Megan Mariano
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
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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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Megan Mariano
- Jul 17
- 3 min
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...
298 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- Apr 1
- 2 min
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...
588 views6 comments
Megan Mariano
- Feb 22
- 3 min
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...
639 views7 comments
Megan Mariano
- May 28, 2023
- 5 min
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...
1,327 views7 comments
Megan Mariano
- Jan 19, 2023
- 5 min
Multi-Genre Writing Unit: Companion Websites Based on a Book
Try a multi-genre writing unit in middle school ELA!
1,045 views1 comment
Megan Mariano
- Dec 27, 2022
- 5 min
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...
1,509 views3 comments
Megan Mariano
- Oct 25, 2022
- 5 min
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...
13,346 views1 comment
Megan Mariano
- May 31, 2022
- 7 min
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.
3,800 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- Apr 30, 2022
- 3 min
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...
3,063 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- Jan 13, 2022
- 4 min
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...
3,352 views5 comments
Megan Mariano
- Oct 24, 2021
- 5 min
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...
4,471 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- Aug 14, 2021
- 6 min
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...
2,460 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- Mar 24, 2021
- 5 min
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...
30,598 views6 comments
Megan Mariano
- Feb 17, 2021
- 4 min
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...
45,911 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- Dec 31, 2020
- 4 min
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...
4,852 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- Dec 2, 2020
- 4 min
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...
1,288 views1 comment
Megan Mariano
- Jul 10, 2020
- 4 min
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!
2,051 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- May 13, 2020
- 4 min
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...
4,582 views0 comments
Megan Mariano
- May 2, 2020
- 6 min
Graphic Novels in Middle School: 9 Key Critical Thinking Skills of Focus
Teach graphic novels as a UNIT!
4,147 views0 comments
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