

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

Jun 30, 2020 • 14min
Are You Still Teaching Writing This Way? Enough Already! - 073
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: Hooking Your Students

Jun 23, 2020 • 15min
A Clear Timeline for Spiraling Narrative Writing Throughout the Year - 072
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In today’s episode, Jessica and I share five simple opportunities to get your students practicing narrative writing throughout the year. With just a little bit of planning, these ideas can easily be woven into any curriculum, and the results in your students’ writing will definitely be worth 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: Hooking Your Students

Jun 16, 2020 • 14min
Does Narrative Writing Have Middle Child Syndrome? - 071
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!The importance of narrative writing is often glossed over because it can feel like a less academic genre to some teachers. However, today, Jessica and I make the argument that well-organized and thoughtful narrative writing instruction builds writing skills that will serve your students all year long, and in all other genres of writing. Links mentioned in this episode: ebacademics.com/narrativetraining 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: Hooking Your Students

Jun 9, 2020 • 10min
A Counterintuitive Tip to Uplevel Your Narrative Writing - 070
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In today’s episode, I share my best tip for focusing students’ narrative writing so that the plot of their stories is engaging and organized--all the way through the end. Listen in to hear the simple strategy that changed everything for me. Links mentioned in this episode: ebacademics.com/narrativetraining 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: Hooking Your Students

Jun 2, 2020 • 21min
An A-ha Moment from a One-Room Schoolhouse That Will Change the Way You Teach Narratives - 069
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!On the podcast, Melissa shares how the EB Narrative Writing Course changed not only her experience teaching writing, but also the academic outcomes of her students. She discusses how the strong and logical mini lessons in the course, accompanied by the recommended mentor texts, helped transform her students’ writing. Links mentioned in this episode: ebacademics.com/narrativetraining 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: Hooking Your Students

May 26, 2020 • 15min
Why You Have to Throw a Publishing Party - 068
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!We make the argument that hosting a publishing party--and telling your students about it beforehand--will actually improve your students’ writing and make the entire writing process run more smoothly. We also offer tips for going big with your publishing party or keeping it quick and simple. Either way, you will be wow-ed with the results, and your students will feel accomplished and engaged. 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: Hooking Your Students

May 19, 2020 • 13min
Two Changes to Make Right Now for Teaching Narrative Writing - 067
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In today’s episode, Jessica and I unpack two reasons your students’ narrative writing isn’t meeting your expectations, and we share exactly how you can change that! Prepare to put your ego aside and learn some simple strategies to dramatically improve your instruction and get you and your students the writing results you’ve always wanted. 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: Hooking Your Students

May 12, 2020 • 17min
Why Our Way of Teaching Narratives Gets Results - 066
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In today’s episode, Jessica and I share our approach to narrative writing. Not unlike our approach to almost all Language Arts content, we recommend a spiral approach. I know that I certainly can’t remember something if I’m taught it once and then never practice it again. The same is true for our middle schoolers! Today we share our best tips for incorporating narrative writing throughout your school year--and no, it doesn’t have to be overwhelming! Plus, we explain our favorite narrative writing game, and how to adapt it for online distance learning. 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: Hooking Your Students

May 5, 2020 • 22min
We're Celebrating Our Birthdays! A Get-to-Know-Us Episode - 065
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!Our journey as colleagues and business partners began almost a decade ago, and today we share a bit about our backgrounds, how we met, and our answers to three surprise questions in order to delve a bit deeper into who we are as educators, business owners, and women. 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: Hooking Your Students

Apr 28, 2020 • 13min
A Special Narrative Writing Project For The End of The Year - 064
I’d love to hear from you! Send me a text!In today’s episode, Jessica shares the model text that changed the way she taught narratives. She discusses her experience using the short story, Up North at the Cabin, to help her students structure their own narratives and hone their figurative language and transition writing skills. Jessica even shares her favorite way to publish students; finished narratives and guess what? It’s online-friendly, too! Links mentioned in this episode: https://www.amazon.com/North-Cabin-Marsha-Wilson-Chall/dp/0688097324 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Figurative-Language-Cheat-Sheet-2146679 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: Hooking Your Students