“How do I decide which ELA activities ‘make the cut’ for my school year?” Caitlin and Jessica address this question from the EB Academic’s Facebook group, which is a question you’ve probably wondered about, too. With all the resources available, sometimes choosing the right ones for your classes can be overwhelming. Whether you’re an EB teacher or not, this episode will help!
In this episode, Caitlin and Jessica will walk listeners through the 4 steps of choosing resources wisely. From using a standards checklist to utilizing mini-units, they have some great tips for you to consider as you plan out your year.
But don’t just take Caitlin and Jessica’s word for it! In this episode, they will share the ideas of Sarah and Shannon, two EB teachers who also help to manage the EB Academics community. Caitlin and Jessica will share these awesome teachers’ advice on choosing the best resources for your students, which is based on their own experiences with teaching and lesson planning.
Tune in now to hear:
- [00:40] Caitlin shares a common teacher question of how to choose the right resources for the school year.
- [02:20] Curious about the EB Teacher’s Club? It’s a supportive community of educators from around the world (plus a great place to find awesome middle school ELA resources!). Our teachers share the goal of helping their students without sacrificing their own personal lives.Join our waitlist today and receive a free detective lesson, too!
- [04:40] Who better to go to for advice on choosing resources than two of our EB teachers, Sarah and Shannon? They are also EB’s community managers and provide wonderful support and advice to our teachers.They share 4 steps to take when choosing resources.
- [06:10] Step #1: Use the standards as your North Star. Don’t have standards? Use the ELA Common Core standards, or take Shannon’s advice of asking for student feedback on activities. Shannon also recommends teaching the different types of writing if your school doesn’t use standards as a guide.
- [12:30] Hear Shannon’s share some specific resources she likes to use for teaching different types of writing.
- [13:40] Step #2: Remember to spiral students’ learning! (In other words, provide students with opportunities to review past concepts).
- [16:30] Hear Sarah’s recommendations for resources to spiral learning.
- [18:40] Step #3: Determine if any resources work for cross curricular study. What are students going to be learning in other classes?
- [19:10] Hear Sarah’s process for aligning some of her resources with her students’ other classes/subjects.
- [21:20] Step #4: Use engaging mini units to introduce broader topics.
- [22:10] Hear Shannon’s choice of resource for introducing theme, as Jessica gives a brief walkthrough of this mini unit.
Click here to watch on Youtube!
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