Megan Kelly always intends to integrate poetry across her units, but somehow ends up scrambling each year as National Poetry Month approaches. This fall she has a list of activities to hold herself accountable. Try some of her ideas in your own ELA, history, science or math classes.
This summer Rita Platt is transitioning from teacher-librarian to principal at her school. With 25 years in education, she feels ready. Sharing a letter she sent to fellow staff members, she asks readers to comment on what principals need to know to be good leaders.
Student Civic Action / Working Draft
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 03/25/2018 · Last modified 11/12/2019
If ever there was a time to think about how to prepare our students for the larger stage of the public civic sphere, it’s now. Teacher Kevin Hodgson interviews author and educator Steven Zemelman who has been working with teachers to move kids from inquiry into action.
Why talk about mistakes in math class? Nancy C. Anderson has the answer in her book “What’s Right About Wrong Answers.” Resource teacher Kimberly Mueller says Anderson’s activities can help students learn how to analyze their mistakes and develop a growth mindset.
When students are busy learning, staying in a single group is stifling. The solution for teacher-author Amber Chandler is a “flexible classroom” where students rotate through strategic groupings to meet differentiated needs at various stages of the learning process.
For literacy consultant Sarah Tantillo, Reading Informational Text (RIT) Standard 2.1 is both essential and easy to learn. Yet she suspects many students well beyond Grade 2 haven’t mastered it. She shares a quick technique to teach this high-leverage skill in middle grades.
Book Reviews / Student Driven Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/03/2014 · Last modified 11/18/2019
New teachers and veterans alike will find plenty to emulate in Marsha Ratzel’s Teaching in High Gear, which reflects upon her journey to a connected, student-driven classroom. Ratzel’s creation of her own PLN is also instructive, says reviewer Julie Ron.
Articles / Teaching Vocabulary / Vocabulary
by MiddleWeb · Published 11/03/2013 · Last modified 01/26/2020
ELA teacher & former llama wrangler Lee Ann Spillane details how she teaches content-related vocabulary using several versatile digital tools.
The “M” in STEM often feels like a footnote, says Martha Riecks, especially in math classrooms where students need more space to explore ideas & ask questions.
Filmmaker Kesa Kivel worked with middle school students in an after-school YWCA program to produce a short film about the slavery experience in the United States.
