2024 is another fantastic year for new middle grades books with many more titles to come in the next few months. ELA teacher Kasey Short introduces titles for school and class libraries that are sure to appeal to your students. Fantasy, immigration, science, WW II, and more!
Asian and Pacific Islander Month / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 04/10/2024 · Last modified 04/30/2024
For over 40 years the US Congress has recognized the heritage of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during May. Federal agencies and nonprofits provide resources to bring the culture and history of AAPIs to the classroom. For an overview visit this MiddleWeb roundup.
Academic success relies on students taking charge of their learning. To achieve that goal, kids must learn to organize and study effectively. G/T Facilitator Sharon Ratliff shares strategies she uses to introduce and implant essential study skills in the middle school years.
Social media can disrupt concentration and healthy social development in adolescents. To counter its effects, principal Mike Gaskell looks at causes and suggests one helpful strategy to reduce stress and anxiety – ambient sound. Build the focus and flow students need to thrive.
In middle school some gifted students find themselves lost in an urban maze without sufficient navigational support. GT facilitator Sharon Ratliff shares some teaching techniques and conversational strategies that can help them stay on the road that leads to academic success.
After 20+ years of teaching, Dina Strasser has found one thing almost never fails to connect with adolescents: the positive reaction you get when you genuinely compliment a kid on their appearance. Check out the strategy she’s developed to help reap smiles and build rapport.
The authors of Shifting the Balance (Grades 3-5) invite literacy educators in the upper elementary and early middle grades to “engage in both the headwork and the heartwork required to ensure our practices are science-aligned and student-centered.” And do it in a safe space.
Adolescents are particularly susceptible to circadian rhythms – the physical, mental, and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle – writes principal Mike Gaskell. Educators can do more to plan academic lessons and other content to take advantage of peak learning times.
Grounded in research and real-world situations, The Social-Emotional Learning Playbook by Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher and Dominique Smith supports the social-emotional growth in you, your students and your community, writes Anne Anderson, calling the book “a great PD resource.”
Gholdy Muhammad’s Unearthing Joy offers ways to elevate meaning, reflection and joy so readers can offer cultural and historically responsive teaching most effectively. Sarah Cooper calls it “one of the most beautiful, inspiring, actionable books about pedagogy I’ve ever read.”
