How do your students react when you ask them to work together in groups? Cheers or groans? Teacherpreneur and author Patrice Palmer shares strategies to plan ahead and avoid group project pitfalls and to help students see the benefits of working with each other.
Each day in Sarah Cooper’s 8th grade U.S. history class, they begin with a 5-minute discussion of current events. The sheer number of mass attacks in the United States this semester has pummeled Sarah and her students. She ponders how she and other teachers can continue to respond.
Close Reading the Media / Literacy and Film
by Frank Baker · Published 11/28/2017 · Last modified 11/28/2019
Film, video and television media are powerful engagement tools for literacy teachers. Author and media consultant Frank W. Baker shares lots of ideas about using screenplays, closed captioning, and media-related projects to boost reading and other literacy skills.
Maps and mapmaking can help bring visual “connector points” to ELA lessons, says teacher Kevin Hodgson, serving as writing prompts, aids in teaching novels, reflection/assessment tools, and more. Learn some of the ways he uses both digital and hand-drawn maps in class.
What’s one of the most fun ways to introduce students to a new science concept, a historical era, or a math idea? A picture book biography! NBCT and media specialist Christina Dorr suggests tying them to standards, using them as read alouds, or for individual student motivation.
Book Reviews / Social & Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 11/02/2017 · Last modified 11/17/2019
The content of “Teaching Kids to Thrive” will help teach students positive ways to think, practice executive functioning skills, and create a culture of caring and responsibility. Linda Biondi describes why she found it to be one of the most empowering books she’s read.
Restorative Justice / Two Teachers in the Room
by MiddleWeb · Published 10/31/2017 · Last modified 03/04/2024
Restorative justice practices put students in control of behaviors, writes Elizabeth Stein. Rather than being separated from peers in punitive ways, students gain a collaborative perspective and feel more accepted, supported, and capable of making positive decisions.
Close Reading the Media / News Literacy
by Frank Baker · Published 09/26/2017 · Last modified 11/16/2019
No one knows for sure whether there will be actual war with North Korea, but talk about the potential conflict abounds on TV and in social media. Media literacy expert Frank W. Baker calls on teachers to help students learn how to identify trustworthy news sources now.
Future of History / History and Spoken Poetry
by Sarah Cooper · Published 09/24/2017 · Last modified 11/24/2019
History teacher Sarah Cooper is enthusiastically barreling into the year with a totally untried project. It asks eighth graders to research a current issue in the news that they’re passionate about, then write and film their own spoken word poem. What could go wrong?
Book Reviews / Social & Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 09/21/2017 · Last modified 11/17/2019
Debbie Silver and Dedra Stafford offer a detailed look at social-emotional learning in Teaching Kids to Thrive. Veteran teacher David Bever finds the up-to-the-minute research coupled with extensive strategies a winning combination for boosting SEL practice.
