I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Ever feel like you're always chasing the next goal? Let's have a recap on our Monday Mindset favorite episode, Caitlin shared a revelation from a mastermind interview that changed her perspective on success. For years, she thrived on drive and determination, but this year, she embraced the word "receive." This shift opened her eyes to the beauty of balancing hustle with acceptance, allowing life's abundance to flow naturally. Discover how this mindset c...
Dec 02, 2024•5 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Ready to have a ball during story and book discussions? In this episode, learn how to use a soccer or beach ball to create dynamic, engaging discussion experience with your students. We’ll walk you through all the steps, from creating prompts to guiding student conversations with discussion stems. Plus, hear about the researched benefits of adding movement to your lessons, like improving focus and classroom management. Tune in for a fun, practical idea ...
Nov 26, 2024•19 min•Ep. 312
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Let’s take a moment to revisit one of our favorite Monday Mindset episodes! In this episode, we tackle self-doubt and the path to intentional living. If you've ever felt held back by insecurities despite the success around you, you're not alone. I'll share strategies and stories to turn small wins into big breakthroughs, building a "bank of evidence" that you’re more capable than you think. I invite teachers to not only shift their own mindsets but also...
Nov 25, 2024•5 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In Episode 311 , Jessica and Megan explore the benefits of using collaborative writing in the classroom. They will also tackle common concerns teachers have when assigning group projects. You'll learn how collaborative writing boosts communication skills, builds confidence, and encourages peer learning. Plus, you'll pick up practical tips on setting up group writing tasks, managing group dynamics, and assessing individual contributions and skills. Wheth...
Nov 19, 2024•22 min•Ep. 311
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Life's seasons mirror our own cycles of growth and stillness. In this another past Monday Mindset episode, I share a personal story of navigating through busyness and loss, highlighting the value in both vibrant summers and quiet winters. As I reflect on my journey, I uncover the power of mourning, connecting, and finding purpose in every phase. Join me as we explore how embracing vulnerability and sharing our stories can lead to healing and deeper conn...
Nov 18, 2024•6 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast , Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan explore how to plan lessons with English language learners in mind. You'll take away practical strategies for the beginning, middle, and end of your lessons, with tips that can benefit every student in your classroom. Whether you have one ELL student or many, these strategies will help you create lessons that are accessible and effective. Tune in to discover easy way...
Nov 12, 2024•21 min•Ep. 310
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Transform your mornings and reclaim over four weeks of your year! Let's have a recap on our Monday Mindset favorite episode, inspired by Mel Robbins, which reveals the hidden costs of hitting the snooze button. Discover how just 26 extra minutes in bed can rob you of precious time for growth and calm. I challenge you to reshape those minutes into a powerful start to your day with the mantra: "Get up, dress up, show up." I explore how waking up with purp...
Nov 11, 2024•4 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In this special episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast , Megan interviews Trevor Aleo, a high school language arts teacher and co-author of Learning That Transfers: Designing Curriculum for a Changing World . Trevor talks about the strategies he used to help his 8th graders engage in multimodal composing projects, as you can read about in his English Journal article “‘What Would Other Swifties Think?’: Multimodal Composing with Communities in...
Nov 05, 2024•36 min•Ep. 309
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Let’s take a moment to revisit one of our favorite Monday Mindset episodes! Ever faced a life-changing choice and wondered whether to take the leap? Join us on Monday Mindset as we dive into my brother's bold move to France—a story of courage, curiosity, and embracing the unknown. I explore the power of risk-taking and how saying "yes" to the unfamiliar can lead to lasting fulfillment. Tune in for an inspiring conversation that might just spark your own...
Nov 04, 2024•4 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In this episode, we're shaking things up with the Literary Shuffle Activity—a fun and interactive way to get students diving deeper into any story. Whether they’re on their feet or staying put, this game makes story review a blast. You'll walk away from this episode with all the information you'll need to implement this game using any novel or short story that your students are reading. Take a listen and try it out!...
