middle school ela | Read Write Teach ELA

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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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

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

Why I Don't Do a Daily Reading Log: What I Do Instead

The reading log. What is it exactly? I think most of us reading teachers know, but for those who are not familiar, in short, it's a...

Megan Mariano

Jan 16, 20244 min read

The Pros and Cons of Looping with Students: Teaching the Same Kids Twice

Back in the 2021-2022 school year, I was called over the summer and told I'd be looping with my students. Truthfully, I didn't know a...

Megan Mariano

Sep 20, 20233 min read

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

Memoir Reading Unit: Engaging Non-fiction

When I was told I would be teaching a section of 7th grade in the 2021 school year, I immediately was super stressed. I already do ALL...

Megan Mariano

Mar 28, 20233 min read

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

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

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

Historical Fiction in Middle School: Making Connections and Deepening Understanding

Historical fiction...I've found this section of my library to be less frequented than most other sections. Truth be told, I don't ever...

Megan Mariano

Sep 26, 20226 min read

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

Social Issues Books for Middle School

As many know who follow me, I find it to be super important for students to CHOOSE books. I typically plan units in my classroom and I...

Megan Mariano

Feb 16, 202210 min read

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

Using "Controversial" Texts: Why We Need Them and How to Use Them

We are living in a very divided time. Parents are at board meetings screaming about critical race theory and are trying to ban books left...

Megan Mariano

Dec 9, 20219 min read

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