Lauren Buell’s 8th grade ELA team works with students on a comprehensive unit that helps all participants develop speaking, listening, writing, reading and life skills as they prepare end-of-year TED-style talks. She shares the unit’s impact once students enter high school.
Making her first forays into using AI in lesson planning, NBCT Kathleen Palmieri is amazed at ChatGPT’s grade level suggestions based on lesson plan objectives. Follow along as she shows how the chatbot developed math and social studies material attuned to her fifth graders.
India is different from the U.S. in many ways, writes Fulbright teacher Marilyn Pryle, but many of the issues they are trying to address are global issues that all countries face. Here are three things India’s public schools often do better than their American counterparts.
Articles / Back to School / Mentoring
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/20/2023 · Last modified 07/17/2024
How can seasoned educators improve teacher retention rates? By helping new colleagues address two retention factors – student behavior and classroom climate – says middle grades veteran Sharon Ratliff. “Let’s show them how to manage their school of fish without being a shark.”
Civics advocate Shawn McCusker doesn’t agree with a noted professor’s premise that there’s no hope for democracy, but “I do agree that our failure to prepare our citizens for the responsibilities of democracy is an existential crisis.” Learn what he urges educators to do.
History & social studies / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 07/14/2023 · Last modified 08/14/2023
Help students discover Labor Day’s origin and the United States labor movement’s past triumphs and current challenges in this MiddleWeb resource roundup. You’ll find resources for history, current events, English Language Arts and civics classes, across grades 4-8.
It’s daunting to invite politics into the classroom. But when we do it right, students can learn to engage meaningfully with people who see the world very differently. Kent Lenci has tips to help the conversations thrive, including developing media literacy and supporting SEL.
Hispanic Heritage Month / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 07/08/2023 · Last modified 09/05/2023
For over 50 years the United States has commemorated the achievements of Hispanic and Latinx Americans as well as learned about the discrimination they have faced over centuries. MiddleWeb’s resource collection can help students learn more about this rich and complex heritage.
Math and ELA rule in the early middle grades. Kathie Palmieri asked her 5th graders to reflect on the science and social studies wedged into her class this year. She’s amazed at all they retained and their ideas to blend in more. Now she’s plotting to put their ideas to work.
We have a severe shortage of tech workers that’s growing geometrically. Today, women make up just 27% of people in STEM careers. How do we finally get girls fully engaged in STEM? Anne Jolly shares a series of questions and tips that can guide STEM teachers and school leaders.