Oct 29, 2024•17 min•Ep. 308
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! What if small changes could align your life with your deepest values? Today’s Monday Mindset is one of our listeners’ favorite past episodes all about moving from dreaming to purposeful action, inspired by a lesson from the CEO of a basketball camps company. I discuss breaking the cycle of endless ideas and taking real steps toward your goals—especially in teaching. Tune in for actionable strategies to create space for your passions and live in alignmen...
Oct 28, 2024•3 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast , Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan conclude their Science of Reading series by focusing on sight recognition, the final strand in Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Discover why sight recognition is key to fluent reading and explore practical strategies to help your middle school students instantly recognize and remember words. From engaging word wall activities to interactive games, you’ll walk away with ac...
Oct 22, 2024•20 min•Ep. 307
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! What if staying motivated all year could be as simple as asking yourself one question: "Will your future self thank you for this choice?" Today we’re airing a past Monday Mindset episode where I discuss how forward-thinking can keep your drive alive, offering practical examples and personal stories that show how this mindset can help you stay committed to healthy habits, classroom goals, and positive daily decisions. Tune in for actionable advice to sus...
Oct 21, 2024•5 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast , Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan guide you through decoding, the next strand of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. You’ll learn how decoding fits into the bigger picture of word recognition and why it’s essential for your middle school students. Discover two engaging activities that focus on prefixes, suffixes, and root words, designed to make decoding practice both interactive and effective. Whether your ...
Oct 15, 2024•15 min•Ep. 306
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Can reading more books help prevent burnout? This week on another re-air episode of one of the Monday Mindset Favorites, I explore how choosing the right books, like "Sustain Your Game" by Alan Stein Jr., can shift your perspective and reignite your passion for teaching. It’s about selecting literature that uplifts, challenges, and inspires personal growth. Join me as I discuss how insights from personal growth books can transform both your teaching and...
Oct 14, 2024•5 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Caitlin, Megan, and Jessica continue their Science of Reading series by tackling phonological awareness, a key component of the Word Recognition section of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Join your hosts as they demystify phonological awareness for middle school teachers, explaining why it's vital for older students and how it can tie into the study of poetry. You'll walk away with ten simple, creat...
Oct 08, 2024•14 min•Ep. 305
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Let’s take a moment to revisit one of our favorite Monday Mindset episodes! In this episode, Can listening transform your teaching? Discover "compassionate emptiness," a concept from former Starbucks president Howard Baer, in this week's Monday Mindset podcast. Learn how shifting from problem-solving to truly hearing your students, colleagues, and administrators can revolutionize your classroom and foster a culture of empathy and understanding. Join me ...
Oct 07, 2024•3 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Caitlin, Megan, and Jessica continue their journey through the Reading Rope with a focus on literacy knowledge. Discover how understanding text features is key to comprehension, and why it’s crucial to teach these skills explicitly—even to older students. Your hosts will walk you through a cross-disciplinary Text Features Scavenger Hunt that’s simple to set up and highly effective in boosting st...
Oct 01, 2024•15 min•Ep. 304
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Decision-making can be very difficult as a teacher. We are constantly making decisions that will ultimately affect our students’ success. The constant stress of decision-making can be exhausting. Here’s an easy framework for you to consider to help with decision fatigue. Always come back to your “why” and your values. Don’t make decisions when you’re emotional. Ask yourself questions. What is my intuition telling me? Remind yourself that you can learn f...
Sep 30, 2024•6 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! On this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Jessica, and Megan dive into the fourth strand of the Reading Rope: verbal reasoning. They’ll explore how this strand plays a crucial role in understanding and interpreting texts and offer a dynamic activity to help students sharpen their inference skills. After listening, you'll have a clear strategy for guiding students through the process of making inferences with a mystery-based activity. Th...
