Whether your ELA, social studies or media literacy students are tracking advertising on Madison Avenue or Capitol Hill, expert Frank W. Baker has the tools and ideas you need to blend this high engagement topic into standards-based lessons on analyzing informational text.
At the beginning of a new school year, establishing a strong class culture is a top priority, whether we are face-to-face or virtual. We can’t assume this culture exists, even if students have been classmates before. Lynne Dorfman shares some community building ideas.
Educators of English learners and marginalized students owe much to the scholarship of James Cummins, who has helped dispel myths around home language use, developed the concept of social and academic language, and provided actionable strategies to empower learners.
Michelle Russell has found the first 10 days of teaching her hybrid classes even more exhausting than her first year in the classroom. But she’s learning fast how to help her math students adjust to a new reality – and to find the time and support she needs to prosper.
Future of History / Social Emotional Learning
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 08/30/2020 · Last modified 09/11/2020
As Lauren Brown heads back to school for a year like no other, she considers how to combine academics and SEL support across the content areas. Along with activities for the first days of virtual or physical class, she offers three guidelines to engage kids all year.
Kathryn Caprino and Sean Ruday encourage you to include inquiry in your teaching this fall, whether it’s face to face, in remote settings, or a blend. The literacy educators share 5 tips with cross-curricular application to engage kids in the pursuit of essential questions.
Articles / Social Studies / Speech & Debate
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/25/2020 · Last modified 04/23/2024
Is it possible to get middle school students to talk respectfully to one another, especially if they don’t agree? Award-winning middle grades history teacher Jennifer Ingold considered this a challenge and set out to integrate debate into her Enduring Issues units. Here’s how!
Author Ariel Tichnor-Wagner provides school leaders with tools to reflect on curricular programming and to scale these learning experiences for students and staff. Middle School head Michael McLaughlin finds the book’s ideas timely and actionable.
Matt Glover shows teachers how they can marry genre units with craft and process studies to give students choice and agency throughout the school year. ELA teacher Rebecca Crockett thanks Glover for revealing ways to teach state standards and give writers more autonomy.
Lauren Brown and Sarah Cooper conclude their 3-part exploration of what it means to teach U.S. History in 2020. With fall elections just ahead, they consider how to balance historical narrative and current events in classes that frequently reflect our divided nation.
