Mary Tarashuk is counting on Peter Brown’s fiction picture books to enliven her 4th graders’ adaptation to their new classroom and their first science unit on animal and plant adaptation. The Global Read Aloud, featuring Brown’s Roz the Wild Robot, is in the wings.
Heart of the School / Social Justice
by Rita Platt · Published 08/14/2017 · Last modified 01/22/2025
In her first post at a new MiddleWeb blog, “Heart of the School,” teacher-librarian Rita Platt responds to a weekend of civil strife and a deepening discussion about race and diversity in America with eight steps she believes can promote social justice through education.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Social-Emotional Learning
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 08/13/2017 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Cheryl Mizerny resolves to spend this school year cultivating a culture of kindness among her middle level students as she joins with them to create The Kind Classroom. Summer reading and listening have helped lay the groundwork for her comprehensive SEL approach.
This is a needed, practical book for superintendents, school leaders, and others who want to know how districts work and how these key figures should function in terms of school governance and working relationships, says retired principal Mary Langer Thompson.
We might think a new school year should start off with solemnity. But that’s not the message teacher Heather Wolpert-Gawron has garnered from her survey of 6-12th graders across the country. Students learn more when teachers share their humanity and their humor ASAP.
As the new school year approaches, explore a selection of digital tools recommended by teacher educator Curtis Chandler that can help you streamline lesson planning, create secure class websites, connect with families, and gather information on how your new students like to learn.
Building classroom community through fun and engaging activities is important at the beginning of school and throughout the year. Author/educator Walton Burns urges teachers to be sure you’re setting students up for success by communicating your expectations clearly.
Future of History / Learning Spaces
by Sarah Cooper · Published 07/30/2017 · Last modified 12/05/2019
Amid a near-universal celebration of collaborative, interactive work as a 21st century reality and ideal, teacher Sarah Cooper investigates something we so often forget in our classrooms and our schools: the need for quiet space and the challenges of achieving it.
First Days of Math Class / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 07/23/2017 · Last modified 12/12/2019
Michelle Russell anticipates her math students will arrive in a few weeks with predictable gaps in their understanding of operations involving fractions and equations. To be more proactive, she’ll offer some refresher activities during the first week of school.
How can school leaders help Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials in the same building work side by side collaboratively? Jennifer Abrams and Valeria A. von Frank define the challenges and offer suggestions Linda Biondi finds essential.
