Teaching Middle School ELA

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!While it's ironic to suggest to ELA teachers to read more, I think expanding into different kinds of reading material, such as books about happiness, upping your game, avoiding burnout, and elevating ourselves will help us from feeling the monotony of doing the same things over and over. One book I highly suggest reading is called Sustain Your Game by Alan Stein Jr. which talks a lot about the feeling of being stuck in a rut and not wanting to push ourselves to level up, to finding inspiration and discovering what more we're capable of.https://www.amazon.com/Sustain-Your-Game-Performance-Stagnation-ebook/dp/B09BN3ZTCG

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!The other day a friend was helping me with something I was working on. She really gave me so much of her time, feedback, and soul. She showed up for me in such a huge way that caused me to be immensely filled with gratitude. I asked her how I could repay her, and she told me about this concept of radical generosity.It's all about the way we inherently treat each other and show up for others while giving kindness and expecting nothing in return. The idea of radical generosity has totally changed how I look at everything in my life.As I've started to show up this way for other people, I've seen a world of abundance show up for me. It's so fascinating to see what you get in return when you pour your heart and soul into other people.Think about what radical generosity may look like for you as a partner, teacher, or friend.Here's to another great week, intentional living.Caitlin

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Please note that this episode originally aired May 2021, and we are sharing it again this week as the kickstart to our Batch Planning Series for the month of December!This is leading up to our January 7-8th Batch Planning Live Event! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This episode is very special because we’re tackling one of our all-time favorite topics–batch lesson planning (without losing your mind).  Links mentioned in this episode:BATCH PLANNING LIVE WINTER 2023: https://www.ebteacher.com/Winter2023BPLCODE: BPLWINTER2023 Learn more about the EB Teachers' Club Here: https://www.ebteacher.com/EBTC-TMSELAFREE DETECTIVE LESSON: https://ebacademics.mykajabi.com/eb-detective-free-lessonAre you enjoying the podcast?Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to Subscribe 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 and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!Other episodes you might enjoy:Constructive Criticism: How to Change Your Mindset and Be Open to FeedbackMini Literary Analysis Writing PD: H

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Writing conferences are a great way to bring your students’ focus back to writing with the content you want and how you want to accomplish it. In this episode, Caitlin and our guest Chad Pettit discuss how to use writing conferences successfully in your classroom, how they can enhance student learning, and why they should be on your radar if you want your students to write more and learn more.Links mentioned in this episode:https://www.ebteacher.com/EBTC-TMSELAAre you enjoying the podcast?Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to Subscribe 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 and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!Other episodes you might enjoy:Constructive Criticism: How to Change Your Mindset and Be Open to FeedbackMini Literary Analysis Writing PD: H

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In the past 24 hours, I swear I've seen this concept of "Quiet Quitting" everywhere.It's this idea that staff does the "bare minimum" as a way to push against the system that's not valuing them or their work.And I find this fascinating, especially in education.Because, let's be honest, education is not in a great spot right now to say the least.Something (or rather, lots of things) has to deeply and fundamentally change.And while this email isn't here to discuss that - it's here to support you and your own mental health - I just want to acknowledge that what many of you are facing as educators right now is a system that is flawed, that doesn't value and support teachers they way that they should be ... the list could go on.But all of this got me thinking about what's called the CTFAR Method that I learned from Neill Williams that goes as such:C = CircumstanceT = ThoughtsF = FeelingsA = ActionsR = ResultsAnd while this concept won't be for all of you, I think it will serve many of you - especially those of you stuck in a position that isn't positive, but who still want to find a way to be happy ... this is your life, after all.While you can't control all aspects of CTFAR - right, we can't control our circumstance ... we can control everything else.We get to be in charge of our thoughts around a circumstance, which lead to our feelings, our actions, and ultimately our results, or the reality we experience in our lives.It essentially takes that old adage of "Life is 10% what happens to you, 90% how you react" but in a much clearer, concrete way.So my thought for you around this is the following:While you can't control your circumstance at all, you do get to control your thoughts around those circumstances, which means you get to control your happiness.And this isn't an either/or situation. This is a both/and.You can be mad at the system, frustrated to no end at unsupportive admin, or left in disbelief with bad student behavior AND empower yourself to control the narrative of your life.In fact, in a recent podcast episode I listened to with Ed Mylett and Dean Graziosi, they were talking about using the pain or pleasure we face as humans to kickstart us in propelling ourselves forward to control that exact narrative, with the ultimate goal of using pleasure to take inspired action toward a different life.I'm happy to share the link to this episode if you're interested - just hit "reply" and let me know.And while I know this concept isn't for everyone, I have found it to be extremely powerful in every aspect of my life - from work to relationships to personal growth.The gist? We can't control our circumstances, but we can control everything else.Here's to another great week, living intentionally.Caitlin

