Middle school ELA teachers: let’s talk curriculum supplements, grammar games, pronoun activities, and book recommendations for older middle school readers! In this October Ask Me Anything, I’m answering three real questions from teachers — with practical, low-prep ideas to increase student engagement WITHOUT adding hours to your lesson planning!
✨ OCTOBER 2026 ASK ME ANYTHING ✨
1️⃣ SUPPLEMENTING YOUR MIDDLE SCHOOL ELA CURRICULUM
What do you do when your school’s ELA curriculum provides great stories but not enough skill practice? Whether you're using HMH Into Literature, Magnetic Literacy, or another reading curriculum, I'm sharing strategies for supplementing your lessons without reinventing the wheel.
We'll talk about finding existing resources, using repeatable reading comprehension activities, and making skills like theme, inference, characterization, and textual evidence more engaging. My biggest tip? Keep the stories and supplement the skills!
2️⃣ BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OLDER MIDDLE SCHOOL READERS
Looking for high-interest books with male protagonists for students in grades 7–12? Especially books beyond the usual Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and other classroom favorites?
I'm sharing a list of novels featuring male main characters that could be great additions to your First Chapter Friday read alouds, Book Trailer Tuesday activities, classroom library, or independent reading recommendations.
BOOKS MENTIONED INCLUDE:
📖 Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
📖 Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty
📖 OCDaniel by Wesley King
📖 A World Below by Wesley King
📖 All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat
📖 Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow
📖 The 9:09 Project by Mark Parsons
📖 Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
📖 Road Rash by Mark Parsons
📖 Concrete Cowboy by G. Neri
3️⃣ MAKE GRAMMAR FUN WITH 3 PRONOUN ACTIVITIES
Tired of the same old grammar worksheets? Your students probably are, too! I'm sharing three interactive pronoun games that make grammar practice more engaging for middle school students.
🤫 The Pronoun Gossip Game — Students write ridiculous fictional school gossip and discover why clear pronouns matter!
💘 Pronoun Speed Dating — A movement-based grammar game that gets students matching nouns and pronouns.
These low-prep grammar activities are perfect for 5–10 minute classroom engagement breaks, grammar review, or supplemental practice.
📱PUT THESE IDEAS INTO ACTION WITH WORD NERD DAILY
Download my FREE Word Nerd Daily app for middle school ELA teaching ideas, classroom engagement strategies, creative writing prompts, book recommendations, and RitaBot — an AI planning assistant built specifically to help teachers.
🤓 JOIN THE WORD NERD COLLABORATIVE!
Looking for ready-to-use middle school ELA resources, First Chapter Friday videos, grammar activities, reading engagement strategies, and creative lesson ideas?
Explore the Word Nerd Collaborative membership and First Chapter Friday Club here: www.wordnerdcollaborative.com
My goal is simple: help middle school ELA teachers increase student engagement, discover great books, and spend LESS time reinventing the wheel.
Have a question about teaching reading, writing, grammar, classroom engagement, or running an ELA classroom? Drop it in the comments! Your question might be featured in the next Ask Me Anything episode!
Music Credit: Amanda Zieba and Suno Pro (2026)
#MiddleSchoolELA #ELATeachers #MiddleSchoolTeachers #GrammarGames #PronounActivities #GrammarActivities #IntoLiterature #ELACurriculum #ReadingEngagement #FirstChapterFriday #MiddleSchoolBooks #BookRecommendations #StudentEngagement #WordNerdCollaborative #AmandaZieba
✨ OCTOBER 2026 ASK ME ANYTHING ✨
1️⃣ SUPPLEMENTING YOUR MIDDLE SCHOOL ELA CURRICULUM
What do you do when your school’s ELA curriculum provides great stories but not enough skill practice? Whether you're using HMH Into Literature, Magnetic Literacy, or another reading curriculum, I'm sharing strategies for supplementing your lessons without reinventing the wheel.
We'll talk about finding existing resources, using repeatable reading comprehension activities, and making skills like theme, inference, characterization, and textual evidence more engaging. My biggest tip? Keep the stories and supplement the skills!
2️⃣ BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR OLDER MIDDLE SCHOOL READERS
Looking for high-interest books with male protagonists for students in grades 7–12? Especially books beyond the usual Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, and other classroom favorites?
I'm sharing a list of novels featuring male main characters that could be great additions to your First Chapter Friday read alouds, Book Trailer Tuesday activities, classroom library, or independent reading recommendations.
BOOKS MENTIONED INCLUDE:
📖 Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
📖 Millionaires for the Month by Stacy McAnulty
📖 OCDaniel by Wesley King
📖 A World Below by Wesley King
📖 All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat
📖 Gather by Kenneth M. Cadow
📖 The 9:09 Project by Mark Parsons
📖 Louder Than Hunger by John Schu
📖 Road Rash by Mark Parsons
📖 Concrete Cowboy by G. Neri
3️⃣ MAKE GRAMMAR FUN WITH 3 PRONOUN ACTIVITIES
Tired of the same old grammar worksheets? Your students probably are, too! I'm sharing three interactive pronoun games that make grammar practice more engaging for middle school students.
🤫 The Pronoun Gossip Game — Students write ridiculous fictional school gossip and discover why clear pronouns matter!
💘 Pronoun Speed Dating — A movement-based grammar game that gets students matching nouns and pronouns.
These low-prep grammar activities are perfect for 5–10 minute classroom engagement breaks, grammar review, or supplemental practice.
📱PUT THESE IDEAS INTO ACTION WITH WORD NERD DAILY
Download my FREE Word Nerd Daily app for middle school ELA teaching ideas, classroom engagement strategies, creative writing prompts, book recommendations, and RitaBot — an AI planning assistant built specifically to help teachers.
🤓 JOIN THE WORD NERD COLLABORATIVE!
Looking for ready-to-use middle school ELA resources, First Chapter Friday videos, grammar activities, reading engagement strategies, and creative lesson ideas?
Explore the Word Nerd Collaborative membership and First Chapter Friday Club here: www.wordnerdcollaborative.com
My goal is simple: help middle school ELA teachers increase student engagement, discover great books, and spend LESS time reinventing the wheel.
Have a question about teaching reading, writing, grammar, classroom engagement, or running an ELA classroom? Drop it in the comments! Your question might be featured in the next Ask Me Anything episode!
Music Credit: Amanda Zieba and Suno Pro (2026)
#MiddleSchoolELA #ELATeachers #MiddleSchoolTeachers #GrammarGames #PronounActivities #GrammarActivities #IntoLiterature #ELACurriculum #ReadingEngagement #FirstChapterFriday #MiddleSchoolBooks #BookRecommendations #StudentEngagement #WordNerdCollaborative #AmandaZieba