Join me for season 3! One podcast a month will focus on 5 books that are perfect for this month/season. In this episode, we will discuss 5 books that are perfect for the back-to-school season. There are ideas to go along with each novel, plus a link to my YouTube channel where I read these books as part of my "First Chapter Friday" series. The books included this month: The 6th Grade Nickname Game by Gordon Korman The New Kid by Jerry Craft Class Act by Jerry Craft Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullal...
Aug 15, 2025•16 min
Join me for season 3! One podcast a month will focus on 5 activities that you can easily implement in your middle school classroom for this month/season. In this episode, we will discuss 5 engaging activities to do on the first day of school . We will discuss: Icebreakers Meet the Teacher Read Alouds Letter to Your Future Self Classroom Scavenger Hunt Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Middle School Membership! Full Year Curriculum on TPT Teaching Writing Workshop Course - Available ...
Aug 02, 2025•17 min
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the tenth and final episode in the series, with a focus on adjusting expectations for the end of the year. It's the end of the year, and there is no type of busy like "teacher-busy" during this time. Your to-do lists both at work and home are a mile long, and it seems that tasks are added daily rather than getting completed. There are clas...
Apr 19, 2025•20 min•Season 2Ep. 20
It’s April, and for ELA teachers, that means National Poetry Month! Poetry is the subject that kids think they hate…until they have a skilled teacher who brings passion and creativity to the unit. Listen here for 5 powerful poetry activities to do with your middle schoolers for National Poetry Month. We will discuss: "Black Out" or "Found" Poetry Poetry Brackets Competition Poetry Escape Rooms Novels in Verse Poetry Slams Free Resources for Teaching Poetry Let's connect! Membership: Join the All...
Apr 05, 2025•14 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the ninth in the series, with a focus on adjusting expectations for the end of the year. The end of the year is upon us, and it's time to get prepared. If you've been a teacher for at least one year, you know that the end of the year is not for the weak of heart. You'll need to manage state testing, final projects, field days, class trips,...
Mar 30, 2025•27 min•Season 2Ep. 18
If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating an ELA curriculum map for your middle school classes. This month, we will focus on creating a novel study. We will discuss: Why novel studies are important What type of novels work well How to select your lessons How to incorporate vocabulary into your novel study What kinds of activities and assessments work well Let's connect! Membershi...
Mar 01, 2025•26 min•Season 2Ep. 17
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the eighth in the series, with a focus on classroom updates. It's the middle of the year and the honeymoon is long over. The routine feels, well, routine. Kids are getting antsy, and your classroom is looking like it has seen better days. A few classroom updates can make a big difference in keeping students engaged and your space running s...
Feb 15, 2025•24 min•Season 2Ep. 16
If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating an ELA curriculum map for your middle school classes. This month, we will focus on a social issues reading unit that incorporates literacy circles. We will discuss: How to get prepared for a month-long unit on a social issues reading unit Literacy circles A step-by-step plan that includes mini-lessons, note-taking, mentor texts, and more!...
Feb 01, 2025•17 min•Season 2Ep. 15
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the seventh in the series, with a focus on motivating students. It’s the middle of the year and motivating students is tough. You are probably noticing that many are not turning in their best work and that their overall habits are slacking. Listen here for tips on motivating your middle school students. We will discuss: Holding mini-confer...
Jan 18, 2025•15 min•Season 2Ep. 14
If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating an ELA curriculum map for your middle school classes. This month, we will focus on opinion writing. We will discuss: Why kids need a solid unit on opinion writing A step-by-step plan that includes pre-assessment, selecting topics, mini-lessons, mentor texts, and more! Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Middle School Membership...
Jan 04, 2025•18 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the sixth in the series, with a focus on interventions for struggling students. You’ll experience many types of learners throughout your teaching career. Although some students seem to always need extra assistance, all students sometimes have difficulties. It is up to us to have a plan to deal effectively with this as it is one of the most...
Dec 14, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 12
It's the middle of the school year and we are continuing with curriculum mapping! If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. This month: Informational Text We will discuss: How to get prepared for a month-long unit on informational text A step-by-step plan that includes mini-lessons, note-taking, mentor texts, and more! Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Mid...
Nov 30, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the fifth in the series, with a focus on constant tardiness and absenteeism. You know how it is. You plan your lessons. You get to school early so that you are prepared for the day. You grade on the weekend to be sure you can give effective and timely feedback. And then…kids are constantly late and absent, undoing everything you tried to a...
Nov 16, 2024•22 min•Season 2Ep. 10
The school year is under way and it's time for curriculum mapping! If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. We will discuss: How to get prepared for month 5 A step-by-step plan for your students to write a literary essay on theme Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Middle School Membership! Subscribe: Get updates and free products when you subscribe Faceboo...
Nov 02, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the fourth in the series, with a focus on parent-teacher communication. Parent-teacher communication is so much more than newsletters and report cards. Having good classroom management, is, believe it or not, dependent upon how the parents and guardians buy into what you are doing in class. Listen here for tips and tricks to improve parent...
Oct 12, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 8
The school year is under way and it's time for curriculum mapping! If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. We will discuss: How to get prepared for month 4 Everything you need for a successful historical fiction unit Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Middle School Membership! Subscribe: Get updates and free products when you subscribe Facebook Group: Mid...
