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"Of Particular Interest" Archives!

RESTRUCTURE MIDDLE SCHOOL AROUND LITERACY
Time to Act, a new report from the Carnegie Corporation's Council on Advancing Adolescent Learning, recommends restructuring middle and high schools around literacy. Schools should hire teachers skilled in literacy instruction across content areas, the Council says, and literacy training should be fully integrated into preservice education and professional development for both teachers and principals. The report also calls for increased federal investments in middle level programs like Striving Readers, especially in high-needs schools, and for increasing emphasis on reading comprehension "within the nuanced context of each subject area." The link above leads to a download page that includes both the main report and five key resource reports.

SCIENCE: TOSHIBA EXPLORAVISION COMPETITION
Sponsored by Toshiba and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, the ExploraVision competition "offers students in grades K-12 the chance to create their own visions of the future." Student teams select and research a current technology, and then explore what it could be like 20 years from now. Research topics can be blended into curriculum, and the contest website includes videos of teachers describing how they've done this. The top eight teams receive substantial prizes, including a trip to D.C. for the top four groups.

A CRAZY IDEA FOR MIDDLE GRADES?
Would you "cring" at having teachers teach multiple subjects in middle school and loop with students from grades 6-8? Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews thinks most middle grades educators would strongly resist such an idea. In this recent column, Mathews writes about a high-achieving inner-city middle school in California that "is bucking the national trend of departmentalization." Mathews reports on conversations with some experts who said the approach might work best at schools with a large population of disadvantaged students.

STREETPLAY: PHYS ED, RECESS OR AFTER-SCHOOL
Ever played (or heard of) stickball, hopscotch, kick the can, boxball, ringoleavio, chinese handball, scully, or clap and rhyme? The Streetplay website is dedicated to documenting the games kids played on front lawns, sidewalks and streets in the days of yesteryear (before everyone went indoors and plugged in). In addition to descriptions and rules, you'll find some history, feature articles, even a cartoon strip. With new concerns about the need for more PE and exercise, maybe it's time to share these kid-invented games with a new generation.

ASSESSMENT IN THE DIFFERENTIATED CLASSROOM
Alice, a reading teacher, wrote recently looking for ideas about grading in a differentiated classroom. "I am finding little information on the Internet," she said. At the risk of touting a Stenhouse author (they sponsor this website), teachers in the online communities I frequent most often mention Rick Wormeli's book "Fair Is Not Always Equal." About half the book -- subtitled "Assessing and Grading in the Differentiated Classroom" -- is now available for public reading at Google Books (link above). That should be enough to help Alice and others decide whether Wormeli has the answers they're looking for. Also see these articles by Rick.

HALLOWEEN: WRITING A SCARY STORY
An award-winning middle grades English teacher shares her lesson plan for writing spooky stories that focus "on setting, good plot twists, suspense and the use of surprise in the ending." Bruhahaha.

EFFECTIVE BEHAVIOR SUPPORT
This May 2009 issue of the NSDC newsletter "Teachers Teaching Teachers" focuses on ways to improve behavior schoolwide and includes a self-assessment tool that can help schools explore the effectiveness of their programs to support positive behavior. As a bonus, you'll find an article by PD expert Joellen Killion describing four criteria that schools can use to evaluate the success of professional development, including the work of professional learning communities.

BANNED BOOKS: FOLLOW UP
We recently noted Banned Books Week and included a link to Donalyn Miller's criteria for managing parent or community concerns about controvesial books. Since then we came across this Edutopia article by middle grades teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron. She shares photos from her classroom and other descriptions of how she uses the "banning" controversy to lure students into more active reading. Crime scene tape? 

LEARNING AND THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN
Taking Center Stage, the California web portal for middle grades educators, is featuring a public video series by cognitive neuro-scientist and reading specialist Janet Zadina. One offering focuses on the importance of survival, attention, and the “reward pathway” in adolescent brain development. Another considers the social nature of the brain and the role of emotion in engaging students in meaningful ways. A third video describes ways to find students' strengths and passions and provide multiple opportunities for them to demonstrate understanding. The videos are supported by pre- and post-activities and resources.

