Three Questions to Ask Yourself during the Last Quarter of Middle School ELA

Have you covered it all? Three questions to ask yourself during the last quarter of middle school ELA.

As the school year winds down, teachers have to be diligent about making sure that they have covered everything that needs to be covered for the year.

With the testing season around the corner and summer break on the horizon, now is the time to assess your priorities and make strategic decisions about your instruction.

Three Questions to Ask Yourself During the Last Quarter of Middle School ELA.

Here are three critical questions to guide your planning for the final quarter:

#1 | What Standards Still Need Your Focus?

Take a moment to review your curriculum map or pacing guide. Have you addressed all the key standards your students need to master before moving on to the next grade level?

• Identify Gaps: Look at your students’ progress. Are there specific standards that need more attention, like figurative language, argumentative writing, or reading comprehension?
• Use Checklists: If you’ve been following The Sparkly Notebook for a while, you may have heard us refer to our standards checklists for planning and tracking progress. You can learn more about that in this blog post! (Or click on the image below)
• Consider Priority Standards: Focus on foundational standards that are likely to reappear in the next grade level. If your students have struggled with a particular skill throughout the year, this is your chance to revisit and reinforce it.

#2 | Does Your Last Main Unit Cover These Standards?

Once you’ve identified the standards that need attention, compare them to your plans for the final quarter. Does your upcoming unit/s align with the skills your students still need to practice?

You’re on the right track if your planned units cover those priority standards! However, if it doesn’t, you may need to make adjustments:

• Adapt Your Unit: Consider tweaking activities, projects, or assessments to align more closely with your targeted standards. For example, if your unit focuses on literature, add an element of argumentative writing to address that standard.
• Use The Sparkly Notebook Standards-Based Products: We have created units for each standard in middle school ELA. Use these units to help guide your final units of study to make sure that you are covering each skill in its entirety.
• Supplement with Mini-Lessons: If your main unit doesn’t fully address the standards, you can incorporate mini-lessons or bell ringers to fill in the gaps. You can get some mini lessons to help by pulling them from the standards-based units mentioned before.

Pro Tip: Pair your instruction with engaging, ready-made resources like digital escape rooms or paired passages to cover multiple standards efficiently.

#3 | What Should You Do if They Don’t?

If your final quarter plans don’t align with your identified standards, don’t panic! There’s still time to adjust your approach to ensure your students leave your class prepared for what’s next.

• Prioritize: If time is tight, prioritize a handful of high-impact standards and create quick, focused lessons to target those areas. Tell students what you need to get done, and track it visually so they can see how long the list is and what your focus is on moving forward.
• Use Your Resources and Projects that Combine Skills: Design a project that integrates multiple standards. For example, have students create a multimedia presentation that combines research, writing, and speaking skills. We have assessments in each of the standards-based resources in the store that could help with this. You can also come up with your own, but why recreate the wheel if you don’t have to!

Make Sure to Plan Ahead for the End of the Year

We all want to be able to do some fun activities at the end of the year, but if you haven’t covered the necessary content, that has to come first!

The last quarter is your chance to ensure your students finish strong. You can make the most of these final weeks of school by reflecting on the standards, aligning your plans, and making purposeful adjustments.

So, what’s your plan for the last quarter? 

Start by asking yourself these three questions, and let your answers guide you to a successful finish.