Author: MiddleWeb

Why We Need to Teach Puberty Education in 4-6

Many problems that emerge in the ‘wonder years’ might be alleviated with a high quality puberty education program, writes health educator Wendy Sellers. “You will benefit from cultivating a more productive classroom climate and knowing you are meeting your students’ needs.”

Why Students Still Need Community Libraries

Scholastic’s Dwaine Millard explores how community libraries can both offer all young people opportunities to improve their access to resources and technology and provide face-to-face settings where they can form positive social norms outside the boundaries of social media.

Strength-Based Goal Setting for Gifted Kids

Phelps and Lewis offer a comprehensive guide to setting goals, delineating a process that is sure to be impactful for gifted learners. Specialists working with 2E or underachieving students will appreciate the strengths-first framing, writes gifted education leader Kim Rensch.

Graphic Novels: Paired or Primary Reads?

Do graphic novels get to stand on their own, or should they be paired with additional texts? ELA teacher Jason DeHart explores that question and concludes (no surprise) that the answer is both. See his suggestions for paired titles that will appeal to middle grades readers.

Single Point Rubrics Are Efficient and Impactful

The single point rubric – a minimalist, stripped-down version of the standard 4-point rubric – provides efficiency for teachers and is impactful for students because the simplified teacher feedback fosters growth, writes Stephanie Farley. She also shares three grading tips.

Feeling Overwhelmed? Try These 7 Strategies

The number one frustration Barbara Blackburn hears from educators is TIME! “I just don’t have time to do everything I need to.” Try her seven strategies to cope with constant planning and overflowing calendars. And remember this: perfectionism can be the enemy of completion.

Team Leader Moves That Impact Adult Learning

Intentional Moves: How Skillful Team Leaders Impact Learning is a treasure for any educator who coaches, is a team leader, an administrator or spends a significant amount of their time working with professional colleagues, writes adult learning consultant Cathy Gassenheimer.

Using Taylor Swift Lyrics to Engage Kids with Text

Taylor Swift is back on stage with her 2023 New Eras tour, rekindling the fervor of her school-aged fans. You can bring Tay Tay to ELA class with ideas from Patty McGee: selecting TS songs to understand a fictional character, analyzing her lyrics in several formats, and more.

We Don’t Need CRT to Say That Race Matters

In Jay Wamsted’s 8th grade math class he chooses to go right for the conversation on race and culture when the opportunity arises. “After all, why not try to know each other a little better?” Learning happens, he says, when students and teacher can be authentic with each other.

Can ChatGPT Help with Historical Research?

Despite misgivings about plagiarism, many educators are excited about the promise of ChatGPT to help students research content-area topics for papers and projects. MiddleWeb’s John Norton shares his “conversation” with the new ChatGPT-4 while researching some family history.