TIPS FOR TEACHING WITH NEW MEDIA
This no-cost resource from Edutopia can be downloaded in its colorful original format or a stripped-down black-and-gray version. It contains no ads and draws on lots of useful ideas and suggestions that have appeared in the monthly magazine and website of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Pay special attention to the resource links in the right margins.

NEW TEACHERS: THRIVING IN THE SCIENCE CLASSROOM
Award-winning middle grades teacher Anne Jolly answers five questions she wishes someone had answered for her when she first started teaching science. Jolly, who now supports teacher collaboration and inquiry-based learning efforts, emphasizes the importance of preparing students for working effectively in small groups. And if you need some personal help, she actually offers her email contact information. (Teacher Magazine, requires one-time free registration.)

WEB INQUIRY PROJECTS
We landed at this website after spotting a “tweet” from fellow resource-stalker Larry Ferlazzo. Developed by Philip E. Molebash of San Diego State University, Web Inquiry Projects (WIP) offers ideas for inquiry-based learning that reach “higher levels of inquiry” than typically achieved by the more familiar WebQuest model. You'll find a good selection of examples in history and the humanities (as well as math and science). Each example includes a detailed teacher version and a student version with just the project prompt. The goal is to provide teachers with everything they need to sharpen their inquiry-teaching skills.

MATH & BEYOND: QUANTITATIVE LITERACY
“Contrary as it may seem,” says this guide to teaching numeracy in the middle grades, “taking more math or higher math courses does not necessarily improve a student's level of quantitative literacy. It is not a direct by-product of taking math courses; it must be facilitated, it must be taught, (and) not only by math teachers.” Written expressly to help middle schools increase student interest in applying quantitative information across the curriculum, this recent product from the Middle School Portal at Ohio State University offers a complete PD experience, with interdisciplinary lessons and activities.

CRITERIA TO HEAD OFF BOOK CHALLENGES
“(W)ithout the efforts of teachers, librarians, authors, and advocacy groups, attempts to ban books would succeed in many communities,” notes middle grades teacher Donalyn Miller in this recent post for her Book Whisperer blog at Teacher Magazine. In recognition of Banned Books Week (Sept 27-Oct 3), Miller offers her sensible ideas for defeating censorship while also supporting teachers and school librarians who “must use discretion when offering books to young readers” and also "respect the right of individual parents to determine what books their child may or may not read.”

FINDING TWITTER PARTNERS FOR STUDENTS
Lori, who teaches sixth and eighth grade TAG classes, wrote to ask about “safe places” for her students to twitter with peers in other schools. Twitter safety is easy to accomplish once you've established a trusting relationship with teachers in other locales. This page at the Arizona K-12 Center offers “10 things teachers should know to get started with Twitter,” including several resources to help teachers link up with twitter-using colleagues in the USA and abroad. The most helpful may be this Google Docs spreadsheet listing about 1000 teachers with an interest in collaboration. There's enough detail to select and contact teachers best suited to your purposes. (If you don't have a Google account, you'll need to create one to use Google Docs.)

PRINCIPAL BLOG: LESSONS LEARNED IN THE MIDDLE
Back in the summer, we added this middle school principal's blog to our roster of recommended blogs at the MiddleWeb site. I keep dropping by because Tom Saunders' enthusiasm for his job and the joys and challenges of middle grades education is simply infectious. Whether he's cheering on students, sneaking in a Redskins promo, or reproducing an excellent resource like “Addressing the Middle School Organizational Skills Conundrum,” the principal of Wilde Lake Middle School in Howard County, MD is always the lead cheerleader for his school's success.

WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH STUDENT TEACHERS
This Sept. 9 article continues to be the "most-clicked" page at the website of Teacher Magazine (one-time free registration). Which says something about the power of teacher-to-teacher advice. When you're welcoming a pre-service teacher into your classroom and allowing them to try out their teaching wings, you want advice from colleagues who have been down this road themselves and have brought back lessons worth learning. You'll find just that kind of content in this dialogue excerpt from the Teacher Leaders Network. It's titled "Stepping Aside: The Art of Working With Student-Teachers."

NEW TEACHERS: ESTABLISHING CLASSROOM NORMS
We hope it's not too late to squeeze in one more article about establishing your classroom "cultural norms" early in the school year. We spotted this link in a recent e-newsletter from Stenhouse, the sponsor who keeps our MiddleWeb newsletter alive. It's an updated version of a long-time favorite at the Education World website, and (best of all) it includes a simple but clever activity first shared nearly a decade ago by a teacher who participated in our MiddleWeb chat community (now NMSA's MiddleTalk). All it requires is a stack of index cards, some tape, and a bit of clever teacher banter.

THE COUNSELOR'S ROOM
No counseling experts here in the MiddleWeb Resource Center, so we'll leave it to our colleagues who have expertise in this area to judge the usefulness of The Counselor's Room. But we like their emphasis on jargon-free, research-based lesson plans and the fact that they've been listed as a resource on half-a-dozen state school counseling sites. Creator Catherine Taintor notes that there's no cost (a few Google ads but not in your face), and you'll also find downloadable therapeutic games and group activities. Mr. Ditto be warned: "All of the resources are hands-on activities (not) worksheets."

VOICELESS TEACHING TIPS
Could losing your teacher voice actually make your lessons more fun, creative -- even rigorous? Middle grades English and speech (croak) teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron has had plenty of Voiceless Teaching practice, since she suffers from seasonal (and severe) laryngitis. In this recent TweenTeacher blog post, you'll find details about the methods she's developed to keep on teachin' until her voice returns. Hint: a laptop connected to an LCD projector or IWB helps. And some humor. "Stick out your tongue if you've read this direction."

WHAT EVERY M.S. PRINCIPAL SHOULD KNOW
In these days of budget cutting and conflicting visions, middle schools "can easily slip into familiar old patterns" and begin to resemble the outdated and less responsive junior high model, says middle grades leadership expert Nancy Doda. "Middle school principals will only be steadied when they embrace a crystal clear picture of the kind of school they are hoping to create. Only then can they lead others to join them in the fray of real reform." Doda offers a condensed version "of the best thinking in our field" to help dissipate the fog.

TEACHERS' FAVORITE DIGITAL GADGETS
Here's a brand-new article at the Education World website, featuring suggestions from an advisory team of tech-minded teachers, including four middle grades folks. Friend of MiddleWeb Cossondra George offers several suggestions, including Wordle (careful, it's addictive), Let Me Google That For You (help with effective searching), and my favorite, Crappy Graphs. Math humor, I think. We all know by now that "it's not about the gadgets; it's about how you teach with them"— but you gotta have some gadgets, nonetheless!

RAP-TUROUS IRREGULAR FRACTIONS
To what lengths might math teachers go in their efforts to get across difficult concepts like converting improper fractions? Mrs. Burk, who's earning a bit of fame at TeacherTube for a series of math rap videos, demonstrates her commitment in this quick and clever attention-getter she calls "Big Head Fractions Rap." If you're intrigued, search for her name (or click on most-viewed math videos) to find more. Two suggestions, based on reading student comments: (1) Download the lyrics (available as a Word doc on this page under 'support files') and (2) consider downloading the video itself to get it away from T-Tube's rather obnoxious ad environment.

