
Teaching Middle School ELA
Welcome to the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, where we help English Language Arts teachers create dynamic, engaging lessons while balancing the everyday responsibilities of teaching middle school.I’m Caitlin Mitchell, a longtime ELA educator and curriculum creator, and I know firsthand how challenging it can be to manage grading, planning, and student needs—while still trying to have a life outside the classroom. That’s why every Tuesday and Thursday, I bring you practical strategies, curriculum inspiration, and innovative teaching ideas to help you feel confident, prepared, and energized.Whether you're looking to revamp your writing instruction, streamline your planning process, or engage even the most reluctant readers and writers, you’ll find actionable support here. You'll also hear real classroom stories, fresh lesson ideas, and occasional interviews with other passionate educators.If you teach reading and writing to middle schoolers and want to stay inspired and up-to-date with best practices in ELA education, you’re in the right place. Tune in every week and let’s transform your teaching—together.
Latest episodes

Jul 31, 2023 • 4min
Monday Mindset: It's All About Your Mood
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Today I discuss the power of movement versus allowing our moods to dictate our life. Instead of allowing your mood to dictate your actions, try operating like someone who isn't feeling that way. Taking action, even when we don't feel like it, can lead to the creation of a positive mood. Don't let your emotions dictate your reality - take the first step towards a better future. Here’s to another day of living intentionally.Caitlin

Jul 27, 2023 • 22min
The Best of Writing Episodes: Are You Making This Mistake with Your Student Writing Samples?
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Confession time: Do you dread teaching writing? Do you struggle to teach writing and do your students struggle to produce anything passable that doesn’t take you hours to grade? If so, consider what might be your biggest struggle with writing. Whatever the struggle, has writing become your least favorite part of teaching English because it’s just SO. MUCH. WORK?We want to change that. At EB, we actually focus on 4 pillars that will truly help you look forward to teaching writing because you are confident in HOW to actually teach it and your students are confident in HOW to actually write. Listen in today as we share one of our favorite pillars with you. Tune in now to hear:[1:25] Caitlin starts off today's topic with what makes us dread teaching writing and how much work there is in doing so.[2:46] Jessica goes on to list some of the struggles teachers face when it comes to teaching writing.[4:23] Jessica touches on one of the 4 pillars that we use at EB that will help you look forward to teaching the subject.[4:58] Caitlin goes on to share how providing students with teacher writing samples help them get a better idea on how to formulate their essays.[7:10] Jessica talks about the common mistakes we make in teaching writing.[8:38] Caitlin touches on the simple yet effective idea of writing a sample essay in advance; she goes on to share how this has become a game-changer in her writing classes[13:48] Jessica discusses setting guidelines when providing your students writing samples and some engaging ways you can do it such as breaking down a paragraph sentence by sentence and letting your students creatively construct the paragraph themselves.[17:58] Caitlin continues speaking on the importance of this strategy. The sample essays you write can be used for years to come, and you also get to practice your writing skills while you're at it.[20:20] If you're interested in learning more about our writing program, you may visit www.ebwritingprogram.com.Click here to listen now!Subscribe & Review in iTunesAre you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today. We don’t want you to miss a single episode. We add a brand-new episode every week, and if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!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, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and let us know what your favorite part of the podcast is. Thank you!

5 snips
Jul 25, 2023 • 12min
Episode 238: Increase Students Writing Scores in 30 Minutes or Less
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Caitlin and Jessica dive into the frustration of students not meeting writing standards in this episode of Teaching Middle School ELA. Strategies to improve writing, including using a proven writing framework called the EBW approach is discussed. Tune in for practical ways to incorporate the EBW approach into your classroom and elevate your students' writing scores in just 30 minutes or less.Are you enjoying the podcast?Tag us on Instagram @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review!Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Jul 24, 2023 • 4min
Monday Mindset: Go to a Dark Room
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Today I discuss how we often get distracted by the world around us. We live in a “noisy” world, making it hard for us to just sit and be. Oftentimes that noise distracts us from being present to our purpose in this world–what we were put on this earth to do. I encourage you to go to that dark room, take the time to remove yourself from all the noise, and just sit with your thoughts to consider what you truly want and what your life’s purpose is. Here’s to another day of living intentionally.Caitlin

