Heather Wolpert-Gawron’s passion for PBL goes back to her elementary years. Nowadays she builds units for middle schoolers to encourage their journeys through learning. Here she shares a structure to support students while simplifying teachers’ preparation.
Debbie Zacarian and Michael Silverstone successfully build the case for school and community partnerships in diverse settings that are two-way relationships with the goal of increased student achievement, both academic and social, says principal Deb Hubble.
Jerry Burkhart’s Advanced Common Core Math Explorations: Fractions Grades 5-8 can change middle graders’ attitude about fractions from consternation to curiosity and “produce true knowledge of the essence of all types of fractions,” says teacher Karen Bloom.
Teacher Teamwork explains the stages of effective team building, including agendas, routines, common purpose & more. Educator Laura Von Staden reports the book is right on point in terms of activities & concepts to implement, but may be overly time consuming.
Reading Learn Like a Pirate is “like having a front row seat in a master teacher’s classroom,” says educator Laura Von Staden. She recommends the book’s guidelines for empowering students as well as its plentiful resources to help each reader chart a fresh path.
Bringing Math Students into the Formative Assessment Equation is in a league of its own by focusing solely on the middle level math educator who wants to write effective learning targets. Educator Maia Fastabend already plans to employ some of the book’s tools.
Educators may be reluctant to try memoir writing with middle grades students, but the rewards are considerable, says 8th grade teacher-author Jake Wizner. He shares three insights that can help guide teachers as they enrich the student writing experience.
Field trips don’t have to be elaborate, says school leader Mike Janatovich, but they are important for young adolescents who are still making connections between academic content and the real world. He shares ideas and tips to plan an outing this fall.
Connected Reading: Teaching Adolescent Readers in a Digital World lays out the rationale, as well as a path forward, for expanding the definitions of reading, showing how to engage readers in authentic experiences using varied texts, says Kevin Hodgson.
Knowing how television programming is funded can help students understand what is available to view. Media literacy expert Frank W. Baker links to sources of advertising data and suggests activities to build student savvy about the genres that fill their screens.
