Teaching Middle School ELA

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!As teachers, we are problem solvers.It’s just a natural part of what we do and who we are.But the other day, I heard this concept called “Compassionate Emptiness” from former President of Starbucks, Howard Behar.The idea is that what most people need (and I immediately thought of students) is someone to just listen.To be there to listen to them with compassion - and nothing else. Hence, the emptiness.That instead of listening and trying to figure out a solution while the other is speaking, we’re simply there to listen.That’s it.I’d be willing to bet that more often than not, this is simply what our students need (and perhaps even what you need as a teacher right now).Someone who listens.So this week, my invitation to you is to share this concept with your students. Remind them that you are there for them if they need someone who will listen.And perhaps even share the concept with your colleagues and admin.I mean, really … imagine a work setting where people simply listened to each other with compassion. And actually, truly listened.Something to think about.If you plan to share this or this landed for you, please hit “reply” and let me know. I love hearing from you every week!Here's to another great week, living intentionally.Caitlin

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.FREE RESOURCE: Curious about trying Batch Planning this year? Simply click the link below to grab our 10 Tips to Get Started Batch Planning and take a look at how easy it can be to begin!https://www.ebteacher.com/free-10-tips-for-Batch-PlanningBatch Planning is the ONE thing you can do now that will have the biggest impact on your entire school year!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!I'm sure you know the old adage that we are who we surround ourselves with.Meaning, when we surround ourselves with A+ players in life, we inherently and subconsciously get elevated to their level.And vice versa.If we're constantly surrounding ourselves with negative thinkers or people who always complain and aren't living the 100% version of their life ... we will eventually get sucked in and stoop down to that level of living.It reminds me of a specific basketball game during my senior year of high school.Our team was the best in the county. In fact, the girls varsity team had won the California state title just two years prior. This team was good.And there was just one final game between us and a perfect season.It was against the worst team in the league, and we had this thing in the bag. We were going to go undefeated yet another year and head to the CIF North Coast Section Playoffs.I'm sure you can guess where this is going.We lost that game.And we did so because we played down to their level.The team who we showed up as on the court that night was not the team that had blown out every other team that season.We became who we surrounded ourselves with, and we paid for it by missing out on a perfect season.While this example is trivial at best compared to how important this concept is to our lives and our happiness, I think it's a perfect illustration of just how much of an impact our surroundings can have on us.So my invitation this week to you is this:Stop spending your precious time around people who bring you down and make you miserable.(Not even just in person ... stop wasting your time consuming negativity in the online space. Consider getting off of TikTok or Instagram or FB Groups where you are bombarded with negative messages that will subconsciously mold a negative narrative of your life.)Find the A+ player at your school, at home, amongst your friend group, and intentionally spend more time with them.And if you have someone in your life that you can't let go of, but they are bringing you down, perhaps consider how YOU get to be their A+ player in their life. How can you bring them up to your level in your way of being?Anyhow, just some food for thought this week.Are you game and ready to join me? If so, just hit "reply" and let me know that you'll be consciously finding that A+ player ... perhaps even message me back with their name ❤️Here's to another great week, living intentionally.Caitlin

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In this episode, our guest Neill Williams shares the BEST practices you can habitually apply to improve your work week and personal schedule while increasing your productivity and creativity. Caitlin’s personal friend and life coach, Neill, was once the girl who was focused on climbing up the corporate ladder which compelled her to work 50 to 60 hours a week, believing that if she worked more hours then she could accomplish more.Are 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!I truly hope each week you find time to listen and to think about each idea because a lot of these simple mindset shifts can really start to positively impact your life.How great would it be to share these topics with your own students every Monday and have a discussion about what it means to them in their lives?What a beautiful way to build classroom community, culture, and a sense of belonging.Very cool.Anyhow, here's this week's Monday Mindset all about something my dad said to me on a near-daily basis as a kid.Here's to another great week, living intentionally.Caitlin

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Halloween in Middle School can go two ways! You can pretend it’s just another day and keep it business as usual. You have your bell ringer assignment ready to go, you keep reading the next chapter in Refugee, your students take the grammar quiz for the unit you just wrapped up. OR you create a memorable Halloween experience that your students will LOVE, and it’s completely zero-prep and standards-aligned! Are 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 Feedback Mini Literary Analysis Writing PD: H

I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!I truly hope each week you find time to listen and to think about each idea because a lot of these simple mindset shifts can really start to positively impact your life. How great would it be to share these topics with your own students every Monday and have a discussion about what it means to them in their lives? What a beautiful way to build classroom community, culture, and a sense of belonging. Very cool. Anyhow, here's this week's Monday Mindset all about something my dad said to me on a near-daily basis as a kid. 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 3 low-prep ideas you can use in your classroom to surprise and delight your students and make the lesson memorable. These ideas all make wonderful “into” lessons. If you are new to the podcast, an “into” lesson is part of the EB Lesson Planning Framework, which consists of into, through, and beyond lessons. Are 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 Feedback Mini 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

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?Are 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