ATWELL DE-MYTHS READING WORKSHOP
Reading workshop advocate Nancie Atwell makes a strong case for giving students choices about what they read in this video at the Heinemann website. Atwell is responding to some furor that developed after a New York Times story "revealed" that some teachers are seeking to develop lifelong readers by first engaging them around books they are naturally drawn to. (As Atwell says, teachers have been teaching this way for decades. Suddenly it's controversial?) She addresses seven "myths" about the workshop approach. If you're ever in need of a resource to help make the case for reading workshop, check this video out. It's currently on the Heinemann homepage.

TEACHING SECRETS: START HANDS-ON LEARNING NOW
Good teachers know that students learn a lot more when they get to do their own projects and experiments, says Anthony Cody in this recent Teacher Magazine article. "But sometimes we get frustrated thinking about the students who won't cooperate, don't clean up, waste materials, or misbehave during our hands-on learning time." For that reason, says the Oakland CA middle school science coach, a lot of teachers avoid hands-on learning early in the year "until behavior is rock-solid." That's a mistake, he says. Now's the time to get them interested and engaged -- and he has ideas about how to do just that. (And not just in science).

STUDY SKILLS MENTOR
My summer note about this site reads, "no-nonsense." And maybe that's what you need in the study skills department? Ainslie Hunter is an Australian teacher with 12 years experience who works mostly with students in the upper middle grades. "I like the way you have to earn their trust, but once you have got it, they will work so hard for you," she wrote me. Ainslie thinks the site will be useful both to novice teachers and to parents who want some ideas about "how to help at home." She has a great logo -- drawn by a student. She's not really that mean, she says. A great resource, all kidding aside.

BILL FERRITER: DIGITALLY SPEAKING
We've waited a long while to see a full-time classroom teacher writing a regular monthly column in the nation's largest education magazine. It's happened -- and the teacher is a middle school guy! Bill Ferriter, author of the popular blog The Tempered Radical, kicked off his columnist duties for Educational Leadership this month as part of EL's theme issue on "Teaching in the 21st Century." His regular column will be called Digitally Speaking, and Bill's first installment is appropriately titled "Taking the Digital Plunge." The piece is addressed to teachers and those who support them and can be summed up as "Get in the pool!"

REALITY 101 FOR NEW SPED TEACHERS
New special education teachers (and their mentors and colleagues) will find some ideas, aid and comfort at this blog supported by the Council for Exceptional Children. MiddleWeb friend Elizabeth Stein is the host for September and brings her middle grades perspective to the mix. If you're a new teacher, feel free to ask a question and expect some help. If you're a vet, leave some tips of you own.

ASSESSMENT IN THE CONSTRUCTIVIST CLASSROOM
We were reading a blog post by eighth grade teacher Ariel Sacks, who was musing over the best time(s) to assess students in a constructivist teaching environment. Teacher Sam Rosaldo suggested this NMSA article, commenting: "This isn't a complete answer, but one approach is to distinguish between formative and summative assessments. It's like, if you're learning to drive, I'm not going to grade you the same way after your first lesson as I would after your driver's test. I found some of this info very helpful." There's some more good chat about this in Ariel's blog comments.

INT'L RESULTS SUPPORT CONNECTED MATH, MS TEACHER SAYS
"For the moment," writes math teacher Michael Sparks, "let's forget all that 'fuzzy' talk about collaboration, creativity, flexibility and depth of understanding that raises the dander of some. Let's cut to the heart of the matter. Can these reform programs deliver the traditional math goods?" In this opinion column for the Seattle Times, Sparks says the answer is "Yes" and supports his contention with just-released data from the 2007 Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS).

GREAT SUMMER CAMP FOR 8TH GRADE GIRLS
"Each summer, for twelve days in June," writes Barbara Cervone in this feature at the What Kids Can Do website, "a new crop of eighth-grade girls comes to High Rocks for 'New Beginnings.' They hike, explore relationships in daily 'girls group' discussions, reflect during 'solo time,' and share their thoughts at nightly campfires. Their teachers have nominated them as students who would benefit from the program's academic challenge and social support. In hands-on classes, they explore math, writing, and science in innovative ways." Sound good? Read more.

