Bainbridge Middle School’s seventh grade English/Language Arts classrooms are buzzing with Bearcat energy as students and teachers continue to settle into the new HMH: Into Literature curriculum. What felt like a big change back in August has become a comfortable routine: teachers have refined pacing and supports, and students are showing steady gains in confidence and participation. The joyful hum of productive work — discussion, writing, and collaborative learning — can be heard across the ELA department as our Bearcats grow more familiar with the program’s rich texts and engaging activities.
Families, here’s a quick peek behind the screen: HMH: Into Literature pairs beautifully with ClassCraft, an online classroom-management and engagement tool that our students use inside the program. ClassCraft lets students respond to questions on their devices; teachers can then pull those responses up on the ViewBoard for whole-class discussion and quick formative checks. In practice this means students who prefer typing can share ideas just as easily as those who raise their hands, and teachers can spot trends or misconceptions in real time. The combination of HMH’s structured lessons and ClassCraft’s interactive features has helped make lessons more responsive and fun — and it’s been especially helpful for keeping shy or tech-savvy students engaged.
Creativity has been a highlight this semester. Recent units invited students to write personal poems about compelling life events, and the responses were thoughtful, moving, and full of voice — a real joy for teachers to read. Mythology sparked another round of enthusiasm: students loved studying “The Flight of Icarus” and the paired piece “Icarus’s Flight,” digging into the elements of myth such as archetypes, hubris, and moral lessons. They were delighted to discover Icarus showing up in modern culture — even on a Led Zeppelin album — which led to lively conversations about how ancient stories continue to influence art and identity today. During Extended Learning Time (ELT), when students aren’t completing class assignments, many have taken pleasure in reading The Diary of a Wimpy Kid aloud as a group — a low-pressure, high-fun way to build fluency, community, and a love for reading. Overall, our Bearcats are engaged, growing, and enjoying the journey through their new ELA landscape.