Sep 24, 2024•18 min•Ep. 303
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Today’s Monday Mindset is one of our listeners’ favorite past episodes all about discipline. I highlight the value of discipline in both our work and personal lives, discussing how our future selves will thank us when it comes to practicing discipline. I challenge listeners to identify areas in their own lives where discipline may be lacking, and I encourage you to make a commitment to yourself. By keeping promises to ourselves, we build self-confidence...
Sep 23, 2024•6 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! On this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Jessica and Megan continue their series to help you navigate the essential strands of the Reading Rope. This episode focuses on language structures, exploring why they are crucial and sharing effective ways to teach them. After listening, you'll know a fun and adaptable activity that uses drawing and writing to teach grammar concepts. This hands-on activity will enhance your students' grasp of l...
Sep 17, 2024•14 min•Ep. 302
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Today we’re airing a past Monday Mindset episode where I discuss the concept of going above and beyond in our relationships and connections with others. Giving, not just in terms of time, but also in offering kindness, compassion, and support to others, is a powerful tool. When we give without expecting anything in return, we can positively impact our lives, experiencing deeper connections and meaningful relationships with others. Here’s to another day ...
Sep 16, 2024•5 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! On this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Jessica, and Megan continue their series to help you navigate the essential strands of the Reading Rope. This episode is all about vocabulary, why it's important, and a few ways to teach it. After listening, you'll be able to implement a fun and engaging prediction activity focused on Tier 2 vocabulary words. This activity will not only enhance your students' vocabulary retention but also boost ...
Sep 10, 2024•12 min•Ep. 301
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! In another re-air episode of one of Monday Mindset Favorites, I explore the transformative power of the CTFAR method by life coach Neil Williams. Learn how Circumstances, Thoughts, Feelings, Actions, and Results can help you shift your mindset and approach teaching with renewed purpose. I also dive into the concept of "quiet quitting" and how, inspired by Ed Mylett and Dean Graziosi, teachers can find fulfillment even in difficult environments. Gain pra...
Sep 09, 2024•5 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! On this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Jessica and Megan kick off a series to help you navigate important concepts in reading comprehension. You'll learn a little about the Science of Reading and how Dr. Hollis Scarborough's Reading Rope can help you understand the skills necessary for reading comprehension. Your hosts will guide you through the importance of Background Knowledge as the first skill in Language Comprehension and share...
Sep 03, 2024•16 min•Ep. 300
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Let’s take a moment to revisit one of our favorite Monday Mindset episodes! In this episode, I dive into the powerful impact our surroundings have on our mindset and overall happiness. I explore how intentionally surrounding ourselves with “A+ players” can lead to personal growth and a more fulfilling life. By carefully choosing the company we keep and fostering a positive environment for ourselves and our students, we can create a ripple effect of posi...
Sep 02, 2024•4 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! On this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan are breaking down how a well-defined learning target can actually move your classroom from confusion and chaos to clarity and engagement. You'll learn from many of their personal journeys and impactful experiences, illustrating how setting clear and specific goals will boost student growth and your teaching methods. Listen in to hear how learning targets can also crea...
Aug 27, 2024•21 min•Ep. 299
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! Do you believe you can do hard things? The simple belief that you are capable has more power than you may realize. In this Monday Mindset episode, I explore how self-belief can reshape your entire journey. I'll spend a little time recounting personal experiences, hoping to showcase how believing in yourself is the foundation of resilience and courage, helping you face life's challenges and pursue your dreams with determination. I'll discuss how it's act...
Aug 26, 2024•13 min
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text! On this episode of The Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast your hosts Caitlin, Jessica, and Megan are sharing insights on turning mundane review sessions into exhilarating and interactive learning moments! You'll learn three low-prep, high-engagement games that are perfect for reviewing any concept in any subject time and time again. They begin by discussing the exhaustion from stale repetitive review methods like Jeopardy or Kahoot and introduce each ga...
Aug 20, 2024•21 min•Ep. 298
