I'm not anti-technology at all, but this year, I am intentionally moving more of our writing process to paper in middle school ELA. My motivation is both research-based and an attempt to protect my students' beautiful and unique human voices. This year, I'll be moving everything from brainstorming to drafting to paper, and then my students will write their final copies in Google Docs. Let's do a deep dive into the why and how, and maybe you'll decide to take this journey with me!

Instead of simply teaching vocabulary lists, teach students how to unlock the meaning of unfamiliar words using five research-based vocabulary strategies that improve reading comprehension, academic vocabulary, and word knowledge.

One of my all-time favorite things about teaching 7th grade ELA is watching my kids transform their reading habits from September to June. I know this is true in your classroom as well--my 7th graders come to me at all different levels of comprehension and interest in reading, so we focus on GOALS. The goal for every student is to grow stronger as a reader. Like working out makes a person stronger physically, the best way to grow stronger as a reader at the secondary level is to read at least...