Jul 20, 2023 • 14min
The Best of Writing Episodes: It's Time to Drop the RACE Strategy.
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!The RACE writing formula simply stands for “restate, answer, cite, and explain”. This is widely used by middle school ELA teachers teaching writing as it makes a great tool to help learners construct their answers in a clear, logical format. However, this formula proves to be challenging when students need to move into essay writing.If you’re one of the middle school ELA teachers who’s seeking help with teaching writing, but are required to use the RACE writing formula or a mashed up version of it, then listen in as Caitlin and Jessica share what we call the Evidence-Based Writing Approach that they developed to address the gaps in using the RACE writing formula.Tune in now to hear:[1:36] Jessica starts off with how the RACE formula works and how it’s a great starting tool to teach students how to write short, constructed responses. However, writing essays consist of more than just jumping straight into their thesis or claim.[2:54] Caitlin touches on how students need to know how to formulate an introductory paragraph, several body paragraphs that support their claim, and a well-thought out conclusion to end their essays — all of which the RACE formula does not teach.[4:47] Jessica introduces the EBW Approach that includes 10 steps for your students to follow to be able to write well-thought out, text-dependent essays.[6:49] Caitlin discusses how the same writing struggles show up time and again with using RACE. You’re essentially left reading identical essays that only repeat the question and answer it with some random quotes and the same piece of supporting evidence afterwards.[7:42] Jessica pinpoints that these struggles are present when the writing tool you’re using no longer meets the needs and expectations of your students as the questions become more complex. You can learn more about introducing a more advanced framework in podcast Episode 159: The 2 Game-Changing Sentences That Will Instantly Improve Your Students’ Essays.[9:49] If your students are stuck writing basic paragraph after basic paragraph and if they are capable of more than just summarizing an evidence rather than explaining it, then you will want to hear more about our EBW Framework in our EB Writing Program. We have a free resource available that you can use to start teaching your students writing beyond using the RACE formulaClick here to listen now!Click here to watch on Youtube!Subscribe & Review in iTunesAre you subscribed to our podcast? If you’re not, we want to encourage you to do that today. We don’t want you to miss a single episode. We add a brand-new episode every week, and if you’re not subscribed, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out on those. Click here to subscribe in iTunes!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, select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” and l

Jul 18, 2023 • 11min
Episode 237: Get Your Students Actually Enjoying Writing with this FUN Activity
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!On this episode of Teaching Middle School ELA, Caitlin and Jessica discuss a fun and engaging lesson called "The Case of the Stolen Pearls" that can help middle school students enjoy writing. The activity involves solving a mystery to figure out which teacher stole a pearl necklace using an evidence-based writing approach. They discuss the importance of teaching literary analysis as the foundation of every other writing style and share tips for improving student writing scores.The Case of the Missing Pearlshttps://www.ebteacher.com/free-argumentative-writing-activity-SMAre you enjoying the podcast?Tag us on Instagram @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review!Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Jul 17, 2023 • 5min
Monday Mindset: Forget What You Think You Need
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In this episode, I delve into the concept of forgetting what you think you need. Life happens for us, not to us, and releasing the desire for unnecessary wants can bring about peace and happiness in the present moment. By questioning our perceived needs and taking responsibility for our own happiness, we can embrace a sense of inevitability in our success. I encourage you to let go of expectations, allowing a deeper understanding that happiness is within our control.Here’s to another day of living intentionally.Caitlin

Jul 11, 2023 • 23min
Episode 236: Get the Best Writing Results You've Ever Seen with this Framework
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Caitlin and Jessica discuss their EBW approach to literary analysis writing in this episode of Teaching Middle School ELA. This proven framework was developed by Caitlin and Jessica when they were middle school ELA classroom teachers. This writing approach provides a basis for other writing genres, offering students a clear structure that helps them become confident writers.Are you enjoying the podcast?Tag us on Instagram @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review!Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!

Jul 10, 2023 • 3min
Monday Mindset: Stay Brave
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Today I delve into the power of staying brave. Inspired by Brene Brown's advice, I reflect on a recent batch planning event and the concept of staying brave in moments of uncertainty and vulnerability. Despite the acknowledgement that certain parts of the teaching process can be difficult and challenging, I encourage you to embrace the discomfort. So, when faced with challenging situations, we should stay brave, lean into it, and not give up, because we are capable of overcoming them. Here’s to another day of living intentionally.Caitlin

Jul 4, 2023 • 20min
Episode 235: If Your Students Only Write One Essay this Year, THIS is the One!
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!On this episode of Teaching Middle School ELA, Caitlin and Jessica focus on teaching writing and share a proven approach to teaching literary analysis. They discuss the positive impact of this approach on student growth and test score results. The episode emphasizes the importance of consistency and using text-dependent writing prompts to create a framework for students to build upon and respond to complex questions and text. Listeners will hear Caitlin and Jessica share personal stories and experiences from the classroom, giving valuable insights into the teaching process.Are you enjoying the podcast?Tag us on Instagram @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to subscribe to our channel and leave us a review!Your review helps us reach even more middle school ELA teachers just like you! It would mean so much to us. To leave a review in iTunes, click HERE by scrolling down our show page, selecting a star rating, and tapping “Write a review.” Let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!