In an era when imaginative exploration of language is missing from many ELA classrooms, Ralph Fletcher’s wonderful book, Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft that Sparks Writing, celebrates playful writing, says reviewer Kevin Hodgson.
STEM curriculum writer Anne Jolly spent a week in math and science classrooms with students, testing teachers’ STEM lesson ideas. Great student comments!
Exploring Rubrics / MiddleWeb Classics
by MiddleWeb · Published 04/21/2013 · Last modified 11/13/2019
This compilation from our first MiddleWeb site features information about creating and using rubrics effectively and a variety of exemplars.
Inference Rubric / MiddleWeb Classics
by MiddleWeb · Published 04/19/2013 · Last modified 01/19/2024
In this MiddleWeb Classic post, literacy coach Juli Kendall shares a rubric used in her middle school across content areas to evaluate a student’s level of inference with academic texts.
Teachers will find creative alternatives to the traditional book report that tap into student interests and creative writing in Ban the Book Report: Promoting Frequent and Enthusiastic Reading, says reviewer Nicole Warchol.
Reading Without Limits: Teaching Strategies to Build Independent Reading for Life, a practical guide to developing and sustaining lifelong readers, “almost brought me out of retirement,” says veteran middle grades teacher Beverly Maddox.
To help readers grasp how engineering principles are integrated into math & science curriculum, Anne Jolly reveals the anatomy of a real STEM lesson.
Vocabulary Strategies That Work: Do This – Not That! is an excellent book for all teachers who want to strengthen students’ grasp of the vocabulary associated with their subject, says ELA teacher Brooke Schultz.
Four years after becoming an instructional coach, Elena Aguilar once again found herself in front of a class of 8th graders, looking for trusting relationships. “Within just five minutes, I was humbled. Who did I think I was that I could incur their trust that fast? I wanted to bow down to the teacher—Oh, yes, this is so hard.”
In her review of Larry Ferlazzo’s Self-Driven Learning: Teaching Strategies for Student Motivation, Julie Dermody says, “Educators who read this book will become more effective teachers…better equipped to deal with daily challenges of motivating our students.”
