Each month, we share five things we love as part of our Footnotes Newsletter. Take a look at some of our favorite English language arts resources, articles, and more we found in July!
Tackling your class syllabus before school starts is a challenging but necessary task. In this video, sixth-grade ELA teacher Jennifer walks through her entire syllabus for the upcoming school year. Watch and see how she outlines her policies about class participation, grading, assignment expectations, and other classroom procedures in ways that students will understand.
Not sure exactly what you want to do on the first day of school? Christina at The Daring English Teacher has you covered! Her station activity gets students up and moving as they complete introductory activities such as a student interest survey and a syllabus scavenger hunt.
Not every student will arrive to class with an innate motivation to read. The secret to fostering eager readers, according to Dr. John Spencer, is to encourage student ownership of the reading process. Visit his blog to learn about eight practical ways you can empower readers in the classroom during the first weeks of school.
Bell ringers are the perfect tool for getting students focused and ready to learn as class begins. According to Melissa at TeachWriting.org, these quick activities can help students stay organized, preview new content, or review previous lessons. In this article, Melissa presents some of her favorite bell ringers that emphasize student choice, encourage independent reading, and promote class collaboration.
Finally, have a laugh with this lighthearted article by Malia Bartek at We Are Teachers. Poking fun at everything from common student questions to grading woes, these ELA memes are all too relatable!