Creating effective reading routines early in the school year is crucial for setting the tone for academic success in a middle school English Language Arts classroom. A consistent reading habit not only improves literacy skills but also fosters a lifelong love for reading. However, many teachers struggle with the steps to make a consistent reading routine happen. Here are practical steps to help you build an effective reading routine for your middle school students.

Step 1: Set Clear Reading Goals

Setting achievable reading goals is the first step in establishing a reading routine. For middle school students, start by setting both short-term and long-term goals. Short-term goals might include finishing a book within two weeks or reading a specific number of pages each day, while long-term goals could involve completing a series or reaching a certain number of books by the end of the semester.

Encourage your students to set personal reading goals tailored to their interests and reading levels. This personalization helps motivate them and gives them a sense of ownership over their reading journey. Having a daily reading tracker or bookmark can help with these goals. As your students read, they can track their reading for the day or week. Grab this FREE Reading Tracker for your students!

Step 2: Create a Cozy Reading Environment to Create a Reading Routine

Designing a comfortable reading space in the classroom can significantly impact students’ willingness to read. Consider arranging seating to create cozy nooks or using bean bags and cushions for a relaxed atmosphere. Proper lighting is also essential—natural light is ideal, but adjustable lamps can work well too.

Involve students in setting up the reading area. When they contribute to the design, they feel more connected to the space and are more likely to use it.

Step 3: Incorporate Daily Reading Time

Daily reading practice is vital for developing strong reading habits. Schedule a specific time each day for independent reading. Because some of the middle school classes are on tight time periods, the first 10 minutes of each period is a perfect way to get students to settle down. Stick to this schedule consistently to make reading a regular part of the routine. During this time, allow students to choose their own books to foster a sense of autonomy and cater to their interests.

Step 4: Use Reading Logs and Journals

Reading logs, journals, and reading bookmarks are excellent tools for tracking progress and reflections. Provide students with templates to record the books they read, their thoughts, and any new vocabulary they encounter.

These logs not only help students keep track of their reading but also allow you to monitor their progress and provide feedback. Encourage students to reflect on their reading experiences in their journals to deepen their understanding and engagement with the text.

Step 5: Introduce a Variety of Genres

Exposing students to a wide range of genres is crucial for expanding their reading horizons. Introduce them to genres such as fantasy, mystery, historical fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

Create book displays or reading lists featuring different genres, and encourage students to explore new ones. This variety can spark interest and help students discover new favorite types of books.

Step 6: Implement Book Talks and Discussions

Organizing book talks in the classroom can generate excitement about reading. Schedule regular sessions where students can share their thoughts on books they’ve read.

Guide these discussions with open-ended questions and encourage respectful dialogue. Suggested questions might include: “What did you like most about the book?” or “How did the main character change throughout the story?”

Here is an extensive list of book talk questions from Scholastic.

Step 7: Leverage Technology

Incorporating technology can enhance the reading experience. Use e-readers and reading apps to provide access to a wide range of books. Online resources like book recommendation sites and reading challenge platforms can also be valuable.

Teach students how to use these tools to find books and track their reading progress. Technology can make reading more accessible and engaging for digital-savvy students.

Step 8: Encourage Family Involvement

Family involvement is key to reinforcing reading habits. Suggest at-home reading activities, such as family reading nights or reading aloud together.

Communicate with parents about their children’s reading goals and progress. Provide tips for supporting reading at home, such as setting aside a daily reading time or visiting the local library together. Here is a great website that can give you some ideas for your parents to encourage family involvement in their child’s reading.

Step 9: Celebrate Reading Achievements

Recognizing and celebrating reading achievements can motivate students to continue their reading journey. Consider setting up a system for tracking and rewarding progress, such as a reading chart or certificates.

Organize reading challenges or competitions to add an element of fun and excitement. Celebrating milestones, no matter how small, can boost students’ confidence and enthusiasm for reading.

You can also create a book bulletin board like the one here on the right. Have your students fill out a book template, and add their books a shelf on your bulletin board. In addition, you can create a reading challenge for the class in a similar fashion.

Building a successful reading routine in middle school ELA involves setting clear goals, creating a comfortable environment, incorporating daily reading time, using reading logs, introducing various genres, implementing book talks, leveraging technology, encouraging family involvement, and celebrating achievements. Start implementing these tips today to foster a love for reading in your students.

We’d love to hear your experiences and additional tips for building reading routines. Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Finding an engaging read aloud for the middle school classroom is like hitting the jackpot. Read alouds are also a perfect way to engage your students at any time of the year.