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Today we're going to share three strategies for setting yourself up for success during the holiday season so you can walk out the door with a smile on your face knowing that you have plans throughout the year that will make December a wonderful time to spend with family and friends.Links mentioned in this episode:https://www.ebteacher.com/EBTC-TMSELAAre you enjoying the podcast?Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to Subscribe 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 and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!Other episodes you might enjoy:Constructive Criticism: How to Change Your Mindset and Be Open to FeedbackMini Literary Analysis Writing PD: H

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Last week, someone shared this concept with me, and it was so fascinating and inspiring that I just knew it was going to get to be our Monday Mindset for the week.Here's to another great week, living intentionally.Caitlin EBTC $1 Trial: https://www.ebteacher.com/EBTC-TRIAL-TMSELA

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!There are times when something just does not go the way we expected it. That instantly creates a tiny bubble of frustration that grows inside as other things start going sideways too. Like a normal human being, some days are just bad days. It’s important that we acknowledge that but more importantly, building an attitude of gratitude despite the negative things you can count that happened.Links mentioned in this episode:https://www.ebteacher.com/EBTC-TMSELAhttps://ebacademics.com/2021/08/ep-139-the-single-most-effective-classroom-management-system.htmlAre you enjoying the podcast?Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to Subscribe 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 and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!Other episodes you might enjoy:Constructive Criticism: How to Change Your Mindset and Be Open to FeedbackMini Literary Analysis Writing PD: H

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!The other day I was listening to a short snippet from the CEO of a basketball camps company about "being about it."And the premise was this.All too often we sit in thinking mode. We have an idea or something we want to go do or a dream we want to accomplish, but we don't ever act.And it got me thinking about you, as a teacher.As teachers, it can be incredibly challenging to "be about it" because we don't have very much time in the day to dedicate to much else beyond teaching - especially with all of the extra things you have to do as a teacher.And I wonder how life could be different if that wasn't the case.What would life look like for you if you did have time to do what you wanted to do?What would you be about?What actions would you take and put into place to create a different life for yourself - one that aligns with your deepest values?Because when our values, actions, and results all align ... that's when many of us will find true inner happiness.And I wonder, too, if you want to be about that, what could you do this week differently that would allow you the space to do so?Would it be rinsing and repeating a lesson? Or surrendering and letting things be easy? Or prepping a week in advance to set your future self up for success?Because as I see it, we all have options in life - even when it's hard and it really might not seem like it.So, what will you "be about" this week?To another week, living intentionally,CaitlinEBTC $1 Trial: https://www.ebteacher.com/EBTC-TRIAL-TMSELA

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Caitlin and Jessica will be talking about hosting Publishing Parties to celebrate your students’ written work at the end of each major writing unit. We will spill all the details you need to set this up and pitch in ideas you can use in your own classroom!Links mentioned in this episode:https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Publishing-Party-Toolkit-8747298?utm_source=EB%20Email&utm_campaign=Publishing%20Party%20ToolkitAre you enjoying the podcast?Tag us @ebacademics and let us know which episode you're listening to!Make sure to Subscribe 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 and scroll down to Rating and Reviews. Click on "Write a Review" and let us know how this podcast is helping you in your ELA classroom!Other episodes you might enjoy:Constructive Criticism: How to Change Your Mindset and Be Open to FeedbackMini Literary Analysis Writing PD: H