Education isn’t about what the teacher does, it’s about what the child learns, write Genius Hour innovators Denise Krebs and Gallit Zvi. Learning happens in every subject when students have a purpose and are given autonomy and time. And their learning can benefit the world.
Future of History / History & Current Events
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/29/2020 · Last modified 10/15/2024
The antiracist protests occurring across the country since the killing of George Floyd have led Lauren Brown and Sarah Cooper – two white female middle school social studies teachers – to consider even more deeply “how best to teach U.S. history.” Join the conversation.
The authors of the Social Studies Teacher’s Toolbox have constructed a research-based “honest, human guide” to helping students understand and care about what they learn. You will dig through and dog-ear it, and your students will be the richer for it, writes Sarah Cooper.
When Karen Rubado started reading this book, she hoped to pick up some tips to make “turn and talk” in her classroom work better. Instead she found new perspectives on teaching conversation as a skill and on using talk as a way to deepen knowledge in any subject area.
Articles / New Teacher Advice / Teacher Self-care
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/23/2020 · Last modified 06/28/2020
How do we ‘not take things personally’? We take feedback seriously but not to a point of diminishing our value. Teacher educator Victoria Lentfer, author of Keep Calm and Teach, shares ways to prepare for the stress and anxiety novices may encounter in the school environment.
In Part 2 of a series on using picture books in middle school, Jennifer Sniadecki and Jason DeHart focus on “the simple power” of stories with minimal text to set the stage for lessons, provide background knowledge, and make efficient use of daily class time. Example: Eva Bunting’s Terrible Things.
In addition to offering how-to’s on presenting read-alouds, Rebecca Bellingham shares extensive resources for taking students beyond hearing a story to understanding the story and learning how to share their reactions. Sixth grade teacher Jeny Randall finds lots to use.
Assessment of Gifted and High-Ability Learners is a guide to classroom assessment for instructional decisions, using the authors’ framework, Dynamic Teaching. The book presents a good foundation of three common assessment tools, writes gifted education specialist Kate Boonstra.
We enjoy publishing MiddleWeb articles that team a school-based teacher and a school-focused author/consultant who share classroom strategies they’ve been developing together. We’ve chosen 10 examples from our trove of guest articles to showcase the power of these team-ups.
“I used to think clever lessons would show students how much I cared,” writes sixth grade teacher Kelly Owens. But she’s come to understand that “If you want to fully engage and motivate students to delve into your innovative instruction, get going first with a greeting!”
