Book Reviews / Student Driven Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 12/10/2013 · Last modified 11/17/2019
Reviewer Elisa Waingort highly recommends Student-Driven Learning to those who want to move toward a classroom where students are in the driver’s seat. The authors show how teachers can analyze current practice and begin leading students on hops, drives, and journeys toward ownership of learning.
Media literacy consultant Frank W. Baker considers some of the ways that media arts intersect with STEM and present STEAM learning opportunities.
Working Draft / Writing with Students
by Kevin Hodgson · Published 11/03/2013 · Last modified 11/17/2019
ELA teacher Kevin Hodgson often joins his students during freewriting time and sometimes shares his own messy work, as a way to model what writers do.
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.
Future of History / New Teacher Advice / Novice History Teachers
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/18/2013 · Last modified 11/13/2019
What should new social studies teachers keep in mind as they begin their first year in the classroom? Our three Future of History bloggers have tips!
The Co-Teaching Relationship / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 08/11/2013 · Last modified 11/18/2019
In the first of two posts about co-teaching in the new school year, Elizabeth Stein identifies her top priority for 2013-14: building strong co-teacher relationships. Answer four guiding questions and you’re well on your way!
STEM & the Makers Movement / STEM By Design
by Anne Jolly · Published 06/23/2013 · Last modified 11/23/2019
The authors of “Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom” share an exciting guest post at Anne Jolly’s STEM Imagineering blog. The tools and ethos of the maker revolution offer insight and hope for middle schools and for science and math studies, they say. “The breadth of options and the ‘can-do’ attitude is exactly what students need.”
Elisa Waingort found valuable ideas in this book from the “PLC at Work” series but objected to the intense focus on assessment-driven school improvement.
Book Reviews / Vocabulary Instruction
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/09/2013 · Last modified 02/03/2024
In addition to its comprehensive, CCSS-friendly approach to integrating vocabulary lessons into literacy curriculum, Word Nerds: Teaching All Students to Learn and Love Vocabulary is also fun for students, says reviewer Linda Biondi.
Jeff Charbonneau, science educator & 2013 National Teacher of the Year, talks about STEM education & his relationships-first teaching philosophy.
