So you just purchased this massive set of articles from your favorite Teachers Pay Teachers author. You have a ton of great material to help engage students at any point in the school year. But are you using articles correctly? IS there a correct way to use them? What best practices of using articles in the classroom should you implement? What pitfalls should you avoid?Using Articles in the Middle School Classroom - DON'T #1Don't hand out the articles and activities without previewing them first! Do you know the cultural and…

You have a lot of material to cover. But your students' brains are winding down for the end of the day (or month, or school year), and you're wondering how to engage them in a lesson that's going to require authentic thinking and learning. Gallery walks are the perfect tool you need to engage middle school students. This instructional strategy includes socialization, movement, and a variety of cognitive skills! What more do you need to hear? Okay, I'll tell you a little bit more. Real quick, though...what is a gallery…

Hello, social studies teachers! Don't you love a seasonal product? Seasonal products are perfect for quick lesson plans, homework, enrichment, early-finisher work, substitute plans, virtual learning assignments...all the things! I created a St. Patrick's Day history lesson perfect for rounding out your March lesson plans. How can you use this in your middle school (or high school!) classroom? I have a few suggestions! Jigsaw Activity Read aloud the first page, whole-class. Then, have students jigsaw the next two pages (Legends & Celebrations). To do this, assign students different sections of…

Welcome! I know a business needs a permanent home (since social media tends to behave more eratically), and a website/blog is the next step in my journey as a Teachers Pay Teachers author. I was hesitant to start an Instagram account or a blog because I just overthink what others think of me. Hence the title of this post, Insecure Teacherpreneur! It's cute and it rhymes, but it's probably not the best tagline for selling products! Yet, here we are. I'm Clare! I'm a middle school social studies teacher, and…