Episode 406: Step-by-Step Approach for Implementing "Genius Hour" in Middle School

In today's Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode, I share Step-by-Step Approach for Implementing "Genius Hour" in Middle School. The last few weeks of school can feel like you’re holding your classroom together with tape and sheer willpower. I’m sharing a smarter option: Genius Hour, a structured way to give middle school students real autonomy without turning your class into a free-for-all. When kids get to pursue something they genuinely care about, engagement changes fast and the learning gets deeper, even when the topics stretch beyond ELA standards.Subscribe for weekly support, share this with a fellow ELA teacher, and leave a review so more teachers can find the show.

In today's Monday Mindset episode, Your toughest habits don’t break in big dramatic moments. They break in quiet negotiations you barely notice, the quick “just this once” you tell yourself when you’re tired, overwhelmed, or craving comfort. We’re sharing one mantra that has become a steady compass for intentional living: never question the decision.If you want a stronger week, write the mantra down, name the decision you’ve been renegotiating, and commit to living it. Share this with a colleague, and leave a review so more teachers can find it. What’s one decision you’re done debating?

In today's Teaching Middle School Podcast Episode, your prep period is getting stolen and it’s not because you’re “bad at time management.” Between emails, copies, surprise student needs, and drive-by conversations, that one small window becomes a catch-all and the work that matters most ends up in your bag at night. We’re breaking that cycle with a structure that helps middle school ELA teachers grade at school more often and get evenings and weekends back.➡️Here's the link to grab our free Batch Planning Guide: https://www.ebteacher.com/free-10-tips-for-Batch-PlanningSubscribe for more time-saving ELA routines, share this with a teacher friend who needs their nights back, and leave a review if it helps. What job are you assigning to your next prep period?

In today's Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, We share a practical before-during-after feedback framework built from real teacher tips across our staff. Before grading, we require a structured self-assessment using a rubric and checklist, plus simple labeling or colour coding so students prove where the claim, evidence, and justification live. That one shift removes a huge chunk of surface-level comments and lets us respond to the thinking, not the scavenger hunt.If you want a grading system that is sustainable and still improves writing instruction, hit play, try one phase this week, and then subscribe, share with a teacher friend, and leave a quick review with what strategy you are starting with.

You can look fine on the outside and still feel alone on the inside and that gap can get painfully wide when you’re a teacher expected to carry everyone else. Today’s Monday Mindset is a short reset built around a simple truth: you’re not the only one quietly struggling, even if it looks like everyone else has it figured out. We start with the idea of “three hearts” the self the world sees, the self close people see, and the self only you see and why the hidden parts of us can become the home of loneliness.  If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a teacher friend, and leave a review so more educators can find these Monday Mindsets.

April makes it hard to keep essay writing rigorous without burying ourselves in grading. We use graphic group essays to help students practise claims, evidence, and justification through a visual, collaborative process that keeps writing engaging and low stakes.• why April is the perfect time for a lighter essay structure• what a graphic group essay is and how it combines visual planning with group writing• using the strategy to replace a standard essay or prep for a formal draft• how collaboration boosts thinking beyond a single student perspective• choosing prompts with complexity so students can defend multiple answers• ideal group size and optional roles to build individual accountability• building the graphic essay on paper, with cards, or digitally while keeping core essay parts• coaching student reasoning in real time instead of only through grading• adding presentations for speaking and listening plus revision opportunitiesIf you do try this in with it in your classroom with your students, let me know over in our Facebook group if you are a part of our membership and you're an EB teacher, or if you're not, head over to our Instagram at ebacademics, send me a direct message, and I would love to read about how this goes with your students.

Struggling to get your students to actually find the main idea—without guessing or copying random sentences? You’re not alone.In today’s episode, we’re sharing a simple, classroom-tested hack that helps middle school students confidently identify the main idea in informational text—without the frustration (for you or them!).If main idea lessons have been feeling like a struggle, this quick shift might be exactly what you need

Today's Monday Mindset, We challenge ourselves to teach for the “May us” by making choices now that reduce end-of-year stress and strengthen student skills. We unpack why readiness and motivation rarely show up first, and how holding the line on routines builds future peace for us and a foundation for our students.• picturing the “May you” and making March and April decisions with the end in mind• rejecting the myth of feeling ready before taking action• naming common temptations like shortening writing tasks or skipping justification• holding steady on policies, routines, and writing frameworks to make grading and the final stretch easier• balancing survival days with consistent expectations most days• remembering students watch what we reinforce and carry those skills forward

Today's episode is Part 2 of Episode 397. Your students can label sentence types on a worksheet, crush the grammar game, and still hand in an essay packed with run-ons and fragments. That disconnect is not laziness. It is transfer, and it is one of the biggest pain points in middle school ELA. Today we talk about the moment teachers care about most: when grammar moves off the quiz and into real student writing.We break down the third pillar of the EB Grammar Framework, application to writing, and why it has to come after direct instruction and engaging practice. You will hear exactly why “apply everything you have learned” overloads student brains during drafting, and how narrowing the target helps grammar stick during authentic writing tasks like literary analysis and argument essays.

If your grammar lessons feel like they’re going in one ear and out the other… You are not alone.In today’s Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode, we’re breaking down why traditional grammar instruction just isn’t sticking—and what’s actually happening in your students’ brains during those lessons. More importantly, we’re diving into a simple, practical shift you can make that gets students engaged and applying grammar in their writing.If you’ve ever thought, “Why aren’t they getting this?!”—this episode is for you