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Daylight Saving Time in ELA
Daylight Saving Time is a perfect occasion for reading and writing about it in English language arts. This post offers ideas and freebies to incorporate the concept such as writing an argument, hosting a debate., write a compare-and-contrast or cause-and-effect essay, reading comprehension activities, learning about seasons and daylight, read and write a satire, etc.
My Rule #1 for Teaching Elementary School
Attention! We all love it! Elementary-aged kids can't get enough of it -- mainly from adults (unlike middle and high school kids who care more about...
Patriot Day in ELA
As an English language arts teacher, you are in a unique position to help students process and understand why we observe Patriot Day and what...
6 Fun, Kid-Friendly Self-Care Activities for Families
I am so excited to host my first guest blogger here at lovinglanguagearts.com. I am thrilled that a fellow like-minded, health-and-family-oriented...
Black History in English Language Arts
Black history is our history. It's not some separate history to marvel. It's not a gimmick to gawk at in February. Still, while it's somewhat...
MLK in ELA: Reading & Writing About Martin Luther King, Jr.
Honoring MLK in ELA really is a no-brainer because there's a prolific amount of passionate writing you can find that's been written by, and about,...
The New Year in ELA: Ideas for Reading & Writing in January
The New Year in ELA means new opportunities for reading and writing! Get your students pumped by providing activities that get them to embrace a...
Winter Fun in ELA
It's that time of year when there's a nip in the air and a palpable sense of anticipation for all that winter brings. Not only are your students...
Fall in ELA: 20 Ideas for Reading & Writing in Autumn
Once your students return to school in the fall, it's time to grab their attention and get them excited about reading and writing again! Fall in ELA...
15 End-of-the-School-Year ELA Activities
With summer approaching, this can be a challenging time to keep students engaged, or merely paying attention at all! What with tests behind them,...
Earth Day in ELA – Ideas for Reading & Writing in April
Do you realize that every single day is designated as a special day? You know like National Hot Dog Day? But, just like in life, some days rise to...
Teaching Students That Attitude is Everything
I remember, back when I was a student, I would hear from time to time, “Attitude is everything.” I must be honest, though, what I often heard was...
St. Patrick’s Day in ELA – Ideas for Reading & Writing in March
It's your lucky day in ELA! That's because St. Patrick's Day is one more opportunity to incorporate an engaging, fun, multicultural topic into...
My Rule #5 for Teaching Middle School
My rule #5 for teaching middle school is to pick and choose the most interesting content you can find, whenever possible -- topics that are relevant...
5 Interesting Facts About the History of Valentine’s Day
Ah Valentine's, how I love thee and dislike thee all at once, lol. Let's just say I've had a love-hate relationship with Valentine's Day my whole...
10 Interesting Facts About Pandemics & Vaccination
These 10 interesting facts about pandemics and vaccination may serve as: curiosity satisfiers, conversation starters, research topics, writing...
Valentine’s Day in ELA: Ideas for Reading and Writing ALL February
I've written blog posts about the importance of setting a good feeling tone in the classroom, making learning fun, and affective learning (find out...
20 Idioms About Love and the Heart
An idiom is a saying that began long ago, persisted in our culture, and can confuse you if you take it literally. It makes sense that there are many...
Interesting Facts About Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is not just your average celebration. Also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, it is the grandest festival in China, and it...
“The Hill We Climb” Poem in English Language Arts
I am not touching politics here or now with a ten-foot pole, but I will say that the Biden Administration employing a poet laureate, 22-year-old...
My Rule #4 for Teaching Middle School
My rule #4 for teaching middle school will make your adolescent students happier and more engaged, which will make you happier and more engaged....
3 Funny Christmas Holiday Rhymes in ELA
All across the nation, just before winter break, teachers are scrambling to find last-minute activities that lightheartedly combine ELA skills and...
My Rule #3 for Teaching Middle School
Think back for a second to recall your favorite class of all time, or at least a favorite teacher. Did the teacher have a genuinely warm smile that...
3 Differences Between Veterans Day and Memorial Day
Your students (deep down inside) are wondering what the difference is between Veterans Day and Memorial Day. And those truly inquisitive students...
Humongous List of 500 Character Trait Words
We all have character traits formed by a combination of behavior, attitude, upbringing, genetics, mood, practice, trauma, praise, social skills,...
Analyzing Characterization 6 Ways in 6 Stories With 6 Characters
In literature, there are flat characters and there are round characters. No, I'm not talking about Flat Stanley and Humpty Dumpty (lol). I'm talking...
Character Attribute Web Reading Literature Activity
New feature image A wonderful way to delve into character analysis! Really gets students of all ages to think about what a character is truly made...
5 Cool Facts About Ice Cream
Here are 5 Cool Facts About Ice Cream: 1. Long before modern refrigeration and freezers, around 200 BC, the Chinese enjoyed a frozen mixture of milk...
Figurative Language Fun Reading and Writing
Who likes figurative language? Everybody does! (That's hyperbole.) The great thing about it is you can say something is something it's not and get...
10 Graphic Organizers for Reluctant Readers and Writers
Sometimes it just takes one simple thing to get reluctant readers and writers motivated to start their task. That one simple thing could be a fun,...
10 Great Ways for Students to Research and Present Information
This year, when you are looking for ideas that go beyond the boring book report or essay, but you still want students to read informational text and...
How Chameleons Change Colors: An ELA Literacy in Science Lesson
This fun lesson combines science and ELA (a.k.a. literacy in science). Students read about why and how chameleons change color. They explain why...
My Rule #1 for Teaching Middle School
Teaching middle school is like no other teaching assignment - like no other task on Earth for that matter. As a teacher, you need to be just the...
Writing About Me Symbolically
Sometimes it just feels good to write about yourself. The introspection is therapeutic. But it can also be difficult. That's when figurative...
My Rule #2 for Teaching Middle School
Teaching middle school is like no other task on Earth. In fact, when you tell people about it, they’re like “Wow! How do you do that?” because it is...
Back to School Writing Activities for English Language Arts
As the school year starts, you have three wishes: 1) You want students to like your class and look forward to the year with you. 2) You want...
Writing a Poem from a Character’s Point of View
An excellent way to get students to really immerse themselves into a character’s point of view is to have them write a “Five Senses Poem” from the...
Writing a Concrete Imagery Poem About a Summer Memory
In your experience, do students just starting the school year want to get to know each other a little, but don't usually want to have to talk too...
Writing About Me Using Hyperbole and Simile
This is a fun lesson in which you give students permission to write some fake news (based on truth) about themselves using similes and hyperbole....
Get Inside the Mind of a Character Reading Literature Activity
Better than a book report! Students delve into the minds of characters they’re reading about. In this post, there are samples of the "minds" of Anne...
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Reading Literature Lesson
I like to get students excited about reading literature by having them do a fun activity to go with the story. This is especially true when the book...
Labor Day in ELA
You're curious about Labor Day and, deep down inside, students are too. Here are a few interesting facts about Labor Day to satisfy your curiosity,...
100 Questions on Standardized ELA Assessment Tests
After having been an ELA teacher for 10 years, and then an assessment writer contracted with multiple Ed-Tech companies (while running my store...
The 10 Reading Informational Text Assessment Test Targets (Progressing from Grades 4 to 12)
No matter which state (or U.S. Territory) you live in, your state’s ELA standards include these 10 Reading Informational Text Assessment Test...
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