Listen now!
On this episode of Teaching Middle School ELA, we explore the importance of having a classroom routine and planning framework to save time and aid classroom management. Caitlin and Jessica share practical tips and insights based on their experience, including the importance of using the standards as a guide for strategic lesson planning. They also stress the importance of starting class with a bell work activity that spiral reviews ELA standards, as even a few minutes wasted can mean over 10% of class time lost. With a planning framework and consistent structure, teachers and students can thrive in the classroom.
Tune in now to hear:
- [00:04:02] Having a vision in teaching for structure, routine, and work-life balance is essential. Planning in advance is necessary for teaching success and meeting standards. Without a vision, teachers may feel frazzled and time-crunched. Need to do something different to achieve different outcomes.
- [00:11:07] Efficiency is crucial in short class periods. Bell work should be assigned to get students immediately working on academic activities. Spiral reviewing for all standards is ideal.
- [00:14:06] Creating a routine for students at the beginning of class is important for seamless learning and classroom management. A YouTube video demonstrating how to set up this routine will be linked in the show notes.
- [00:19:00] Caitlin and Jessica share their teaching framework where class time is divided into reading and writing, on alternating days.
- [00:25:37] Join EB Academics for a summer professional development workshop focused on planning schedules and class period structure.
- [00:28:50] Caitlin and Jessica share their final tips for structuring a 90-minute class period: break it down into smaller components such as bell work, literature lessons, grammar games, independent reading, and take a break at the 40 or 45-minute mark to stretch and refresh.
Register now for our FREE summer workshop!
https://www.ebteacher.com/engagement
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Now if you’re feeling extra awesome today, we would be super grateful if you left us a review over on iTunes, too. Those reviews help other people find our podcast, and they’re also so much fun for us to go in and read. Just click here to review by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is. You’ll receive a free sentence/fragment activity resource. Just screenshot it before submitting it and email it to us at caitlinandjessica@ebacademics.com with the subject line TMSELA Review| Sentence Fragment Activity. Thank you!