YUMMY -- AND HEALTHY -- SCHOOL LUNCHES
An oxymoron, you say? See for yourself by watching this 4-min. video about a Berkeley CA middle school's lunch program. One teacher who did watch left this comment: "At first I couldn't believe this video. I think it is absolutely amazing what this school is doing with their children and their school lunches. Imagine if every school did this. It would be incredible!" Yum... the spicy drumsticks with red beans and rice looks good... (There's a text story too, with some recipes.)

NEW TEACHERS: FIRST-DAY IDEAS
Veteran teachers describe how they stage "the first day of school" in this collection, which begins with author Larry Ferlazzo's routine in his ninth grade English class. Many of his ideas are adaptable for the middle grades, including one Ferlazzo borrowed from Kylene Beers to introduce students to his classroom library. Best of all, he's compiled useful strategies from other teachers who are fans of his resources blog. Here's one you might use next fall, from teacher Kelly Hines: "On the first day of school, students read letters from last year's (kids) about 'How to Survive in Mrs. Hines class.' That's always a lot of fun and loosens things up." It's also a clever way to pass along expectations and routines.

FORENSIC SCIENCE FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS
Middle school students seem to be inherently interested in the field of forensic science, "maggots and all," as a recent New York Times headline put it. CSI-flavored science lessons not only produce high engagement, says the introduction to this unit at the Middle School Portal, it's not difficult to match up forensics with a variety of state science standards. At this NSF-sponsored site you'll find background info for teachers, lessons and activities, and links to forensic science in the news.

THE "BETTER LESSON" TEACHER COMMUNITY
Here's a lesson-oriented website unlike anything you've ever seen before. The lesson plans and curriculum resources are mixed with some great discussion about teaching and learning -- all supported by social networking software designed for professional use. The site was founded in 2008 by a group of teachers from Atlanta and Boston public schools "to save (K-12) educators from reinventing the wheel" and give them more time "to focus on creating and delivering innovative content, grading, tutoring, analyzing data, communicating with parents, finishing paperwork, and sleeping." Sound about right?

CORRAL THOSE WANDERING STUDENT MINDS
What middle school educator can resist this Edutopia article titled "10 Tips to Keep Students' Minds from Wandering"? Tristan de Frondeville, a former teacher now specializing in project learning and school redesign, says teachers should provide mental warm-ups, incorporate as much movement as possible, offer clear instructions, and devise ways for all students to answer questions posed in class. The article has been well-received by teacher readers, who are leaving ideas and research perspectives of their own.

THE HISTORY LAB
Education World gave an "A-plus" to this inquiry-focused site, first developed by webquest pioneer Bernie Dodge. In a history "lab," much like a science lab, students deal directly with real materials (documents, artifacts and images rather than chemicals, plants and bacteria). Teachers can set up a lab by completing a fill-in-the-blank template, using resources and primary documents from an on-site database or from other favorite web resources. There's also an archive of teacher-created labs (i.e., lessons) in American History, World History, Ancient History, and European History covering grades 3-12.

BOOKS ABOUT TEACHING — REVIEWED BY TEACHERS
Many of the book reviews in this Teacher Leaders Network collection were written by middle grades educators who enjoy steering fellow teachers to worthwhile professional books. In addition to reviews of The Book Whisperer, Making History Mine, Notebook Connections, Timesavers for Teachers, Successful Single-Sex Classrooms, Better Answers, and Never Work Harder Than Your Students — you'll also find interviews with middle school teacher-authors Donalyn Miller and Anne Jolly.

STUDENT ADVISORY RESOURCES
Kris Felicello, principal at James Farley Middle School in Stony Point, New York, is an advocate of student advisories done right. He's established advisory programs in two middle schools where he's been the principal leader and helped another school do the same. Along the way he's collected resources that may be helpful to others interested in beginning or beefing up advisory programs. This link leads to his wiki page on the topic. You'll spot a few links back to our MiddleWeb site. It's a mutual admiration thing.

