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As an educational blogger, I hope to provide ideas and materials for your curriculum to help you succeed in your classroom! While many of my posts will lead you to my Teachers Pay Teachers store, you will get detailed insight into what has worked in my very own classroom. - Read Write Teach ELA
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Preparing for the English Language Arts State Test Writing Tasks: Prompt Prep and Analysis
The writing tasks are the key to success on state standardized tests for language arts.
Megan Mariano
Jan 234 min read
2,070 views
43 comments
Citing Concise Textual Evidence: Avoiding "Quote Plopping"
One of the key things we teach our middle schoolers all year is to support their thinking with textual evidence. In the younger grades, stud
Megan Mariano
Aug 29, 20243 min read
1,501 views
24 comments
Mystery Story Writing: Narratives with a Twist
What if you teach multiple sections of ELA? You know you have to teach narrative writing, but don't want to be repetitive. So what are...
Megan Mariano
Jul 17, 20243 min read
1,511 views
17 comments
Spring Things! Fun with Poetry and Figurative Language
Spring is poetry time! I like to use this time of year to do a poetry unit with my 6th graders (read about that here). That unit focuses...
Megan Mariano
Apr 1, 20242 min read
780 views
39 comments
Text Structure Explanatory Writing: Creating a Dodecahedron
Text structure is one of those skills we teach in all grade levels of English Language Arts. There are tons of ways to teach it and most...
Megan Mariano
Feb 22, 20243 min read
1,080 views
34 comments
Online Research, Note-Taking, & Argument Essay: Student Choice Driven
I was given a 7th grade section of ELA in 2021. Before that, I was only teaching 3 sections of 6th grade. So, I had to plan an entire...
Megan Mariano
May 28, 20235 min read
1,811 views
14 comments
Multi-Genre Writing Unit: Companion Websites Based on a Book
Try a multi-genre writing unit in middle school ELA!
Megan Mariano
Jan 19, 20235 min read
1,527 views
6 comments
All the Ways to Use Google Forms in Middle School Language Arts
Google Forms have been around for awhile now. Many teachers use them for easy test-taking, which is great and provides an easy...
Megan Mariano
Dec 27, 20225 min read
1,772 views
10 comments
Personal Narrative Writing in Middle School: Digging Deeper
For years, I didn't do personal narrative writing in middle school. In fact, I wrote an entire blog post about why I didn't do it. Main...
Megan Mariano
Oct 25, 20225 min read
19,270 views
11 comments
My First Year in 7th Grade: How it Went, What I Did, and What Will Change
Read about how my first year in teaching 7th grade went.
Megan Mariano
May 31, 20228 min read
4,192 views
30 comments
Literary Essay Writing: Comparing Stories with Author's Craft Focus (Test Prep)
Many state tests expect students to write full literary analyses and this analysis needs to be comparing and contrasting. Here are some...
Megan Mariano
Apr 30, 20223 min read
4,076 views
23 comments
Realistic Fiction Writing: Narratives with Meaning
When I was told I was going to be teaching a 7th grade section this year (I only ever taught 6th and put my heart and SOUL into 6th), I...
Megan Mariano
Jan 13, 20224 min read
4,328 views
16 comments
Show Don't Tell in Middle School: Elevating Narrative Writing
If you are an E.L.A. teacher, then you know what "Show Don't Tell" is. It's pretty much a core lesson in almost all writing workshops. If...
Megan Mariano
Oct 24, 20215 min read
8,264 views
6 comments
Everything You Need for Back-to-School in Middle School E.L.A.
As I write this, we are going in full-time, normal (masked) in September. I really hope that remains true. This post will outline all the...
Megan Mariano
Aug 14, 20216 min read
2,613 views
5 comments
Essays in 6th Grade: A Basic Format that Elevates the Standard 5-Paragraph Structure
6th grade is such a funny year. Funny haha and funny weird. Student writing levels are all over the map. You will have students coming to...
Megan Mariano
Mar 24, 20215 min read
43,151 views
44 comments
Mood vs. Tone in E.L.A.: Activities to Help Middle Schoolers
Mood and tone are two key literary elements that start popping up a lot more in middle school. I've found that students often have a...
Megan Mariano
Feb 17, 20214 min read
58,575 views
30 comments
Main Idea Statements, NOT Topics: 6 Steps to Writing Main Idea Sentences
Main idea. Students do it as soon as they start reading. My son in Kindergarten has even dabbled in it. It gets increasingly more complex...
Megan Mariano
Dec 31, 20204 min read
5,843 views
26 comments
Dialogue and Elaboration: Using Comics to Encourage More Detail
Dialogue is one of the most challenging aspects of writing for middle schoolers. Usually, by the time they get to middle school, they...
Megan Mariano
Dec 2, 20204 min read
2,127 views
12 comments
Read-Alouds in Middle School: How (and Why) to Use Them When You're Short on Time
Find ways to read-aloud in middle school!
Megan Mariano
Jul 10, 20204 min read
2,523 views
8 comments
5 End of School Year Activities in Middle School with a Digital Focus
As I write this post, we are doing remote learning. I know the end of the school year is full of celebrations and activities; many of us...
Megan Mariano
May 13, 20204 min read
4,889 views
13 comments
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