English & Language Arts Teacher BlogThis blog is for secondary English, ELA, and language arts teachers filled with lesson plans, humor, product recommendations, teaching ideas, tips, and tricks and much more! Because what we do matters! 🙏 Helpful Stuff Share Personal (but Appropriate) Stories One of the simplest methods for engaging students is through personal storytelling. I remember telling students stories about my tricky lawn mower that would start and stop randomly, the tiny teacup chihuahua that ‘bit’ (felt more like a pinch really, haha) my ankles once when I walked to check my mail. Funny enough they remember these stories years after they had left my class and I see them adulting in the real world. My kiddos enjoyed laughing at my funny stories of my confusion in bilingual education, struggles in school & the workplace, and they also saw a more human side to their teacher. It lets them know that we struggled with awkwardness, with conflicts in friendships, and just growing up in general. The stories about my struggles in English class helped student learn the importance of grit and perseverance. The irony that I am now an English teacher myself seems to tie up the story very nicely for my students. (I know this because they tell me, haha) Try it out and you might be pleasantly surprised! Recommendations Here are some of the best books I have used for SSR, independent reading, reflection journals, and any other activity where you need scary short stories! The short length and easy reading levels are key selling points to students! (The following links are Amazon affiliate links, but don’t worry, it does not affect your price at all :)) Check out our FREE universal reading assessment & writing activity for a quick assessment of student understanding & comprehension! Also, what student doesn’t love stickers? Especially cool Halloween ones?! Even my too-cool seniors feel proud when they get a smiling jack-o'-lantern on their papers! This value pack of 880 Halloween-themed stickers is the best deal I could find! Try these out and let us know how it goes! Don’t forget to tag us in your posts on Instagram as @shining_scholar_education and Facebook as Shining Scholar Education! Because through helping others, we all win! A Little Inspiration No one is coming to save you, there is no such thing as a hero, there is only you deciding that you are worthy. Marine Ashnalikyan As always, please forward this to any teacher that could benefit from this message and help spread the love!
The goal of these messages is to help ourselves improve—for our students, for our loved ones, and for ourselves. Leave a comment with Facebook below or can always message us on Facebook here. Keep changing the world, Charlie with Shining Scholar Education P.S. Consider joining our TPT Affiliate Program for 25% commissions here! Want to join our email list? Click below! MS ELAR teachers Click here! HS ELAR teachers Click here! And check out our TPT store here! |
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