

Teaching Middle School ELA
Caitlin Mitchell
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 6, 2021 • 12min
Why Literary Analysis Is the Most Important Type of Writing - 132
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!The best learning takes place when students are having fun and feeling challenged at the same time. Of course, it can be tough coming up with ideas for engaging, rigorous lessons. Listen as Caitlin and Jessica give you an overview of an awesome narrative writing activity to help you spiral your standards, challenge your students, and have a lot of fun at the same time. Links mentioned in this episode: ebacademics.com/literaryanalysis 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

Jun 29, 2021 • 13min
Are You Still Teaching Writing This Way? Enough Already! - 131
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!When Jessica and I changed the way we taught writing to the EBW Approach, our students’ outcomes wildly improved. No matter how inexperienced your students may be with academic writing, the simple framework and approach we created will elevate your students’ writing and help them achieve results you can’t yet imagine. 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

Jun 22, 2021 • 10min
Making Next Year Fun and Easy, Without Sacrificing Learning or Rigor - 130
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!The best learning takes place when students are having fun and feeling challenged at the same time. Of course, it can be tough coming up with ideas for engaging, rigorous lessons. Listen as Caitlin and Jessica give you an overview of an awesome narrative writing activity to help you spiral your standards, challenge your students, and have a lot of fun at the same time. Links mentioned in this episode: https://ebacademics.com/membership 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

Jun 15, 2021 • 12min
Approaching Your Curriculum With a System, Not Just Lessons - 129
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Does your lesson planning ever feel frantic, rushed, or disorganized? Do you ever feel like you’re trying to “hit” standards in your classroom, but your students aren’t really grasping them? Listen as Jessica and Caitlin discuss how to plan with a system, so you can lesson plan more quickly and help students meet the standards in a more effective way. Links mentioned in this episode: http://ebacademics.com/event http://ebacademics.com/bpl21 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

Jun 8, 2021 • 15min
The 1 Thing You Need to Shave Hours Off Your Planning - 128
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Would you like to be that teacher you’re jealous of? The one who leaves right after school on most days but still manages to teach fun, effective lessons each day? Become that teacher by learning to use a streamlined system to lesson plan. Not sure how to do this? This episode will help you begin! Links mentioned in this episode: ebacademics.com/event https://ebacademics.com/2021/05/ep-125-why-you-should-batch-plan-at-the-beginning-of-summer.html ebacademics.com/bpl21 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

Jun 3, 2021 • 17min
The Positive Effects of Finding the Perfect Mentor - 127
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Are you looking for a way to refresh your teaching with new ideas and strategies? Would you like the kind of support a coach can offer: encouragement, guidance, and advice? Then what you need is the perfect mentor! Every teacher can benefit from having a great mentor. Listen here as Caitlin and Jessica show you how to find one! Links mentioned in this episode: ebacademics.com/event https://www.instagram.com/ebacademics/?hl=en 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

Jun 1, 2021 • 13min
Finding Your Passion After a REALLY Hard Year - 126
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Listen as Caitlin and Jessica discuss the importance of pursuing passions outside of the classroom so that you can thrive in the classroom. How can you make this happen? By considering what systems and processes will make your school year easier and planning them now. Make time for yourself; you don’t just deserve it - you need it. 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

May 25, 2021 • 11min
Why You Should Batch Plan at the Beginning of Summer - 125
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!At first, you may not be excited by the thought of planning next year’s lessons in June, but by the end of this podcast episode, Caitlin and Jessica will have convinced you to do it. How? By giving you several reasons that batch planning early will make your teaching stronger, take pressure off your planning, and give you a fuller, happier summer. Links mentioned in this episode: https://ebacademics.com/2021/04/batch-planning-get-your-life-back.html https://www.ebteacher.com/offers/LJJ3FmCS/checkout 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

May 20, 2021 • 15min
How to Organize Your Curriculum for Maximum Learning - 124
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In this episode, you will learn how to use batch planning to strategically and intentionally plan your school year, using standards as your guide as you spiral students’ learning with mini lessons and carefully placed units. They will also point you toward resources like Batch Planning Live and their new book, The Empowered ELA Teacher, to give you even more support! Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.ebteacher.com/offers/LJJ3FmCS/checkout?coupon_code=BPLSUMMER47 https://ebacademics.com/2021/04/batch-planning-get-your-life-back.html https://eb-academics.ck.page/2ea7252d50 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

May 18, 2021 • 14min
Creating Rigorous Lessons That Don’t Stress Your Students Out - 123
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In this episode, Caitlin and Jessica talk about how you can add rigor to your lessons without making your students feel overwhelmed or lost. It all starts with the belief that your students will succeed! Then the planning starts from there, as you scaffold lessons and build your students’ confidence (along with your own!). Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shakespeares-Sonnet-18-Writing-Activity-Valentines-Day-DIGITAL-and-PRINT-2985174 https://ebacademics.com/2021/04/batch-planning-get-your-life-back.html https://eb-academics.ck.page/2ea7252d50 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