Are you a member of the Bespoke ELA Facebook group for high school English teachers? I created this group in order to build a virtual network of teachers, and it has quickly become an indispensable resource for me throughout the years. Click here to go over and join.
What I noticed when I started the group was that there were A LOT of teachers who were moving up to high school from grades k-8. While I’ve never taught elementary or middle school, I do have some general tips to help a teacher making this transition. And these tips are applicable to any ELA teacher who is new to the profession.
Here are five tips for a teacher making the transition to teaching high school English Language Arts.
Tip #1: Teaming and Curriculum
Your first task when moving up to high school is to find out how the school operates in terms of teaming and curriculum.
Here are some key questions to consider:
Will you work on a team or have a Professional Learning Community?
Will you work as a team and teach the same daily lessons according to a prescribed curriculum, or will you be on your own to create your own lesson plans?
Does the school have a curriculum? Be sure to take time and familiarize yourself with it. If there are texts new to you (and there will be), be sure to pre-read them over the summer or over the weekends in advance.
How will students access texts? What book titles does the school own?
Once you find out this information, identify a mentor or mentors. Some schools have mentorship programs for first year teachers (to the school) while others do not. Ask how your new school supports new teachers and if you will be assigned to a mentor. If not, reach out to another English teacher who might be willing to answer questions… M&Ms always help :)
Or— there’s that amazing Facebook group for high school English teachers to check out! Here’s that link again if you’d like to go over and join.
Tip #2: Establish a Class Structure
Another important item to consider that will help you to maintain your sanity while making the transition to high school is to create a predictable routine for each and every class— and use the same structure/ format for all classes even if they are different grades or different levels. This approach will help you stay organized while you figure out what you’re doing.
By keeping the class structure the same for all classes, you buy yourself some time to get organized every class period with each new group. Along with establishing a predictable routine, I would recommend using some sort of tool, what I call a “control factor,” to keep students on task.
For example, I have my students keep a Writer’s Notebook. There are a TON of ways to use something like this in English classes, and you can have your students keep paper notebooks, or you can move onto a computer platform such as Google Classroom. The choice is up to you.
But, I will admit that good, old-fashioned paper notebooks help prevent issues that sometimes come up when using computers. Some students will always need to charge their computers; another student may have forgotten the computer; and then another student’s screen might have cracked in his backpack between first and second period. It just seems like technology can work against us sometimes, so if you are new, there is nothing wrong with a paper notebook and using computers for essays and projects.
Whether I have my students keep their notebooks on paper or on Google Classroom, I keep a similar structure across all of my classes. First of all, I have my students divide their notebooks into the following sections: agenda, warm-ups, notes, vocabulary, exit tickets.
Students use these sections throughout the class. If they are working on Google Classroom, I have them create a folder entitled “Writer’s Notebook” and within that folder, they create subfolders with the five headings. They then share their folders with me so that I can go in and look at them for notebook checks. If it’s a paper notebook, I simply walk around class and do random checks while they are working.
This notebook “control factor” keeps my students and me structured. We use the notebook with the following routine:
First of all, I have students copy the agenda from the board. Every class period starts like this every single day. Students copy down the date, objectives, the class procedure, and homework / class announcements. Believe me, high school students still need help with developing this as a habit! While students copy the agenda, I take attendance.
After writing down the agenda, students then complete the “Warm-up” or “Do Now” activity. This can range from an SAT or ACT-style question to an entire journal prompt. While students are completing the “warm-up” activity, I use the time to walk the room and take up homework— OR, more often, simply glance it over and keep a record of the grade on my clipboard.
After sharing or discussing the warm-up, we then transition into the daily lesson. The easiest structure to follow for this is the basic format that we’ve probably all learned as teachers: “I do,” “We do,” “You do.” This basically means that you model the lesson, then you practice together as a group, and then students complete the assignment on their own (or in groups/ partners).
At the end of class, I have students complete an exit ticket in that section of their notebooks. I have a range of exit ticket tasks that I use. You can find the exit ticket bundle here if you would like a copy of what I use during the entire school year.
The basic idea is this: establish a structure that works for you and your students. It will make all the difference as you transition into your new grade level.
Tip #3: Develop Behavioral Procedures
Elementary teachers often ask me how I am able to teach the “big kids.” The reality is that high school students are still kids— just in bigger bodies. You’ll find that some of them will still throw paper, pull hair, giggle at the word “butt,” etc.
However, disciplining teenagers is a different beast due to the added issues of gangs, PHONES, drugs, PHONES, alcohol, PHONES, dress code, PHONES… did I mention PHONES yet?
Find out your school’s discipline procedures– detentions, suspensions, etc. You will need these tools to start the year strong and stern with your discipline procedure. Also, figure out how your school handles the phone issue and how you will handle it.
Personally, I do NOT allow phones at my students’ desks. I use a numbered door shoe holder and assign students to a pocket for the year. They know that they have to drop off their phones when they walk in the door. I only let them use phones if there is an emergency.
