Adding 5 minutes to 4 content classes this past year meant losing morning homeroom for Kevin Hodgson’s 6th graders. No time to “check in” with each other, do community-building activities, and forge an identity as a group of learners. He’s missed it terribly.
Kids on the Cusp / Learning Revolution
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/30/2016 · Last modified 11/16/2019
As her fourth graders study the lead-up to the American Revolution, Mary Tarashuk finds echoes in today’s confrontation over free speech pitting test makers against teachers and students who question the validity of test elements. Free history resources included.
Though David Sherrin’s lessons and examples are especially helpful to English and social studies classes, any teacher wanting to try the engaging strategy of role playing will appreciate his book full of how-to ideas, says 7th grade teacher Emily Prissel.
What motivates teens to innovate in STEM? Anne Jolly researches the background of young inventors who are making a difference for our 21st century lives and identifies some common experiences that helped them be successful, including the support of teachers.
In Who’s Doing the Work? Jan Burkins and Kim Yaris ask important questions about how literacy teachers should approach reading instruction for a new generation of students. Reviewer and former literacy coach Nancy Chodoroff has high praise for their insights.
Book Reviews / Student Driven Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 05/19/2016 · Last modified 11/12/2019
Want to shift ownership of the classroom to your students, give up reward and punishment systems, eliminate homework, and revamp your current grading system? Laura Von Staden suggests starting with Pernille Ripp’s resource-rich, inspiring Passionate Learners.
Book Reviews / Response to Intervention
by MiddleWeb · Published 05/19/2016 · Last modified 11/12/2019
Best Practices at Tier 1 will help teachers learn how to create brain-friendly environments, develop a powerful core curriculum by shifting to more collaborative teaching, apply differentiation strategies, and use data to inform instruction, says Linda Biondi.
Adolescents have a strong attraction to parody, says media literacy expert Frank Baker. Luckily the Common Core includes parody as a genre worthy of study. Baker shares resources and ideas to involve middle graders in some fun as they learn important skills.
Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and Diane Lapp want teachers to use the ideas and advice in Text Complexity “to support every student in becoming more skilled at reading complex texts.” Anne Anderson reports their book will “stretch” both teachers and students!
Building on their 2001 edition of Dealing with Difficult Parents, Todd Whitaker and Douglas J. Fiore offer a valuable resource for professional development, says reviewer Holly Foley, especially when addressing difficult relationships between home and school.
