Elizabeth Stapula is a creative high school ELA teacher in Virginia. She loves helping her students bring writing to life through screenplays. Read on to see how Elizabeth energizes her creative writing activities for high school students through screenwriting in ELA. The Joy of Screenwriting IN ela In the midst of the height of the pandemic, in the beginning of 2021, I found myself, ... Read More about Screenwriting: Creative Writing Activities for High School Students
How to host a Socratic Seminar in Secondary ELA
When done right, Socratic Seminars can be the best low prep, high impact activity you will ever do. They can cut down on your grading without sacrificing rigor. They can build classroom community without being cheesy. They can create an engaging lesson without students (or admin) knowing you put it together a few minutes before class. However, without a few tips and tricks, Socratic ... Read More about How to host a Socratic Seminar in Secondary ELA
Creative ideas for teaching Limetown podcast in ELA
Kami Toumey is an innovative 8th grade English teacher in Indiana who was looking for a substitute for the Serial podcast when she discovered Limetown. She is going to share some fun and creative ideas for teaching Limetown season one! When the now infamous March of 2020 hit my school, we, like a lot of you, immediately fell into remote teaching. And like many of you, I looked at my ... Read More about Creative ideas for teaching Limetown podcast in ELA
3 Ways to Use Wordle in the Classroom
Have you caved to the Wordle craze yet? Curiosity of seeing those mysterious green and yellow squares everywhere finally got the best of me, and I’m so glad it did! Wordle word game makes me nostalgic for the Words with Friends era that I played a decade ago with my then boyfriend and now husband. Plus, any game that generates thinking, builds vocabulary, and supports spelling is a win for ... Read More about 3 Ways to Use Wordle in the Classroom
5 Strategies for Diversifying and Adapting Scripted ELA Curriculum
This is guest blog post by Tarah Taylor, a dedicated middle school teacher in Ohio. I knew her experience with diversifying and adapting ELA scripted curriculum would be helpful because one of the most frequently asked questions about the ELA ideas on my site is: But what if I have scripted ELA curriculum? It’s a valid question and one that I have no background in, so take it away Tarah! In ... Read More about 5 Strategies for Diversifying and Adapting Scripted ELA Curriculum
Literary Charts: Interdisciplinary ELA Activities
After attending two summer STEM seminars with fellow ELA, math, and science teachers, my outlook and inspiration for interdisciplinary ELA activities formed an upward trajectory (chart puns anyone? No? Ok moving on). There is just something truly magical that happens when cross-curricular crosses the synapses in our brains. If you could have seen my mind lighting up while this bookish ELA educator ... Read More about Literary Charts: Interdisciplinary ELA Activities
