Middle School ELA

Guiding Values

At Canyons School District, we exist as allies to relentlessly learn, innovate, and sustain the pursuit of equity in education. Our guiding principles include:

Literature serves as Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors.
Reading empowers students by providing knowledge, enhancing skills, and nurturing their intellectual curiosity. Encouraging students to read for pleasure and allowing them to choose their reading materials leads to lifelong learning and personal enrichment.
Writing is an important form of self-expression and communication as well as a tool for thinking, reflecting, and learning. The ability to write well is a gate-opener for our students. (NCTE’s Guiding Principles for Teaching Writing and Evidence-Based Practice and Writing Instruction)

Quick Links

Professional Learning

Resource Hub

Secondary Writing Framework

Novel Database

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I learn more about MAP Growth testing?

The Assessment Department has done a thorough job of putting together relevant resources for educators, students, and families. Everything one might need to get started using the MAP Growth assessment can be found by self-enrolling here: Assessment PD and Resources.

Do you have any recommended resources for new teachers?

The Instructional Guides provide teacher-created and curated resources. As well, we will have the opportunity to meet across schools and grade levels to collaborate and share resources four times this year during our District-Wide Early Out.

We also have grade-level resources, including lesson plans and units at our Resource Hub.

If there is something specific you’re looking for or that you are looking to develop, reach out to Scott Christensen and I will be happy to set up a time to meet to collaborate, develop, and bounce ideas off one another.

How can I best approach grammar instruction?

Check out the floowing resources to Guide Grammar Instruction:

Deborah Dean’s Presentation, “Besting the Grammar Beast” (Screencast)
Council Chronicle: Teaching Grammar in Context (article)

How can I submit a novel for approval?

You can submit a novel for approval by completing the application in the Novel Database (login required). Please review these step-by-step directions for support.

We recommend that you:

review the application questions before starting the application. The application times out, so if you have the answers prepared beforehand you will be able to copy and paste the answers into the correct fields.
review the pages in the instructional guides about text complexity – quantitative and qualitative measures.

Where can I get information about Middle School Debate?

Learn more by checking out the CSD Middle School Speech and Debate League website.

In The Spotlight

District Collaboration, November 8th

District-Wide Collaboration for Middle School will be meeting at the Canyons District Office in the Twins Peaks and Superior Rooms from 1:45 – 3:00 pm.

DWSBA Update

The RISE Platform currently lacks writing benchmarks. Instead, of DWSBA’s, we will shift to Site-Based Common Formative Assessments (CFAs) for 2024-2025. In your PLC, choose writing standards to assess based on the current unit, and use the data for discussions on next steps for supporting students. Links for creating CFAs and archived resources are in the September Newsletter and ELA Resource Hub.

Mentor Text Collection Center

Check out the Mentor Text Collection Center at the MS ELA Resource Hub to find or contribute to a database of mentor texts for writing instruction. If you did not get a chance to join the MS ELA Resource Hub, you can self enroll here: MS ELA Resource Hub.