The other day I was talking with a parent who told me, “I know my child can read… but when I ask them to explain what they read, everything falls apart.” If you’ve ever felt that way while homeschooling, you’re definitely not alone. Middle school is when reading suddenly becomes less about decodi…
Before You Meet Scrooge: A Free Prediction Activity to Build Background Knowledge for A Christmas Carol (Middle School ELA) If you’re preparing to teach A Christmas Carol and you want your students to actually understand the story before they read it , this free activity is the perfect way to …
The Real Reason Middle Schoolers Fail Standardized Reading Tests — Even With Strong Classroom Grades Many middle school students earn strong classroom grades in English but still fail standardized reading tests. The problem is not their reading ability — it’s the vocabulary of the standards. Test …
Halloween is one of my favorite times of the school year. The excitement in the air, the costumes, the candy… and of course, the spooky stories students can’t wait to write! 👻 But here’s the problem: When I first started teaching, I would hand out a Halloween writing prompt and say, “Go write …