Oct 05, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the third in the series, with a focus on class participation. As a teacher of over thirty years, I’ve mentored many new teachers both officially and unofficially. By far, the biggest question and concern I’ve heard is getting a better handle on classroom management. This is a huge topic and has many components such as managing student beha...
Sep 07, 2024•28 min•Season 2Ep. 6
The school year is under way and it's time for curriculum mapping! If you need some help or fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. We will discuss: Independent Reading Planning and teaching a literary analysis essay Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Middle School Membership! Subscribe: Get updates and free products when you subscribe Facebook Group: Middle School Language Arts ...
Sep 01, 2024•29 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the second in the series. As a teacher of over thirty years, I’ve mentored many new teachers both officially and unofficially. By far, the biggest question and concern I’ve heard is getting a better handle on classroom management. This is a huge topic and has many components such as managing student behavior, what to do when students are l...
Aug 10, 2024•32 min•Season 2Ep. 4
If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. We will discuss: Integrating Grammar Integrating Vocabulary Main Unit - Character Analysis Starting First Chapter Fridays Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Middle School Membership! Subscribe: Get updates and free products when you subscribe Facebook Group: Middle School La...
Aug 03, 2024•28 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Join me in this year-long series on classroom management. Each month, we will look at tips and tricks for creating a better classroom management plan. This is the first of the series. As a teacher of over thirty years, I’ve mentored many new teachers both officially and unofficially. By far, the biggest question and concern I’ve heard is getting a better handle on classroom management. This is a huge topic and has many components such as managing student behavior, what to do when students are la...
Jul 20, 2024•28 min•Season 2Ep. 2
If you are struggling with how to plan your year or just need some fresh ideas, then you are in the right place! Join me for a 10-month mini-series on creating a curriculum map for your middle school ELA classes. We will discuss: Getting Started - Back to School Main Unit - Personal Narrative Starting First Chapter Fridays Let's connect! Membership: Join the All in One Middle School Membership! Subscribe: Get updates and free products when you subscribe Facebook Group: Middle School Language Art...
Jul 13, 2024•26 min•Season 2Ep. 1
The end of year countdown is on! You feel like you should be winding down, but as every educator knows, this is crunch time. You are working harder than ever, yet your list keeps getting longer and longer. How to handle it? Read here for your end of year countdown with 1 week left of school. We will discuss: Finishing grading Getting your room in order End of year activities Your day 1 activities for back to school Let's connect! Subscribe: Get updates and free products when you subscribe Facebo...
May 25, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 48
It’s the end of the school year, and you are feeling frazzled. You are trying to get things done on your end-of-the-year teacher checklist, but it somehow just keeps getting longer and longer. The answer? A solid plan where you map out your end-of-the-year teacher checklist a month before school ends. Read here for your plan with 2 weeks left of school. We will discuss: Starting (or continuing) the grading process Missing work checklist Next year's bulletin board (it's easy...I promise!) Gifts a...
May 18, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 47
It’s the end of the school year, and teachers everywhere are feeling the pressure. You are tending to your end-of-year teacher checklist, but it seems to be growing rather than shrinking. The answer? A solid plan where you map out your end-of-year teacher tasks a month before school ends. Read here for your plan with 3 weeks left of school. We will discuss: Re-assessing your end-of-year calendar Starting report card comments Planning for end-of-year celebrations Getting final assessments in orde...
May 11, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 46
It’s the end of the school year, and teachers everywhere are feeling the pressure. You are tending to your “to-do” list, but it seems to get exponentially bigger even while you are working hard. The answer? A solid plan where you map out your end-of-year teacher tasks a month before school ends. Listen here for your plan with 4 weeks left of school. We will discuss: Creating a calendar Planning your grading checklist Talking to students who need improvement Listing classroom areas to clean and o...
May 04, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 45
April is National Poetry Month, but it doesn't have to be April to introduce your students to novels in verse. Novels in verse appeal to students because they tend to move quickly and are told in rhythmic, interesting ways. Introducing your students to quality novels in this genre is a great addition to your poetry unit, and in my opinion, a great end-of-year reading unit. We will discuss: The definition of a novel in verse 5 novels in verse that are perfect for your middle school classes What m...
Apr 27, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 44
If you teach poetry in your middle school ELA class, you know it can be a struggle. Kids often go into your poetry lessons with the attitude that poems are not interesting, they are hard to write, and that it’s too difficult to understand poems. It's therefore imperative to begin with poems that are engaging and will hook them right away. I have 10 great suggestions for you in this podcast. We will discuss: General tips for using songs for poetry analysis 10 motivating poems to use in your middl...
Apr 20, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 43
If you teach poetry in your middle school ELA class, you know it can be a struggle. Kids often go into your poetry lessons with the attitude that poems are not interesting, they are hard to write, and that it’s too difficult to understand poems. The answer? Start with songs for poetry analysis. Since I’ve never met a middle schooler who hasn’t obsessed over music, this is the easiest way to hook your kids and teach them some important poetic devices. We will discuss: General tips for using songs...
Apr 15, 2024•23 min•Season 1Ep. 42
I might be in the minority, but I absolutely love teaching poetry. I especially love having kids write poems because I get to know my students on a deeper and more meaningful level. One of the steps to becoming a good poet is to be a good reader of poetry. However, many middle school kids don’t know where to start. Therefore, you need a good plan of action for poetry analysis. The key? Keep it simple. Read here for tips for poetry analysis in 4 easy steps. We will discuss: Starting with songs St...
Apr 06, 2024•14 min
