Teaching Middle School ELA
Welcome to the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast, where we help English Language Arts teachers create dynamic, engaging lessons while balancing the everyday responsibilities of teaching middle school.
I’m Caitlin Mitchell, a longtime ELA educator and curriculum creator, and I know firsthand how challenging it can be to manage grading, planning, and student needs—while still trying to have a life outside the classroom. That’s why every Tuesday and Thursday, I bring you practical strategies, curriculum inspiration, and innovative teaching ideas to help you feel confident, prepared, and energized.
Whether you're looking to revamp your writing instruction, streamline your planning process, or engage even the most reluctant readers and writers, you’ll find actionable support here. You'll also hear real classroom stories, fresh lesson ideas, and occasional interviews with other passionate educators.
If you teach reading and writing to middle schoolers and want to stay inspired and up-to-date with best practices in ELA education, you’re in the right place. Tune in every week and let’s transform your teaching—together.
Teaching Middle School ELA
Monday Mindset Favorite: A+ Player
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Let’s take a moment to revisit one of our favorite Monday Mindset episodes! In this episode, I dive into the powerful impact our surroundings have on our mindset and overall happiness. I explore how intentionally surrounding ourselves with “A+ players” can lead to personal growth and a more fulfilling life.
By carefully choosing the company we keep and fostering a positive environment for ourselves and our students, we can create a ripple effect of positivity in our lives.
Here’s to another day of living intentionally.
Caitlin
Well, hello teachers, and welcome to your Monday Mindset podcast episode. These are short, little snippets of thoughts, reflections that I share with you on a weekly basis, that are focused around mindset things that we can do to live our best lives, to live an intentional life, and I invite you to not just listen to these for yourself and how they apply to you in your life, but consider sharing them with other people too. Consider sharing them with your students every Monday and having a conversation about it and doing a reflection together, because I think a lot of these thoughts, these topics, these questions are just a part of being human, and sometimes being human can feel lonely and to know that other people are struggling through some of the same challenges that you are and are benefiting from having these types of conversations is hugely powerful in allowing us to get to be the best version of ourselves, to take who we are and who we be and who we show up in the world as to that next level. So I really hope that you enjoy these Monday Mindsets and, if you do, let us know over on our Instagram at Evie Academics. Thanks so much for listening and let's dive into our Monday Mindset. I'm sure you know the old adage that we are who we surround ourselves with meaning, when we surround ourselves with Meaning, when we surround ourselves with A-plus players in life, we inherently and subconsciously get elevated to their level and vice versa. So if we're constantly surrounding ourselves with negative thinkers or people who always complain and aren't living that 100% version of their life, we will eventually get sucked in and stooped down to that level of living.
Speaker 1:It actually reminds me of a specific basketball game during my senior year of high school. At that time, our team was the best in the county. In fact, the girls varsity team had won the California state title just two years prior, one of those girls going on to play in the WNBA. I mean, this team was good, very good, and there was just one final game between us and a perfect season and it was against the worst team in the league and we had this thing in the bag like we were going to win. We were going to go undefeated yet another year and head to the CIF North Coast section playoffs. I am sure you can guess where this is going. We lost that game. I am sure you can guess where this is going. We lost that game and we did so because we played down to their level. The team who we showed up as on the court that night was not the team that had blown out every other team that season. We became who we surrounded ourselves with, and we paid for it by missing out on a perfect season.
Speaker 1:While this example is trivial at best compared to how important this concept is to our lives and our happiness, I think it's a perfect illustration of just how much of an impact our surroundings can have on us. So my invitation this week to you is this Stop spending your precious time around people who bring you down and make you miserable, not even just in person. Stop wasting your time consuming negativity in the online space. I mean, consider getting off of TikTok or Instagram or Facebook groups, where you are bombarded with negative messages that will subconsciously mold a negative narrative of your life. And then I want you to find the A-plus player at your school, at home, amongst your group of friends, and intentionally spend more time with them.
Speaker 1:And if you have someone in your life that you can't let go of, but they are bringing you down, right. Maybe they're a family member of, but they are bringing you down right. Maybe they're a family member whatever it is, but they are bringing you down. Perhaps you get to consider how you get to be their A-plus player in their life. How can you bring them up to your level in your way of being? Anyhow, just some food for thought this week, and I would love to invite you to join me in thinking about consciously finding that A-plus player. Here's to another great week, living intentionally.