Know that high school students will constantly ask to go to the restroom if you let them— and this translates into phone time or wandering the halls time— unless you have a system in place. I give my students three emergency restroom passes per semester (unless there is a medical issue). I keep a sign out notebook by my door and require students to sign out every time they leave my classroom. This also helps me keep track of restroom usage. If a student breaks my rules, they earn a detention, and I also call home. If it becomes a recurring issue and parent contact has not helped, I escalate the issue to one of the principals.
If you take phones and restroom breaks seriously and follow through with discipline from day one, it will set the expectations for the year and prevent issues that can arise.
Another issue that you will encounter is teenage apathy— complete indifference to being late, passing or failing, completing work, responding to you, etc. Thankfully, these students are more of the exception than the rule for teaching high school, but it can be infuriating to see such disrespect to you, your class, and even the student’s own education.
Be prepared with a cool down procedure for yourself in case you find yourself up against an apathetic teenager who says or does something disrespectful to you. I’ve had a student look at me and say, “Make me” when asked to get to work. My strategy is to pause before responding to clear my own head. I usually turn my back and take a few breaths— and then respond. It can be tough but just remember that you don’t have to take abuse from teenagers. Document and communicate everything that happens, but keep your cool no matter what.
Tip #4: Make-up Work
If you are moving up to high school, chances are that your student count is about to increase considerably… and you are guaranteed to have absent students every single day for a myriad of reasons such as illness, family business, college visits, choir, band, athletics, blood drives, student congress, school tours, tutoring, pep rallies, etc.
Because of this, it’s important to develop a system for handling make-up work. There are a million ways to do this, but first decide if you want to keep make-up work online or in class. Some teachers like to keep physical handouts of work in pocket folders that are accessible for students to grab as needed.
In recent years, I have moved my make-up work system onto Google Classroom where I keep a daily make-up work log.
This is a page where I write out each day’s class agenda as well as instructions for make-up work. I also include most* handouts, Power Points, and content on Google Classroom for students to access as needed. And then, I make students responsible for their missed work.
Bespoke ELA Make-up Work Log
They know to look on Google Classroom for when they are absent. Students also use the log just to check and see if they might have missed something— even if they were in class. Your daily entries don’t need to be elaborate but at the bare minimum communicate to students what they need to do. Managing make-up work is a big stressor in secondary teaching because of the number of students we have. So, this is an important component when making the transition into high school. You can find tons of other ideas online for managing make-up work. I recommend that you find a strategy to get you started and then make modifications to your system from there.
Tip #5: Grades
High school grading might look a bit different from k-8. Your school or department might have a grading policy. Be sure to find out because some schools or ELA departments will have a set number of major/ minor grades that you will need to take in a given marking period. These grade ranges are important for maintaining some sense of equality and fairness across different teachers who teach the exact same subject and level.
The biggest shift in grading will come with essay grading. As students go through high school English, they move closer towards college-level writing. So, the grading load can be more substantial when it comes to essay grading for so many students. Just remember that you are there to audit progress, not edit every assignment. I try to limit myself to three comments per essay and a few editing marks per page. This way, feedback is more manageable for students, and I am not stuck editing every single essay.
Also note that the type of writing students do in high school is more sophisticated than that of k-8. To get a good gauge on high school writing expectations, be sure to read plenty of sample essays before grading one. If you work on a team or with a partner teacher, you can both “norm” essay grading beforehand. Norming simply means practice grading together with the same rubric and discussing the grade that each of you would assign. This will help you get a good feel for how to grade an assignment.
When moving to high school English, you also become part of the system that is typically responsible for a state’s standardized testing exit exam. Check your state’s standardized testing years and expectations to see if your students will be testing and then look over example tests to see what your students will need to be able to do to pass the exit level exam. Schools are not always good about communicating this information, so be sure to seek out answers to any questions you may have in regards to standardized testing because your job might depend upon how your students perform on the exam.
Maybe something similar to teaching in k-8 is that, in general, your students need to pass— lol. I think we all know what I mean by this ;)
If someone is going to fail, document everything and make sure everyone is informed and in contact. Do not simply rely on an unanswered emails as enough contact. If I cannot get in touch with a parent over phone or email, I have even mailed letters home— especially if the student has any accommodations.
I hope these tips help you make the transition from k-8 to high school English Language Arts (or Reading Language Arts). If you have any other tips to share, please leave a comment below to join the conversation.
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About the Author
Meredith is the founder and creator of TeachWriting.org and Bespoke ELA. She has taught high school English for 10+ years in Dallas, Chicago, and New York City and holds a M.A. in Literature from Northwestern University. She has always had a connection to the written word-- through songwriting, screenplay writing, and essay writing-- and she enjoys the process of teaching students how to express their ideas. Meredith enjoys life with her sweet daughter and Yorkie.