First, while I wouldn’t change them for anything, middle schoolers are in a league of their own. Secondly, they love coddling like a youngster but like to be treated like young adults. Just like with younger students, read alouds provide middle schoolers with entertainment, fluency, comprehension enhancement, and stress relief. Here are a few great read alouds you and your middle school students will enjoy together.

Suggested Read Aloud Books

This suggested list of read aloud books are an excellent variety for your middle school classroom:

Weasel by Cynthia DeFelice

While this nonviolent story takes place in the 1800s, it is still relevant to the world we live in today. This easy read will captivate your students with its suspense and will give them something to think about. 

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Full of delightful characters, the author writes in a way that will entrance you and your students. Because his father fires a gun at him and his mother, “Ghost” is on the run, and he impresses a coach after crashing a nearby race. Ghost works hard to control his impulsivities and make positive choices as he continues on his running journey.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick

This book will give you all the feels while explaining a relationship between an oversized 8th grade boy with a small brain and a big heart, and a small-statured boy who seems to have endless knowledge, nicknamed “Freak”. The two boys come together to defeat bullies and their pasts that keep coming back.

Crash by Jerry Spinelli

Told from the perspective of the bully, Crash will give you an inside view of a young teenage boy’s mind. The major lesson in the story is popularity is not the most important aspect of life.

The Bully by Paul Langan

Regardless of their reading level or level of toughness, your students will love this book which takes place in an urban setting. Darrell will keep your students’ interest as he goes through the process of moving from Philadelphia to California and everything that comes along with the move. 

Read Aloud Websites & Resources

• 30 of the Best Read Alouds for Middle School

• 13 Read-Alouds to Help You Connect with Your Middle Schooler

• Why Reading Aloud to Middle Schoolers Works

Free Activity for Your Classroom

Are you looking for an activity for your students to complete while you are reading to them?  Here is a free reading log activity for you to use for any novel, chapter, or text!

What are some of your favorite books to read aloud to middle school students? I would love to add to my list! Happy reading! 

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Have you incorporated an author study in your classroom? Are your students tired of the traditional ways of learning about an author? Teachers are always searching for more engaging, exciting ways to engage their students.  I have a wonderful author study activity that is digital and engaging. My Author Adventures are digital, foster reading skills, take your students on virtual field trips, and are fun!

Incorporating an author study into your English Language Arts classroom has many benefits. One way to learn about an author, his/her writing, and their life is including this activity into your English curriculum, whether it is through research or digitally.  Author studies are perfect for culminating projects and connecting students with books. In addition, they help create life-long readers.  When your students become excited about a genre of literature, introducing your students to an author adds to this enthusiasm. I wanted to share with you 5 reasons to do an author study in your classroom.

5 Reasons to Incorporate Author Studies into Your Classroom

An author study develops critical thinking skills. First, students make connections between an author’s life and his/her work.  You students can also relate their life to the author’s life. Most importantly, your students will critically analyze a variety of the author’s work.  Your students will make inferences and draw conclusions.  These skills help develop your students overall reading skills.

An author’s writing becomes mentor writing for your students after an author study. When your students read multiple pieces of a particular author, they will begin to notice the author’s word choice and writing style.  You can have your students attempt to mimic the author’s writing by using the author’s work as mentor texts.  Provide your students with a line from the author. Then, have your students try to write a sentence just like the one you provide. Your students can use this technique to improve their word choice and sentence structure.

Take your students on a virtual field trip with an author study. Many classrooms are digital or have devices within the classroom. This gives students the opportunity to travel all over the globe and visit different places.  You can have your students use Google Earth to see the author’s birth place. Secondly, you can have your students check out a 360 view of a particular place that relates to the author. This brings engagement and the technological aspect into your classroom.

Make your students global readers. Broaden their genres. When kids find a book they love, they often will stick to the same genre.  Because an author may write through different genres, this will expose your students to other genres- fiction, non-fiction, biographies, etc. This will have your students branch out, and try new books.

An author study may forge a love of books.  Students tend to fall in love in with an author’s characters and the plot.  When a student finds their favorite book, they will usually tell you it is because it is action packed, highly engaging, and/or they just love the characters.  Introducing students to an author will expose them to more than one novel or short story. Students may be more likely to pick up another book by an author they are interested in reading.

