Middle school is the perfect time to ignite students’ passions for reading and writing. Language arts in middle school could be as easy as picking out a curriculum and telling your student to learn. But part of the homeschool journey is that we can make it fun.
For some middle school students, books and schoolwork are something of a chore, and games are something to get engrossed in for hours at a time.
Improving grammar skills and learning English in all its many peculiarities becomes fun when we incorporate interactive games into learning.
Making Language Arts Fun
Add Music
Try using music with poetry, as a hook for a lesson plan on figurative language, as a paired text complement, and as an end-of-the-year reflection, among other things.
Add Color
Coloring is relaxing, helps students refocus, and increases creative thought. Adding a splash of coloring to any type of lesson can be beneficial. Coloring can refocus students.
Brain-based learning supports coloring with students because coloring employs the frontal lobe of the brain and art alters the brain in positive ways.
Make it Manipulative
Creativity does not mean diminished learning, especially with grammar.
Students benefit from being able to arrange language. It helps them see how they, as writers, can use words to craft powerful sentences.
Differentiate Learning
Breathe life and personalization into vocabulary instruction by changing up the way you ask students to think about their words. Doodling, associations, games, and challenges make vocabulary memorable.
Play Games
It is okay to set aside the curriculum for just 15-30 minutes of an engaging game. It will give your students a much-needed brain break while they still learn.
There are a number of games that you can play in ELA that are going to keep your kids engaged and learning. In Pictionary for example, your students’ basic grammar skills will be put to the test as they draw their best interpretations of vocabulary words for members of their team to guess.
Create Word Clouds
Give students a time in history, and ask them what words come to mind when they think about that time. Now, you can build word clouds that capture your students’ thoughts and feelings about this historical event.
You don’t have to stick to your original plan when homeschooling. I know it can be hard to set aside a curriculum that you have picked out and paid for, but at the end of the day, you need to do what is best for your kids and yourself.
