For much of her career, middle level teacher Stephanie Farley felt confounded when students “told me they didn’t understand where their grades came from.” Then her principal set her on a path of discovery that’s led to competency based learning and students eagerly self-grading.
Students with special needs face a particular challenge in middle school. Literacy is crucial to understanding academic content, and for many, literacy is a weakness. Blackburn and Witzel offer strategies to help them see patterns, read fluently, and comprehend information.
Although the writing challenges Writing Workshop co-developer Shelley Harwayne designs aim to be rigorous, she tries to make sure there’s an element of joy attached. “When assignments are enticing and engaging, it becomes rather easy for students to do what they’re asked.”
Rather than fixating on immigrant parents’ economic conditions and languages as deficits and labeling them as unable to contribute to their children’s education, ML specialist Tan Huynh advocates for an assets-affirming narrative, sharing the instructive story of his own mother.
Vocabulary / Vocabulary / Wide Open Learning
by Megan Kelly · Published 03/06/2022 · Last modified 10/23/2024
How can teachers be more intentional about teaching vocabulary words given the limited instructional time available? Megan Kelly shares ways she has begun to add more vocabulary instruction into small pockets of class time using focus words, drawing, GIFs, and Spot It cards.
School leaders often find themselves coping with unexpected events that create turbulence and uncertainty. During the pandemic, these challenges have expanded and intensified. Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share six researched steps to help leaders respond effectively.
As Russia begins its invasion of Ukraine, many adults turn to the news to stay informed. Our students do too. Expert Frank Baker considers where kids get their news these days and shares resources to help them follow current events in an era of sensationalism and disinformation.
I Is for Inquiry presents a diverse repertoire of concepts to help teachers be intentional about embedding inquiry-based teaching and learning strategies into their lessons and supporting K-12 students in embracing a learning mindset, writes Michael McLaughlin.
Novels in verse offer quicker reads with instant character connections, vivid imagery, pathways to complex issues, strong narratives, and much more. ELA teacher Kasey Short shares how to use them in class and introduces lots of titles for your middle graders.
Using Google Sheets is an efficient way to keep track of student data and meet other progress monitoring needs, writes NBCT Kathleen Palmieri. Once the initial set up is completed, you’ll find many uses for this quick data check that justify your time investment. Here’s how!