Resources for Author Studies

The Author Studies Toolkit

Author Studies Resources

Great Activities for Author Studies

I have some great digital activities for a variety of authors.  These are perfect if you are doing an authors study in your classroom. With these activities, your students will go on an author adventure, reading about the author’s life and the author’s writing. Also, your students will spend time analyzing lines from their writing. They will also take a trip with Google Maps, and learn about the author’s birthplace.

EDGAR ALLAN POE AUTHOR ADVENTURES

RAY BRADBURY AUTHOR ADVENTURES

ROALD DAHL AUTHOR ADVENTURES

Your students will love these! Happy reading!

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Teachers are on the hunt for engaging ELA websites for their middle school English Language Arts students. Because of distance learning, teachers are scouring the Internet. They are trying to find a variety of lessons and activities to make the distance learning experience interesting and appealing. Teachers want to give their students a variety of online resources that assesses and reviews a variety of ELA skills-grammar, spelling, punctuation, reading skills and writing-while engaging and piquing their interest.

Below, I compiled a list of engaging ELA websites I have been using in my own distance learning experience.

ELA Websites & Resources for Middle School ELA Students

Quill.org-This is one of my favorite engaging digital websites I am using with my students in their distance learning experience. Quill gives students the opportunity to practice their grammar, mechanics and editing skills. If you are using the Google Classroom platform, you can easily upload your students, and assign the lessons using the Classroom.

Actively Learn-Out of all the reading websites like NewsELA, CommonLit, and such, this is one I really like because the articles are a bit more relevant and engaging for middle school students.

IXL-IXL offers a variety of skills for any subject; however, you can have your students take a diagnostic test, and focus on specific ELA skills with them. IXL is offering their premium membership free for 30 days.

EdPuzzle-EdPuzzle is an engaging video website. Teachers can assign videos with questions, and EdPuzzle pushes out the videos into Google Classroom.

Writable-This websites allows teachers to build purposeful, proficient writers while saving time on grading and prep. Teachers can choose from 600+ customizable assignments and prompts or create your own, then assign to start growing great writers. This is Google Classroom friendly! This website is currently free to teachers.

Teaching Tolerance -Teaching Tolerance has great lessons on inclusion, diversity, and tolerance.

I hope these websites are helpful in your exploration in digital and remote teaching.

Digital ELA Resources for Distance Learning

Here are some of my digital English Language Arts resources I have created for my own classroom and digital learning:

I hope these websites are helpful to you, and if you have any questions about any of the websites or my resources, please always feel free to email me at englishohmy@gmail.com.

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Are you in the hunt for the best novels for middle school students? Are you looking to find contemporary novels that are high-interest and add to your reading list? I have a list of novels recommended by my students!

First, finding novels that interest your students is tricky. Secondly, our goals as teachers is for our students to LIKE what they are reading. In order to accomplish this goal, I have my students choose their own independent reading novels; giving the students choice in their reading helps with their enjoyment and their willingness to read.

What are Middle School Students Reading?

Teens want to read current, relevant books. This is exactly what they will choose, too. My 8th grade students choose a book a month to read independently. After reading, they complete a Book Spine Activity to reflect on the novel. It includes a summary, recommendation, and rating. Check out the picture below!

I compiled a list of the five most engaging novels for middle school students, recommended by my middle school teens. These novels were read multiple times or by a few of my students.

Recommended Novels

Contemporary Novels

The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene:

Hazel Grace Lancaster, is a 16-year-old cancer patient. She meets and falls in love with Gus Waters, a similarly afflicted teen from her cancer support group. Hazel feels that Gus really understands her. They both share the same wit and a love of books, especially Grace’s touchstone, “An Imperial Affliction” by Peter Van Houten. When Gus scores an invitation to meet the reclusive author, he and Hazel embark on the adventure of their brief lives.

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus:

This is the story of what happens when five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has something to hide. This novel follows four different characters as their lives unfolds around the suspected murder of their classmate.

13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher:

It is the story of a young high school student as she descends into despair brought on by betrayal and bullying. This ends with her suicide. She details the thirteen reasons why she was driven to end her life in an audio diary which is mailed to a friend two weeks after her death.

Mystery & Suspense Novels

The Girl in the Locked Room by Mary Downing Hahn:

A family moves into an old, abandoned house. Jule’s parents love the house. Jules is frightened and feels a sense of foreboding. When she seeings a pale face in an upstairs window, she can’t stop wondering about the eerie presence on the top floor–in a room with a locked door. Could it be someone who lived in the house a century earlier? Her fear replaced by fascination. Jules is determined to make contact with the mysterious figure and help unlock the door. Past and present intersect as she and her ghostly friend discover—and change—the fate of the family who lived in the house all those many years ago.

