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A community-driven blog providing resources for educators, by educators.

    Middle school student sitting at desk watching the front of the classroom

    5 Ways to Leverage Speaking & Listening to Build Better Writers

    If you’ve ever waited longer than you thought humanly possible for a complete sentence to appear during a writing assignment (only to discover nothing but tumbleweeds and doodles in the margins), you’re not alone. Middle schoolers often have great...

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    Elementary students working with teacher on a project

    Teaching Test Prep Organically: Building Confidence and Capacity for State Assessments

    Every spring, standardized testing can feel like a looming mountain for both students and teachers. The challenge is real: how do we prepare students...

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    Students in classroom raising their hands

    What's an Ethnolect? And Why Does It Belong in Your ELA Classroom?

    As middle school educators, we know the moment when a learner comes alive in class. Maybe they're debating a character's motivation or crafting a...

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    Student practicing CPR on a dummy

    Rhetoric Meets Remedy: Audio and Video Tools in a Collaborative Classroom

    In the first blog post of the Rhetoric Meets Remedy series, I discussed the importance of teaching for transfer. Teaching for transfer is vital...

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    High school teacher speaking to class at front of the classroom

    Rhetoric Meets Remedy: Teaching for Transfer

    As a public educator, one of the most vital things that I try to get my students to understand is how all the information they learn works together...

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    Middle school students working on laptops and engaging with teacher in a bright classroom

    From Chaos to Confetti: 5 ELA Routines That Make All the Difference

    Okay, real talk without judgement: How often do you arrive at school in the morning only to second-guess your Middle School ELA class routines? You...

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    Inflatable unicorn against backdrop of blue sky and white clouds

    Helping Students Earn the Sophistication Point in AP® English

    Every May, AP readers hear the same refrain: “The sophistication point is a unicorn.” But that’s not quite right. Unicorns don’t exist. The...

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    Beyond "Can You Help with Homework?"—Unlocking the Power of Multilingual Families

    What happens when we stop seeing language diversity as a barrier and start embracing it as our greatest classroom asset?

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    Unplugged AI: Hands-On Activities for Students

    You don’t need fancy robots or coding kits to help kids understand AI. In today’s digitally connected world, it may seem that learning about...

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