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Personalizing the Middle School Language Arts Classroom

The handout (PDF)  below is a collection of successful activities, lessons, and strategies I have used to better meet the individualized needs and interests of my middle grade ELA students. Building relationships and trust with our students is the first and most important step toward their success in our classrooms.  

Contents of Handout

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  • Interest Inventory

    • The students complete these on the first day of school, and I respond to them in our first teacher-student conference.

  • Parent Letter

    • Send this home to describe my class, my passion for teaching, and my expectations in this class.

  • Course Syllabus​​

  • Student Checklist

    • A "pact," so to speak, that my students complete so we're all on the                                                                                              same page.

  • Writing Log

    • Students kept a record of every major writing assignment                                                                                                    (Title, Genre, Self -Assessment on a scale of 1-10).

  • Spelling Log

    • Each grading period, I test the students on their OWN misspelled words.

  • Reading Log

    • Students keep a record of all books read (Title, Genre, Rating),                                                                                                               I referred to these a lot in our conferences too.

  • Journal Letter

    • A letter I write to my students, explaining what our journaling will look like.

  • Informative Poster Project

    • Students complete this personal form and design a poster depicting their responses. Rubric is included.

  • Letter to Parents about Personalized Research Project

    • My 8th grade students completed a research paper about themselves. Interviews with parents and grandparents were required.

  • Me-Quilt Instructions

    • My 6th graders created "quilts," each of the 9 squares containing research and essays about themselves. Quilt assessment rubric is included.

  • Letters to Myself

    • On the last day of school, my students write letters to themselves. They read these letters again the week before they graduate, one of my favorite days!

  • I Am Poems

    • Students create 10-12 "I Am" statements. Half are true. Half are false.

  • I Wish Poems

    • Each student writes 10 "I Wish" statements. After embellishing with transitions and vivid languages, each student gives me his/her favorite wish, and I create a class "I Wish" poem from those. Powerful!

  • Student Evaluation of Me

    • I always ask the students to complete these, so I know what I did right or what I need to do better. I value their opinions, and I want them to know it.

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