English teacher classroom

By Presto Plans I first realized the power of bell ringers years ago, thanks to a particularly unruly class that would bounce off my walls after lunch. After consistently wasting the first ten minutes of class getting students seated, settled, and ready to learn, I decided to give bell-ringers a try. They were immediately a classroom game-changer. Bell-ringers—sometimes referred to as “warm ups” or “do nows”— are questions, tasks, or other warm up activities that students complete at the…

There are three kinds of teacher-decorators: those who were born for Pinterest, those who can’t, and all the ones in between (such as the broke, the tired, and the I-have-no-time-to-decorate). However, making a classroom appeal to middle and high school students doesn’t HAVE to involve serious crafting or expensive, time-intensive projects. Check out these tips from me and Bonnie from Presto Plans as you prepare your classroom for the fall (or at any time of year that you want to give it a…

If there are two things my students know, it is that I assign paragraphs often and that I grade them rather harshly -especially in the second semester. It’s not that I want my students to fail, or that I have a fear of assigning too many As, but more so, this is because I want them to succeed. Students need to master how to write a paragraph before they can tackle an essay. I want my students to be able to write a defined and well-supported paragraph when they leave my classroom so that they…

An overview of 9 simple but effective classroom management tips secondary teachers can use to feel confident in their classroom and increase student learning.

Three poems high school English teachers should teach.

To help reluctant readers, it is even more important that we find the perfect books for high school students who hate reading.

Step by step guide to setting up a classroom for a first year teacher. Practical tips on organizing and time management to create a warm & welcoming class.

Happy summer, friends! It's fading fast, is it not? Maybe you are here today because you are in search of teacher must haves from Amazon or because you are looking for first year teacher must haves for yourself or for a friend or family member. Either way, I've got a list of classroom must haves for you! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, or link to any products or…

Are you looking for books to use in your high school classroom that will actually engage your students? High school novels aren’t always the easiest to choose, especially when you have a group of students who are reluctant readers. Try a few of these suggestions for novels to teach in high school English that will keep your students excited about reading.

After 19 years in the classroom, I‘ve picked up a few tricks that have saved me from hours reinventing the wheel year after year. The best thing I ever did for myself was complete some upfront work that led to years of little to no prep and planning! Here are my top three work smarter, not harder tips for easy lesson planning: 1. Save and store reusable worksheets and task cards. Classrooms don't have a lot of storage space, but keeping photocopies of the materials your students will use…