History Games: Facts Review
Aaron Brock, a middle school history teacher in urban Compton CA, begins a 3-part series on classroom games with Facts Review (templates included!)
Teaching and learning in grades 4-8
What Should Middle School Be?
As he contemplates his new role as middle level division leader, Charlie Gramatges considers the middle school essentials that best serve young adolescents.
Getting RTI Right
Like CCSS, Response to Intervention is something teachers need to know right now, says reviewer Julie Dermody. Elizabeth Stein’s book, Comprehension Lessons for RTI (Grades 3-5): Assessments, Intervention Lessons and Management Tips to Help You Reach and Teach Tier 2 Students, is the place to start.
How Middle School Kids Rejected Stereotypes
Eighth graders present a video and describe the creation of their “I AM Wall” – part of a project on stereotyping that included reading S.E. Hinton’s The Outsiders. “It seems that we keep discovering things about ourselves every day, so all we need to strive for is to be ourselves.”
The Common Core in Action
Reviewer Laura Von Staden says Teaching Students to Dig Deeper: The Common Core in Action by Ben Johnson is valuable for its ideas about rethinking the school enterprise in the era of the Common Core.
Read Now to Thrive This Fall
Reviewer Linda Biondi says Teaching Matters (2nd Edition): How to Keep Your Passion and Thrive in Today’s Classroom by Todd & Beth Whitaker will help you weather the education storms & create sunnier days in your school and classroom.
STEM & Professional Learning
MiddleWeb’s STEM Imagineering blogger Anne Jolly applies her expert knowledge about effective professional learning teams to STEM PD.
Dewey’s Empowering Quote
A powerful insight by John Dewey can unite teachers across the past, present and future and continues to inspire and energize special educator Elizabeth Stein.
The Power of Teacher Teams
Jill Spencer’s conversational, resource filled book,Teaming Rocks! Collaborate in Powerful Ways to Ensure Student Success, makes a compelling case for high functioning teacher teams says reviewer Susan Shaver.
Leading Teachers to Improve
Reviewer Anne Anderson finds You Don’t Have to Be Bad to Get Better: A Leader’s Guide to Improving Teacher Quality by Candi McKay a practical, easy-to-read handbook for school leaders who want to bolster student learning by helping teachers grow professionally.
