Teaching Middle School ELA
Welcome to the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, where we help English Language Arts teachers create dynamic, engaging lessons while balancing the everyday responsibilities of teaching middle school.
I’m Caitlin Mitchell, a longtime ELA educator and curriculum creator, and I know firsthand how challenging it can be to manage grading, planning, and student needs—while still trying to have a life outside the classroom. That’s why every Tuesday and Thursday, I bring you practical strategies, curriculum inspiration, and innovative teaching ideas to help you feel confident, prepared, and energized.
Whether you're looking to revamp your writing instruction, streamline your planning process, or engage even the most reluctant readers and writers, you’ll find actionable support here. You'll also hear real classroom stories, fresh lesson ideas, and occasional interviews with other passionate educators.
If you teach reading and writing to middle schoolers and want to stay inspired and up-to-date with best practices in ELA education, you’re in the right place. Tune in every week and let’s transform your teaching—together.
Episodes
572 episodes
Episode 424: How to Cut Your Planning Time in Half Without Cutting Corners
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode. I walked through four concrete ways to cut your lesson planning time in half without cutting corners. First, I talked about building a truly distraction-free planning block so you can get b...
Episode 423: Two Things to Do This Summer That Will Change Your Entire School Year
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast episode, I tackled the three beliefs that keep middle school ELA teachers stuck: the idea that you cannot plan until you know your students, the fear that batch planning takes too much time up front...
Episode 422: Monday Mindset: Get Used to Being Uncomfortable
Our Monday Mindset Episode for today is about Discomfort is not your enemy, it’s your evidence. We open with a raw teaching memory: a first day in front of students, every word scripted, terrified of getting it wrong and being exposed. I...
Episode 421: The Real Reason You're Still at School at 6 PM (And It's Not Your To-Do List)
If you have ever looked up at the clock and realized you are still in your classroom at 6 PM, we want you to hear this clearly: the real problem is not your to-do list. It is the belief underneath it. I walk through the story so many teachers l...
Episode 420: It's Not About How Much Time You Have — It's About What You Do With It
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast episode, I stopped blaming short periods and long blocks and show how a simple daily framework makes any middle school ELA schedule feel doable. I explained why predictable starts and calm endings b...
Episode 419: Monday Mindset: Stop Waiting to Be Ready
In today's Monday Mindset episode, I talked through the mindset shift that changes the game for teachers and for anyone chasing a bigger life: Ready isn’t a feeling, it’s a Decision. I share what I told a friend who asked how I went from an ide...
Episode: 418: You Didn't Become a Teacher to Feel Like This — Here's How to Get Back to Loving It
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode, Caitlin gets real about teacher burnout and the challenges middle school educators face every day. She challenges common myths about lesson planning, rigor, and engagement, while sha...
Episode 417: The Real Reason Your Students Aren't Retaining What You Teach (And How a Simple Framework Fixes It)
Do your students struggle to retain skills from one unit to the next? You're not alone.In this episode, I explored why standards mastery often feels out of reach for middle school ELA teachers and uncovered the planning habits that may b...
Episode 416: Monday Mindset: Life Is Too Short for the Wrong Circle
🎙️ In today's Monday Mindset episode...Who you spend time with matters more than you think. In this episode, I shared a powerful reminder that our mindset, confidence, and outlook are often shaped by the people around us—both insi...
Episode 415: Stop Planning Week to Week — There's a Better Way and It Changes Everything
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode, I challenged the idea that Sunday planning sessions are just part of being a teacher. Let's explore how week-to-week planning can contribute to burnout, disconnected instruction, and the co...
Episode 414: Why You're Always Running Out of Time (And It's Not Because Your Class Period Is Too Short)
🎙️ In today’s Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode...Ever feel like there’s never enough time to get through your lesson? You're not alone. In this episode, Caitlin breaks down why ELA pacing feels so challenging and shares ...
Episode 413: Monday Mindset: The One Thing They Can Never Take From You
🎙️ In today’s Monday Mindset episode...When teaching feels like a constant stream of new mandates, less time, and less control, it’s easy to feel powerless. But what if the one thing that matters most can never be taken from you?<...
Episode 412: What We Would Have Done Differently This Year — And What We're Keeping for Next Year
In today’s episode of the Teaching Middle School ELA podcast, Caitlin is joined by EB teachers Genevieve and Melinda for an honest conversation about what worked this school year, what they would change next year, and the small shifts that made...
Episode: 411: How to Keep Students Engaged When Everyone (Including You) Is Done
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, I share the most powerful lever I’ve seen for middle school ELA engagement: making engagement your north star. Not entertainment. Not fluff. Engagement that lives right alongside rigor and sta...
Episode 410: Monday Mindset: The Victim Mindset
In today's Monday Mindset episode, You’ll hear concrete mindset shifts: separating valid feelings from limiting narratives, finding gratitude without pretending, advocating for yourself, and returning to the one lever that actually moves y...
Episode 409: Could Becoming a Happier Teacher Be as Easy as This?
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode, The fastest way to make next year feel different isn’t a new binder or a prettier calendar. It’s a single belief you stop treating like a fact. As we hit the end-of-year home stretch, I wan...
Episode 408: Monday Mindset: Creating Evidence for Yourself
You can’t “think” your way into becoming a new version of yourself. You become them by collecting proof one small action at a time and that’s the Monday Mindset I’m bringing to you today. If you’ve been waiting for motivation, clarity, or the p...
Episode 407: What It Takes to Create the Teaching Life You Dream Of
In today's Teaching Middle School ELA podcast episode, I talked about how you can love teaching and still feel crushed by everything wrapped around it. We get real about the moment many middle school ELA teachers know too well: sitting in the c...
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 willpowe...
Episode 405: Monday Mindset: Never Question the Decision
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...
Episode 404: Tips for Using Your Prep Period to Grade (Instead of Plan)
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 become...
Episode 403: The Feedback Framework That Cuts Grading Time in Half
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...
Episode 402: Monday Mindset: Margin for Magic
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 no...
Episode 401: Graphic Group Essays: A Writing Assignment Your Students Will Actually Like
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 engagi...
Episode 400: A Simple Hack for Helping Students Find the Main Idea in Informational Text
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 stud...