Author: MiddleWeb

Calming the Waters When Parents Are Angry

Every principal has dealt with unhappy or angry parents and guardians. Many family members simply have a concern and want to share it with someone they believe can resolve the problem. Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn offer ways to calm waters and get to solutions.

How to Inspire and Connect with Your Staff

Throughout Putting Teachers First, Brad Johnson supports his strong belief that a positive relationship between leader and teacher is essential in successful schools. He shares a myriad of ways to make that relationship happen, writes international ed leader Brad Latzke.

Teaching Chemistry with More Voice and Choice

Differentiating Instruction with Menus is great for encouraging middle level students’ voice and choice and allows teachers without a strong science background to feel more comfortable with the content (especially chemistry), writes science teacher-coach Emily Lane.

How Many? A Counting Book for Everyone

Educators and parents alike will find How Many? A Counting Book a beautiful adventure in learning about how children can grapple with the complexities of mathematical reasoning in relatively simple terms using everyday objects, says history (?!) teacher Michael DiClemente.

Classroom-Ready Word Study Tools

Pam Koutrakos offers a goldmine of fresh ideas we can dig into as we launch our word study routines – building our repertoire so we can stay engaged with word learning all year long. Best of all, she shares good ways to assess student progress and keep track of growth.

Follow Early Humans to Global Expansion

Inquiry-Based Lessons in World History is a practical set of adaptable lesson plans and ideas starting with early humans. The book is ready for the classroom. Social studies teacher Stephanie Gilbert recommends the book to fellow history teachers.

Working Hard, Working Happy in the Classroom

Who needs Working Hard, Working Happy? Happy teachers! They will feel validated when they recognize many favorite practices. Unhappy teachers! They can nurture a culture of joy in their classrooms with the practical strategies Rita Platt offers, writes Anne Anderson.

Use a 4-Step Countdown to Launch Math Lingo

Like a rocket launch, learning math lingo requires plenty of ongoing, personalized checkpoints. Author and instructional coach Pam Koutrakos offers a streamlined, easily replicable process we can all use to help middle grades students prepare to take off with math vocabulary.

How to Get the Most Out of Informational Videos

Students love when teachers share videos as part of a lesson in any subject. But they can be vague when asked to recall the rich details or ideas that were included. Sunday Cummins, author of Close Reading of Informational Sources, has five quick lessons that can help.