Over the years, online learning for English Language Arts has become easier for parents, teachers, and students.
When Covid-19 started in 2020, I never thought that a global trend of remote teaching would occur. Even though technology advances daily, the social benefits of attending a brick and mortar school are amazing. Literally overnight, the world changed.
Online teaching, or even hybrid teaching that mixes online learning with classroom learning, has become commonplace these days. Having digital tools and resources available when students are home because of the snow, sickness, or other reasons can be extremely helpful to keep students on track with their learning. This is why it’s important that teachers continue to have digital tools at the ready.
Tips on how to incorporate online learning with English Language Arts
For ELA teachers, below are some tips to help implement online learning for English Language Arts. These are helpful whether you’re a new teacher looking to incorporate online learning with your classroom learning, or if you’re an experienced teacher looking for tips and tricks.
- Start small. Don’t assume all your students have technology, Wi-Fi, or are able to work all of the fancy websites/apps that you want to try out.
- Be flexible in your requirements and schedule. Is it mandatory that all students watch a daily lesson at the same time or can they access the lesson at any point during the day/week?
- Use this time to reinforce previously taught lessons and skills. Even as an adult, I find it extremely difficult to learn new things on my own without first being taught or shown by another person. Try to continue with your current unit of study if possible.
- Rules and common sense apply. You would not text your students normally, so don’t do it now. Ensure all technology/app platforms are district approved. Some tech tools that teachers promote might not be allowed in your district. When the pandemic started, my plan was to create very short videos using Screen-Cast-O-Matic that could be uploaded to Google Classroom, as well as assigning work using Google Slides.
- Create a home base for your students. Where should students go each day to look for their new learning? Google Classroom? Remind? A Google Slideshow? Ensure that this tool is easily accessible to your students. Do not make them go on a scavenger hunt each day to find their lessons.
Weekly Online Learning for English Language Arts Schedule
These lessons can be easily adapted to be completed as pen and paper tasks, hybrid learning (digital and in-class learning), or 100% online learning.
Below is a sample of a weekly online learning schedule for English Language Arts.
- Choice Reading Daily (Articles or Novels)
- Choice Writing Daily (Creative Writing or Daily Journals)
- Speaking Skills Daily (Select the 7 most interesting lines from your current choice novel and practice reading them out loud fluently. Your goal is to pique your classmates’ interest in reading this novel. Consider having students read a picture book to a younger sibling.)
- Listening Skills Weekly (Give students a list of podcasts to listen to or remind them to call friends/family members and have a conversation, not just a text message.)
- Media Analysis Weekly (Have students complete a weekly review of a media source they have been using. For example, a podcast, movie, social media, or website.)
Formal English Language Arts Assessments
- Reading Assessment Options for online learning for English Language Arts: Reading Journal Assignment, Article of the Week, High-Interest Articles
- Writing Assessment Options for online learning for English Language Arts: Creative Writing Prompts or Choice Boards
- Speaking Assessment Options for online learning for English Language Arts: Students can present oral presentations to their classmates using Zoom Video Conferencing or Google Meet or pre-record themselves using cellphones and upload to Google Classroom.
- Media Assessment Options for online learning for English Language Arts: Media Reviews
Where to Find Online Books
- Project Gutenberg (Free Public Domain Books)
- The Bluford Series (Audiobooks with YA Content)
- LibriVox (Free Public Domain Audio Books)
- ESL Bits (Audiobooks and E-Books)
- List of online books from Book Riot
- Classic Books Library of Congress
- Open Library
- Make an instructional handout or video for your students on how to access your school and/or public library using their library card number.
For more great middle school books, check out this blog post – Best Middle School Book Recommendations. Also, check out some fantastic YA books in this blog post – High School Book Recommendations. You can also download these 32 Free Middle School Book Lists when you sign up for the 2 Peas and a Dog email list.
Student-Friendly Podcasts
Podcasts are wonderful for online learning for English Language Arts. The great thing about podcasts is that if students have a cell phone and an internet connection they can listen.
- The Unexplainable Disappearance of Mars Patel
- Book Club for Kids
- Smash Boom Best
- Best Podcasts for Kids
- 16 Great Learning Podcasts
- Best Podcasts for Elementary, Middle, and High School
You can also find complete lessons for Mars Patel and Six Minutes from 2 Peas and a Dog. For information on using podcasts in the classroom, check out How to Easily Listen to Podcasts in the Classroom. You can also read Using Podcasts to Improve Student Listening Skills and How To Easily Create Classroom Podcasts.
If you’re not sure how to use podcasts, you can take this free professional development course on using podcasts in the classroom. Get this resource free when you sign up for the 2 Peas and a Dog email list.
Full Units That Can Be Used Online
Since the pandemic, more and more resources are created to be used both online and in class. Here are my go-to resources for online learning for English Language Arts that are ready to use in both PDF and Google Slides formats.
Reading
- Novel Study Unit
- Short Storys for Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8
- Engaging Non-Fiction Readings – Find these on Shopify CAD or Teachers Pay Teachers USD.
Writing
- Article of the Week Responses (Learn more about Article of the Week here)
- My Life in Logos Paragraph / Argumentative Essay Writing
Speaking/Oral Presentations
- Rant Writing (Students vent about a topic that frustrates them)
- Student Book Talk Assignment
Media Literacy
Download these FREE Emergency Lesson Plans
Use these seven ready-to-go pre-made lesson plans for middle school ELA classes. Lessons have been divided up into reading, writing, speaking/listening, and media literacy. Use these lessons to help students review concepts previously taught throughout the year. These middle school ELA emergency sub plans can be completed on paper or Google Slides.
Included Assignments
- Reading Response Graphic Organizers
- Japan’s Cat Islands Non-Fiction Article
- Daily Writing Assignment
- Interesting Lines
- Podcast Reflection
- KidNuz Podcast Reflection
- Media Reviews
You can get these free middle school ELA emergency sub plans when you sign up for the 2 Peas and a Dog email list. Click the image above to sign up.
You might also like:
- 16 Fantastic Final Project Ideas for Middle School English Class
- 32 Fun Project Ideas That Aren’t Overused For Middle School Students
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