Middle School Café – Strategies & Support for Middle School ELA Teachers
Are you a middle school ELA teacher looking for practical, proven strategies to help your students grow as confident readers and writers? Middle School Café is your go-to podcast for engaging teaching ideas, classroom-tested tools, and real talk about what works in today’s ELA classroom.
Each episode delivers actionable tips to help you close reading gaps, build student ownership, and create a classroom culture where literacy thrives. Whether you're navigating a curriculum, supporting struggling readers, or just looking for fresh ways to inspire your students, you'll find support, strategy, and a sense of community right here.
Join a community of passionate middle school ELA teachers working to build confident, engaged readers. Visit www.middleschoolcafe.com for classroom tools, podcast extras, and resources to support every student on their reading journey.
Middle School Café – Strategies & Support for Middle School ELA Teachers
Summer Book Study: Reflecting on Reading Instruction [Bonus]
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In this special bonus episode, I'm sharing three key ideas from our summer book study of In the Best Interest of Students by Kelly Gallagher. Whether you're reading the book along with us or hearing about it for the first time, you'll come away with practical reflections to consider as you prepare for the new school year. We explore the importance of protecting instructional practices that help students become readers, creating meaningful reading experiences, and recognizing how small instructional decisions shape students over time.
Rather than offering a list of new strategies, this episode is an invitation to pause and reflect on your own teaching. What practices are worth protecting? What reading experiences will your students remember? And how can small, consistent choices make a lasting difference throughout the school year? If you're looking for thoughtful encouragement as you begin planning for the months ahead, I hope you'll find an idea or two to carry into your classroom this fall.
Want to be part of the conversation? Join our free Building Strong & Confident Readers community! I go live each Monday throughout the summer to discuss another chapter and reflect on practical ideas for the classroom. We still have several chapters to go, and all previous discussions are available as replays.
FREE ELA Community
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