We know group work can help middle schoolers learn, but what about their concerns? Who does what? How do they meet outside of class? How will they be graded? Laurie Hornik details four ways teachers can amplify the positive effects of group work and minimize the negative ones.
All students need excellent instruction every year of their school experience to reach their potential, writes principal coach Matt Renwick. That’s why an instructional framework is so important for a building team to select or develop and for a faculty to commit to as a school.
For well over a decade MiddleWeb has shared helpful ideas for new middle grades and MS teachers. In this post we’ve selected recent articles along with several classics and book reviews that might be MOST useful before and during your first months in the classroom.
You need your break! Don’t fill your summer ruminating endlessly about lessons and classes to come. Instead try the “habit stacking” strategy and prepare for the next school year without getting mired in the weeds. Teacher and coach Miriam Plotinsky shares nine possibilities.
If we can teach kids to think about their futures with more specificity and positivity, then we can have a significant impact on not only their self-image but their well-being – critical work in our anxiety-ridden, social media-saturated times, writes teacher leader Stephanie Farley.
In Humans Who Teach, Shamari Reid tells many stories to lift the veil on the weights of expectation placed on teachers, by themselves and society. Reid centers “love in our work as humans who teach,” offering ways to jump-start ourselves if action seems difficult, says Sarah Cooper.
A week into summer break, teacher Michelle Russell looks back at how she adjusted the last weeks of class to lower her stress and make sure she would face less stress in the fall. Included: imposing order on packing away supplies and making time to check in with kids.
As the school year ends, it’s easy for students to lose their momentum. One way to help ease students into summer mode, but still sneak in some math review, is to find engaging activities. Kathleen Palmieri shares favorites from Jo Boaler that can also be saved for fall warm-ups.
When teachers create a welcoming, safe, inclusive learning environment with their students, the chances increase that students will have a sense of belonging and “calm increase,” freeing them to learn. NBCT Elizabeth Stein shares ways to use restorative practices and UDL.
Grammatical concepts don’t just exist in textbooks and on worksheets. They are part of life beyond the classroom. Sean Ruday shows how – by taking an inquiry-based approach to grammar instruction – we can help our students prioritize their authentic experiences with language.
