High school english 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…

As secondary teachers, when it comes to decorating we often don’t know where to start. Sometimes, we just don’t have the time or energy to devote to another long project with possible m…

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…

Here are SEVEN engaging activities for the first week back to school in middle school and high school English Language Arts. #middleschool #highschool #8thgrade #7thgrade #6thgrade #ELA #english #languagearts

If you are a high school English teacher you know that the first week back to school is critical for establishing classroom routines, setting expectations, developing norms, and getting to know your students. You also need to get into some meaningful content! This is every lesson you need for that first week of school! I walk you through how to establish a safe place of learning, how to create classroom norms, and what content your students will be most successful with that first week of…

I chose this photo because this classroom has a very similar setup to my English class in high school. My teachers name was Mr. Tucker. He was quite an amazing English teacher. His methods kept the entire class interested and involved. Mr. Tucker is a huge part of my literacy experience. I never enjoyed English classes until I studied with Mr. Tucker.

My middle school classroom. Students love earning tickets that they later redeem to sit in cozy spots such as this one.

Tips and resources for creating an engaging true crime unit in your high school English Language Arts classroom.

When back to school season rolls around, I always have my guard up when it comes to shopping. There is always SO MUCH that I WANT, and so little that I actually NEED. What I’ve done for the past few years is this: I set a budget and I set a limit on my projects. The point of su