Upstanders supports the complex challenge of cross-content literacy with excellent lesson plans, and authors Smokey Daniels and Sara Ahmed also describe a path to develop the most difficult skill for young middle schoolers, learning to be truly empathic.
Teachers who want to combine deep reading of poetry with the joy of discovery will find engaging lessons and activities in Georgia Heard’s Poetry Lessons to Meet the Common Core. Reviewer Linda Biondi praises the book’s strategies to “live with a poem for a week.”
Character Building / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 01/29/2015 · Last modified 11/27/2019
Fourth grade teacher Mary Tarashuk describes how lines from the musical In the Woods, the new Julian chapter of RJ Palacio’s Wonder, and a chance encounter with an anti-bullying article came together to spark some memorable student wisdom about character.
Book Reviews / Teaching in the Middle
by MiddleWeb · Published 01/22/2015 · Last modified 11/30/2019
Even if you think you know all there is to know about middle schoolers, says teacher-reviewer Beth Morrow, you are bound to understand their thinking and behavior differently after you finish reading What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know.
Working to bring America’s Colonial Period to life in the classroom? Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis’ new toolkit will help history teachers engage students with primary sources, digital links and visual guides. “A gold mine!” says reviewer Linda Biondi.
What happened to classroom play and activities like dramatic storytelling? How do we bring it back? Kevin Hodgson finds answers in Kevin Cordi’s lively book Playing with Stories, which suggests ways to use storytelling as literacy and speaking practice.
Film literacy is an important skill in an increasingly visual world. It’s in the ELA standards for grades 7 & 8. But how do we teach it if we don’t have access to films in the classroom? Expert Frank Baker helps bring film alive without a DVD in sight.
The Power of Teacher Leaders will empower readers to mobilize colleagues to positively affect school change and student achievement through shared and collaborative practice. See it happen in case studies, says reviewer Linda Biondi. With an online study guide.
Summarizing may seem simple to adults, says teacher/author Heather Wolpert-Gawron, but it’s a cross content skill that many adolescents struggle with. TweenTeacher shares techniques from her classroom, including asking students to create ‘executive summaries’ of information & research.
The Common Core expects students will support claims with evidence from a text. History teacher Aaron Brock shares an innovative technique he created to help weak readers in his under-resourced urban school develop an understanding of this process.