ONE MORE FOR NEWBIES: ORGANIZE FOR LEARNING
Thirty-year teaching veteran Marti Schwartz now spends most of her time these days mentoring new teachers and facilitating a network of veterans and novices at Brown University. "Organizing a classroom in a way that works for both the teacher and the students is a daunting task," she writes in this recent article for Teacher Magazine. She sets out to prove it's worth the trouble, offering two scenarios that draw a stark contrast between classrooms where confusion reigns and those where learning time is maximized.

A MOUNTAIN OF GOOD ADVICE FOR NEW TEACHERS
What new teacher, fresh through the classroom door, wouldn't welcome a wise and experienced voice, ready with practical advice? This selection of 18 "Teaching Secrets" articles were written for Teacher Magazine by members of the Teacher Leaders Network eager to support new colleagues. For the price of free registration, novice professionals can take advantage of several hundred years of accumulated wisdom. The collection covers the fundamentals of classroom management and discipline, tips on surviving your first parent meetings, and the secrets of student engagement.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: DENSITY & BOUYANCY
This unit was developed for 8th graders by a team of Oakland CA teachers working to develop an inquiry-based curriculum. They write: "Density is a difficult concept for middle school students to grasp. They begin with the idea that things are heavy or light. They have not really thought about weight in relationship to the volume of an object. Our task in this sequence is to build their understanding through a series of experiments and investigations, driven by the students' curiosity." 

MAKING SENSE OF ORAL HISTORY
Ever considered an oral history project as a history, social studies or community service project? This website offers some general discussion about what oral history is, how students and scholars might approach it, and its place as "historical evidence." For practical ideas about doing some oral history yourself or with your students, here's a huge resource page at About.com that's sure to have the answers to most of your questions.

TECH INTEGRATION: EDUCATIONAL ORIGAMI
Earlier this summer, we highlighted the work of Andrew Churches, a New Zealand teacher who's drafted a digital version of Bloom's Taxonomy. That was just the tip of Churches' ICT-berg. His Educational Origami wiki is packed with thought-provoking resources for any and all teachers ready to actively pursue 21st century teaching strategies. Experience changes the brain, Churches says, and while students may be more "neurologically adapted" to technology, adults can also become digital natives. In this wiki, Churches sets out to match digital tools to traditional classroom practice. See, for example, his' "starter sheets" for a dozen of the most popular web tools, including Voicethread and Delicious.

WHY DOES MATH MATTER?
Ever hear that question from your students? Bookmark this National Science Foundation link and begin to share news of important math-related discoveries and developments. Sample: "Math Could Aid in Curing Cancer" or, perhaps closer to the middle school mindset: "Cloaking Device Concept Moves Beyond Theory: Applied mathematician Graeme Milton brings the dream of cloaking devices portrayed in Star Trek and Harry Potter closer to reality."

WORKING WITH AT-RISK STUDENTS
Bill Page, veteran teacher and author of the useful book "At-Risk Students," believes that "the alternative to flunking students is teaching them." In this December 2008 article at TeachersNet Gazette, Page shares some of his key ideas about changing the traditional paradigm between schools and struggling students who, in Page's words, "can't, won't, or don't even try to learn, behave, cooperate or follow procedures." Read other Page articles about working with at-risk kids at the Gazette archives.

WHY HAVE STUDENTS WRITE ABOUT LITERATURE?
23-year teaching veteran Carol Jago, president-elect of the National Council of Teachers of English, published this excellent essay in answer to that question. It's a must-read for all teachers of literature. Here's a taste: "(W)riting about literature disciplines the mind. It challenges students to look closely into what they read and express clearly and powerfully what they find there." If every student writes an essay," every student does the hard work of analyzing the text," she says. It's "something that never quite happens in a classroom discussion." More than ever, Jago argues, "students need the skill of analytic thinking."