Dystopian Novels

Divergent by Veronica Roth-

The novel Divergent features a post-apocalyptic version of Chicago and follows Beatrice “Tris” Prior as she explores her identity. This society defines its citizens by their social and personality-related affiliation with five factions. This removes the threat of anyone exercising independent will and re-threatening the population’s safety.

Other Recommended Novels

Here are other titles my students recommend:

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas

Heat by Mike Lupica

Reading Activities to Use with Books

Annotating Text

Literacy Centers for English Language Arts

I hope you enjoy these recommendations, and if you have any questions, please always feel free to reach out-englishohmy@gmail.com.

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Pre-reading activities are key to introducing a new short story, novel or piece of literature.  As English teachers approach a piece of literature, it is important to have students use their pre-reading skills. They should also use their prior knowledge to develop inferences and predictions in the text.

Pre-reading activities are some of my favorite activities to teach before my students dive into a text.  I love how the subjects of the literature evoke conversation, opinions and questioning about what is to come in the text. This is a perfect time to teach foreshadowing as well.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite pre-reading activities. I have one pre-reading activity you are going to want to implement in you classroom tomorrow!

What is Pre-Reading?

Pre-reading involves examining a literature’s title, subheadings and vocabulary. If pictures are provided, students formulate ideas and conclusions.  This is a great way for readers to acquire information and improve his/her reading comprehension before approaching the text.

Common pre-reading exercises include brainstorming. For example, students examine the title of the selection the class is about to read, listing all the information that comes to mind about this title. They then use pieces of information to recall and understand the material. Often a teacher uses a KWL chart, while others may use an Anticipation Guide. There are many types of pre-reading activities that a teacher can implement before reading a text. Over the last few years, I have used Prediction/Probable Passages.

What is Prediction Passages/Probable Passages?

One of my all-time favorite pre-reading activities that I implement in my classroom (on more than one occasion throughout the year) is Prediction Passages.  The reason I love this pre-reading activity so much is because it has my students using more than one pre-reading skill in the activity.  Prediction Passages asks the students to recall prior knowledge, comprehend vocabulary, make inferences, and of course, make predictions with the phrases and words given by the teacher.

How Does Prediction Passages Work?

1. The teacher creates a list of words/phrases/dialogue from the text that are important to the chapter, novel, or short story (without giving the story or text away). Here is an example from chapter 1 of A Long Walk to Water.

2.  Following, the students are grouped together, and the groups are given a list of words/phrases and a worksheet that includes six categories-setting, characters, conflicts/problems, ending/conclusions, vocabulary, and “I Wonder“.  The students are instructed that each word/phrase/dialogue can only go into a category ONCE.  

3.  The groups work together and decide where they believe these words and phrases should best be placed.  The students have to collaborate, discuss, predict and infer what they believe is happening in the text by arranging the words and phrases.

4. Next, once the students have all the words and phrases in the boxes, they will have to write a gist/summary statement that includes the words and phrases.  I suggest you instruct the students to highlight the words/phrases in their gist/summary statement, so they know they are using them all.  Take a look at my example below:

5.  I always have all the groups read out their summaries, as it is so much fun to see which group comes close to the actual events.  Sometimes, I even award the group that comes close to the actual story.!

Have you used Prediction/Probable Passages before?  What did you use it for, and how did it work in your class? Please comment below!

Would you like this particular activity I used for A Long Walk to Water-Chapter 1?  Grab it right here!

Prediction Passages

A Long Walk to Water-Chapter 1 Words/Phrases

I hope this activity will helpful and enjoyable in your classroom.  If you do use it, let me know how it goes.  You can drop a comment on this blog post. 

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Short Films in the English Language Arts Classroom

If you are looking for short films for plot and plot structure, check these out:

Piper

Cocoon

Cocoon is also perfect for irony and characterization!

Tips for Your Classroom

Are you looking for some other English Language ideas for your classroom. Check out some of these blog posts!

The Most Engaging Pre-Reading Activity for Your Classroom

A Teaching Secret That Will Get the Results & Progress You Want From Your Students

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The students worked with their group members on these questions, and it took them the entire period to get through all the questions.

On Wednesday, the students read their next 13 pages of their novel while completing their second reading log.

