Students’ languages are one of the most effective tools they have to achieve academically, writes language specialist Tan Huynh. When we create space for heritage languages across the learning experience, we help students understand content and more fully express themselves.
Women’s history is no longer in hiding, thanks to scholars who are documenting women’s impact on society. Middle grades teachers can help their students trace that history with these resources, just updated and expanded, for Women’s History Month and beyond.
In his fourth post in a series exploring ways that digital literacy impacts teaching and learning in the middle grades, Jason DeHart considers a wide range of digital texts (including music, visuals, film, video) and notes changing trends in engagement among his students.
Social media can disrupt concentration and healthy social development in adolescents. To counter its effects, principal Mike Gaskell looks at causes and suggests one helpful strategy to reduce stress and anxiety – ambient sound. Build the focus and flow students need to thrive.
History & social studies / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 02/10/2024 · Last modified 02/21/2024
African Americans faced severe repression when Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week in 1926. In this updated MiddleWeb resource, we share links that trace the impact of African Americans in politics, arts and sciences, and report on the call to teach Black history throughout the school year.
Embracing failure is a mindset we can weave throughout the curriculum, teaching students that failing isn’t the end but a crucial step toward success. STEAM author-educator Kara Ball shares three activities to help students in persevering through and even celebrating failure.
Jeny Randall introduces her 6th graders to Shakespeare, first tossing quotes around a circle, then character mapping, and finally prepping and presenting scenes. Keying into themes of Identity and Origin, she rotates among 3 comedies’ mistaken identities. The kids love it!
Many teachers are intrigued by the Socratic method but worry “it won’t work with my students.” A Socratic seminar calls on ALL the big executive skills. Patricia Cook and Susanne Croasdaile found that we don’t need to wait until they’re all “ready” – we can just dive in!
As she describes some ways she’s begun to work fun, ethical AI components into major assignments, Sarah Cooper wonders how the nature of learning and teaching will evolve in tandem with the evolution of Large Language Models. How do we best prepare our students for the future?
Jennifer Bogard and Lisa Donovan share ways to humanize social studies and bolster student engagement with history by pairing Library of Congress primary sources and arts-integration strategies. Try their lesson plans for altered text, soundscapes, and sketching to observe.