VIDEO: URBAN MS LEADERSHIP
Thanks to Patti Kinney at NASSP for sending this link to a well-made profile of Jim Dierke, the 2008 MetLife Middle Level Principal of the Year. It's professionally filmed in black and white and follows Dierke through a full school day. The description offered by the filmakers: "In this film, veteran San Francisco principal James Dierke proves that leadership, tenacity, consistency, teamwork, and an array of student-focused programs lay the groundwork for success in an inner-city middle school." This link leads to a short text profile, with the video link at the bottom.

HELP STUDENTS DEVELOP A WORK ETHIC
It is essential, says Alan November, to restore the dignity and integrity of children as contributors to our communities and society. In the past, the education futurist says, "children were essential to the very survival of the family... (and) jobs taught children the value of hard work, leading them to become more productive citizens." With the coming of the industrial economy, "students were required to attend school where teachers became central figures and where children took on more passive roles." Some pioneering teachers are now working to help children regain their active involvement in work and learning, says November. He describes six meaningful jobs that students can do as schools seek to achieve this goal.

DAY ONE: YOUR FIRST 10 MINUTES OF CLASS
This decade-old but still popular page at MiddleWeb was originally offered to us by Texas educator Mary Lorenz when we were sponsoring an online discussion group for middle grades teachers (now migrated to NMSA as MiddleTalk). Our page includes two brief articles: "Tips On Conducting The First Ten Minutes Of Class," and "A Five-Step Process For Teaching Students How To Behave." We were recently reminded of these articles when a new teacher named New (really) wrote to say: "These are awesome!" They're also quick reads, and we all know there's no time to waste...

TEACHING SECRETS: USE LEFTOVER CLASS TIME WISELY
This recent Teacher Magazine article by teaching resource guru Larry Ferlazzo got 10,000 hits the first 48 hours after posting. It's filled with good ideas about making the most of those leftover minutes between the end of the planned lesson and the bell. Middle school teacher-author Rick Wormeli, whom Ferlazzo cites, calls them "transitional minutes." Whether it's two minutes or 10, they add up over the course of the year. If you're an experienced teacher with ideas of your own, be sure to contribute to the discussion in the comments section. (Requires free registration, which will give you access to all the Teaching Secrets articles at the TM site.)

FREE WEBINARS FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL PORTAL
The folks who created the NSF-sponsored Middle School Portal (an awesome science and math resource based at Ohio State) are offering no-cost online seminars with a strong middle grades focus. Coming up in the immediate future: Moodle for Middle School (8/5), Digital Storytelling (8/12), and Wikis for the Classroom (8/19). Visit the link above for details and watch for new webinars throughout the year. The sessions take place in Elluminate, MiddleWeb's favorite conferencing platform. You can also join the Portal's virtual discussion groups in math, science and technology integration and be alerted to STEM-related webinars offered by other groups.

HISTORY: MARCH OF TIME NEWSREELS
From 1935 to 1967, Time Inc's newsreel series The March of Time chronicled important events in the U.S. and the world. These examples of "pictorial journalism" blended long-form, documentary-style stories and dramatic re-enactments. The newsreels are being restored and included in the HBO Archival Collection and are available at no charge for online viewing after registration. The collection, which includes more than 70 million feet of 35mm films, also contains historic footage dating back to 1913 and hundreds of hours of vintage Government films and Universal Newsreel programs. A teacher treasure vault.

THE UNORGANIZED MIDDLE SCHOOLER
There are many middle school students who but for their poor organizational skills would be performing on a satisfactory level, says Susan Mulcaire, author of "The Middle School Student's Guide to Ruling the World." In this article, Mulcaire tells the story of Aman, who "might not be so quick to throw in the towel and label himself a failure" if he "truly understood that his organizational habits, not his intellectual ability are driving his performance." Mulcaire goes on to describe a successful intervention by Aman's teacher. Also see "Taming the Dragon of Classroom Chaos," by middle school teacher Cossondra George, on the same subject.