1&keywords=little+leaders+bold+women+in+black+history&qid=1613768267&sprefix=little+leaders%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Little-Dreamers-Visionary-Around-Harrison/dp/0316475173/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3GR11FYVI3U50&dchild=1&keywords=little+dreamers+visionary+women+around+the+world&qid=1613768284&sprefix=little+dreamers%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Womens-History-Month-Research-Activity-for-Middle-School-DIGITAL-and-PRINT-2409535?st=9d39f5e7f1fe01750f1a9bb74cd888da

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Why Your Writing Units Aren’t Giving Your Students the Results You Want (and What You Can Do About it) - 108 Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

If you want to see your students make genuine writing growth, it’s time to abandon the full-length essay craze, give yourself a break from non-stop grading, and instead assign targeted writing responses. Listen to today’s episode to hear our personal mistakes, and the strategies we use now to get real results in students’ writing.

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Finding Your Teacher Community Will Make You a Better Educator - 107 Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

Whether you work with toxic teammates, are teaching online and feeling disconnected, or enjoy your coworkers but are just struggling to find “your people,” this episode is for you! Today we share how to surround yourself with people who will help you build a life and career you love. We get personal about our teaching experiences and offer some simple and practical strategies for finding the right teaching community, no matter where you are right now.

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

How to Actually Get Students Excited at the Beginning of a Writing Unit - 106 Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

In today’s episode, we share our favorite engaging introductory lesson activities for several different genres of expository writing. Listen in to hear how you can create these activities in your classroom to get your students eager and excited about your next writing unit. Engagement is more than half the battle in helping students reach their full potential as writers.

Links mentioned in this episode:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0879234059/ref=bseries_primary_1_0879234059

https://ebacademics.mykajabi.com/eb-detective-free-lesson

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

How to Channel Students' Valentine's Day Energy and Excitement Into Great Writing - 105 Feb 02, 2021

Show notes

In today’s episode, we share our all-time favorite Valentine’s Day lesson that we’ve used in fifth grade, all the way up to high school! We explain, step-by-step, how we use Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and conversation heart candies to help students write a love letter using textual evidence and love-induced zest. Whether you want to create the lesson on your own, or snag ours here, this activity is sure to be a hit with your students. We want you to capitalize on the holiday instead of calling it a “wasted day” and putting on a movie. Try it out and share the results! Your students will thank you.

Links mentioned in this episode:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shakespeare-Sonnet-18-Writing-Activity-Great-for-Valentines-Day-2985174

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

A Reluctant Batch Planner Shares Her Success Story - 104 Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

Today, EB team member and full-time teacher, Kara Wojick, shares her experience both resisting batch planning and giving it a try. She talks with us about the massive transformation she experienced in her work satisfaction and personal life after finally deciding to make the time to batch lesson plan.

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Our Favorite F Word In the Classroom - 103 Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

In today’s episode, we ask you to consider a few important questions: How do you spend your prep periods? How often do you analyze student data? And how is teaching affecting your personal life? If you don’t like the answers to these questions, we’re here to help you start working smarter, not harder. Hello batch planning, and goodbye stress, resentment, and burnout.

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

Move Past Overwhelm and Start Batch Lesson Planning TODAY - 102 Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

In today’s episode, we share exactly how to begin batch lesson planning by first looking at your entire school year, then getting more granular by focusing on individual units, and finally planning daily lessons. We discuss all of our best strategies in this episode so that you can learn from our many years of practice!

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

How to Protect Your Peace in 2021 - 101 Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

In today’s episode, we share the best strategy to make your teaching life manageable and enjoyable. You will kiss burnout goodbye and stop planning day-by-day. Using our best techniques for batch planning, you will change your teaching life forever--seriously! Batch planning changed our teaching experiences, and now, we batch plan just about everything.

Are you enjoying the podcast?
Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!

Make sure to Subscribe and leave us a Review!

Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Other episodes you might enjoy:

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