Done right, teacher coaching “can create bridges between varied experiences and classroom contexts, so that teaching knowledge flows in many directions, and teaching becomes a less isolated, more connected profession.” Ariel Sacks shares two lessons she learned early on.
This fall, as school districts scattered around the country are considering “no homework” policies, teacher educator Curtis Chandler looks at research on whether and how homework can support learning and suggests teaching apps to help make it short, meaningful, and accessible.
Future of History / History Resources
by Sarah Cooper · Published 09/10/2017 · Last modified 03/02/2021
A history teacher’s role is to transmute history into stories and lessons that engage and inform students. Sarah Cooper shares a think-aloud “wondering” about ways to incorporate some of her summer professional reading into middle school history classes this year.
Close Reading the Media / The Emmy Awards
by Frank Baker · Published 08/31/2017 · Last modified 09/08/2021
As the Emmys return in September to celebrate the art and craft of television, how do we encourage students to view the programming from a media literacy perspective, with the thinking parts of their brains turned on? Frank Baker ties television studies to CCSS.
Close Reading the Media / News Literacy
by Frank Baker · Published 08/28/2017 · Last modified 12/03/2019
How do today’s students access news and what do they understand about its origins? In his Close Reading the Media column, expert Frank W. Baker offers ideas and activities for engaging students in critical thinking about how they share and consume news in social media.
Future of History / Student Speaking
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 08/27/2017 · Last modified 11/25/2019
We all want our students to contribute more to class by doing more of the talking. But getting kids to participate effectively is easier said than done. Lauren Brown applies Erik Palmer’s PVLEGS and Dave Stuart Jr.’s pop-up debates to help students grow as speakers.
Mary Tarashuk is counting on Peter Brown’s fiction picture books to enliven her 4th graders’ adaptation to their new classroom and their first science unit on animal and plant adaptation. The Global Read Aloud, featuring Brown’s Roz the Wild Robot, is in the wings.
Heart of the School / Social Justice
by Rita Platt · Published 08/14/2017 · Last modified 12/10/2019
In her first post at a new MiddleWeb blog, “Heart of the School,” teacher-librarian Rita Platt responds to a weekend of civil strife and a deepening discussion about race and diversity in America with eight steps she believes can promote social justice through education.
Book Reviews / Race, Class and School
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/03/2017 · Last modified 11/18/2019
After building a theoretical groundwork for social justice education, Caldwell and Frame organize their book around the constructs of gender, race, and class. Each section includes a bank of relevant lesson plans, activities, and videos, says teacher Amy Estersohn.
Book Reviews / Social & Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 07/27/2017 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Carla Tantillo Philibert’s Everyday SEL in Middle School gives SEL implementation guidelines and brief lessons to help educators in classrooms and schoolwide meet their students’ social and emotional needs, says former teacher/now principal Tonya Curt-Hoard.
