Teaching and learning in grades 4-8

Help Kids Read with Skill and Passion

Reading Nancie Atwell and Anne Atwell Merkel’s The Reading Zone, 2nd edition, is like getting a letter from a good friend and mentor, says ELA teacher Amy Matthes. Find reading workshop case studies to help readers become passionate, skilled, and habitual.

First Aid for Teacher Burnout: A Must-Read

Jenny Grant Rankin’s First Aid for Teacher Burnout: How You Can Find Peace and Success is the perfect salve for the tired teacher’s soul. This short book is packed full of great ideas to relieve, rejuvenate, and energize, says teacher-librarian Rita Platt.

STEM and STEAM — What’s the Difference?

Anne Jolly has had more inquiries from folk in the middle school arena on whether they should implement a STEM program or a STEAM program. She doesn’t think it’s an “Either-or.” She thinks it’s a “Both” with creativity and critical thinking sharing space.

Tips for Working with Millennial Teachers

Baby Boomer teachers are rapidly retiring and being replaced by members of Generation Y or “Millennials” who hold very different beliefs about the workplace and the way principals work with them. Ronald Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share ideas to help them thrive.

A System to Teach Short-Response Writing

Literacy coach Amber Bartlein finds Alan Sitomer’s “Mastering Short-Response Writing” to be “a quick read with practical ideas that can be implemented tomorrow.” His Three C’s System has already helped all of Barlein’s writers, including the ones who struggle most.

How to Write Better Lesson Plans

Ben Curran offers a future classic on lesson planning as a reflective, deliberate, on-going practice built with precision and thought. Teacher Linda Biondi thinks pre-service teachers, teacher educators and classroom veterans will all benefit from his practical advice.