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ELA Brave and True: A Blog by Marilyn Yung

Road-tested teaching ideas and resources | Writing contests specifically for middle schoolers | Essays on education

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Recent Posts

I teach a bunch of rejects June 11, 2019
My top three movies for the last week of school that will let you keep your teaching integrity June 4, 2019
My attempt at teaching kids how to add narration into their dialogue May 28, 2019
The Graphic Essay: A fresh way to discuss theme with evidence, commentary, and a dash of symbolism May 21, 2019
2019 Middle School Writing Conference…A Great Day! May 14, 2019

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Welcome to my teaching blog!

This is where I share my experiences from my middle school ELA classroom. Share and comment so we can get to know each other!
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Marilyn

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Instagram: elabraveandtrue

When you finally visit a place you’ve taught your students about for years... I searched through lower Manhattan to find the Triangle Shirtwaist Company building. @triangle_fire_memorial For the rest of this post, click link in bio. • • • • • #english #teaching #education #teach #middleschool #trianglefire #humanrights #newyorkcity #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #languagearts #literature #books

Don’t assume that kids who don’t “follow along in the book” aren’t listening. We’re in the middle of reading James Swanson’s Chasing Lincoln’s Killer in seventh-grade. A student brought these Confederate States of America bills from the era to show me. This student usually doesn’t follow along in the book, but apparently he’s listening and connecting with what we’re reading about the Civil War, the CSA, and the turmoil Booth put the nation through when he assassinated President Lincoln. Works for me. • • • • • #writing #teach #middleschool #teachersfollowteachers #history #reading #books #english #civilwar #abrahamlincoln #teachersofinstagram

This week, my eighth-graders began reading Frederick Douglass’ narrative. Such an exciting time! Here’s a passage from the introduction by Rev. Prof. Peter Gomes that spurred some interesting discussions: Race is the continuing moral dilemma of America and the inheritance of slavery its ineradicable moral stain. The further we are removed from the circumstances of legal slavery and social and racial segregation and the more eager we are to move beyond that inheritance and onto other issues, the more persistent that awful legacy becomes. In other words, we must confront the darkness of our past to move forward in progress. What’s your take? • • • • • #teach #education #teachersofinstagram #frederickdouglass #america #history #socialjustice #success #perseverance #literature

Since I began teaching seven years ago, I’ve learned that sometimes it may be necessary to try a new technique, a new curriculum unit, or simply a new idea more than once in order to fairly assess its effectiveness. Usually, the first time I try anything, it fizzles. At the conclusion of the semester, when students were turning in their final drafts of their projects, I was glad Writer’s Workshop (WW) was finally over. I didn’t like the unstructured nature of class time that the workshop encouraged. Perhaps my classroom management skills weren’t up to par, or perhaps I’ve just relaxed a little. Perhaps it’s a bit of both, but the less structured nature doesn’t concern me like it used to because I’m sold in Writer’s Workshop now. Besides, my WW is fairly structured in its procedure to begin with. That built-in structure requires that kids stay on task. If I had decided to give up on WW after my first attempt, or even the second, I would have missed out on an activity that some students say is their favorite. Many students seem to like coming into class, having a short lesson, and then being able to work at their own pace on the projects of their choosing. | See link in bio for the rest of this post on my blog. • • • • • #writing #teach #education #middleschool #words #writersworkshop #students #choice #teachersofinstagram #responsibility #accountability #parenting #writingcommunity #teachersfollowteachers

I love to use the writing of former students as mentor texts in my middle school ELA classes! It’s helpful to students, in my opinion, to show them effective examples written by their peers. What do you think? • • • • • #education #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #english #writing #teach #middleschool #languagearts #wordsofwisdom

It seemed like a crazy request last week when my students were uploading their poems to a publisher of youth poetry. After writing poems about their favorite places... in a comfy chair in their bedroom, on a sturdy branch in an oak tree in their backyard, in a deer stand above a pasture... a box popped up on the Submit page. It read: Confirm your humanity. Didn’t they just do that, I thought? When kids write about playing with Barbie dolls, crashing a bike, sipping hot chocolate, or swooshin’ a three, aren’t they also confirming their humanity? | Click link in bio for my blog where you’ll find the rest of this post. Thanks for reading. • • • • • #teachersofinstagram #teach #teacher #teacherlife #edtech #education #humanity #technology #tech

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N A N O W R I M O !November 1st, 2019

4 months to go.

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