Thursday I introduced my students to the third mini-lesson on “How a Lead Hooks a Reader”.

We discussed how in YA novels, the author will try to hook a reader within the first couple of paragraphs.  Otherwise, they will lose interest in the book quite quickly.  After the students wrote down the notes in their Mini-Lesson section, their job was to locate the hook of their book.  It is quite interesting to see what “hooked” different students about the same book!

Lastly, on Friday, my students worked on a Literary Scavenger Hunt, a product I created.

With the Scavenger Hunt, the students have to go back into the text that they read, and find four of any of the devices listed on the right hand side.  They then have to quote the line from the text with the device, and explain how the line shows the device.  What is nice is that this sheet can be used over and over!

If you would like to check out this resource, you can find it here:  Scavenger Hunt for ANY Piece of Literature

Enjoy your week, and I will update you with more activities from our reading notebooks!

Kim

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I hope your Monday if off to a great start!  Long Island is anticipating a blizzard tomorrow, so it looks like I will not have school tomorrow.  This means I will be adding a day onto one of my breaks at some point (😡).

Last week my 7th grade students really dove into their reading notebooks.  As I mentioned in my last post, my students are reading three different books, and I was not all that sure how this was going to work out in the classroom.  I was anticipating a little bit of chaos, but so far, it has been working out fairly well!  ALL my students are completely engaged in their books!

Here is how last week went:

Monday:  My students assembled their notebooks, adding their tabs and cover.  If you would like a copy of the tabs, here is the link:

Thursday/Friday:  I then went over the Reader Response section with my students, and my students glued in the reader response pages.  Check them out below:

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I am about to start something new with my 7th grade students this upcoming week: Reading Notebooks.  Reading notebooks are often found at the elementary level, but I have been spending some time tweeking (and planning) the elementary version to fit the middle school classroom.

How Did This Begin?

After wrapping up our first novel of the year, I wanted to give my 7th graders an opportunity to choose their next book.  I have two 7th grade classes who are unmotivated readers.  I get a lot of, “uggghhhss”, when we read; therefore, I said to them, “How would you like the opportunity to choose your next book?”  My students really liked this idea, so I chose three high-interest novels the students could choose.  I didn’t want the students to choose any book, but books that I have read before, so I could keep track of their reading and have conversations with my students.  The books I chose were: Touching Spirit Bear, Inventing Elliot, and Fever, 1793. If you have never read these books, they are perfect for the middle school classroom!  They also appeal to both the girls and boys.  However, then came my next difficult task: How am I going to keep track of all my students’ reading and their comprehension when three different books are being read in the classroom?!?!

Reading Notebook

I looked at some reader response journals, group discussions, literature circles, but then I found the READING/READER’S NOTEBOOK.  After scouring some of the most fantastic elementary websites, I then asked myself, how can I adapt a elementary method into the middle school classroom?  With much planning and organizing, I think I figured it out! You are going to go on this journey with me, so I will talk about the successes and failures of our reading notebooks!

1. Elementary Schedule: In the elementary reader’s workshop are set up with a 5-10 minute mini-lesson with modeling, independent or group reading, and the last five minutes students share. During the independent reading, the teacher has certain groups break out, and the following day is a new mini-lesson.
Middle School Schedule: I am going to follow the model above, however, I am going to visit all the groups throughout their reading.  In addition, I am not going to start a new lesson the following day, but the students are going to work on reader response questions from the day prior as well as a group discussion activity.  This will give me a great sense of my students’ comprehension of the text.

2.  Notebook Setup:  From what I have gathered, teachers set up their reading notebooks differently depending on the needs of their students.  I am going to have my students set up their notebook with the following sections: Mini-Lessons, Reader Response, Chapter Reading Logs & Vocabulary.

My students are actually going to set up their notebooks today!  I will take pictures and share them with you.  Stay tuned!

Glitter Notebook by Glitter Meets Glue Designs

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I would like to introduce to you MRS. C, my new product, blog avatar! What do you think?!?!? How cute is she? She is definitely much more attractive than the real person ;).

I just finished chapter 2 in To Kill a Mockingbird with my 8th graders, and I forgot I had created an abridged, graphic version of chapter 1 for my Integrated students last year!  I created this version because my students really struggle with all of the information in chapter one-the history, vocabulary, language and length.

Rather than the chapter being 15 pages, I cut it down to 6!  I add pictures and clipart to make it easier for my visual learners, and I made the vocabulary a little easier, so my students could understand the concepts, comprehending the text.

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