Stephanie Farley was a reluctant adventurer 30 years ago when she took a teaching job “until something better” came along. To her surprise, she discovered a career that has given her the gifts of meaning, mastery and connection – “a powerfully engaging, ever-evolving vocation.”
Academic success relies on students taking charge of their learning. To achieve that goal, kids must learn to organize and study effectively. G/T Facilitator Sharon Ratliff shares strategies she uses to introduce and implant essential study skills in the middle school years.
All students can learn how to pick up the pieces after they face adversity, disappointment, loss, or trauma and go on. They need our guidance to find healthy ways to move forward. Debbie Silver offers six strategies educators can use to create classrooms that foster resiliency.
Resources / Summer Reading & Learning
by Susan Curtis · Published 03/31/2024 · Last modified 05/07/2024
How can teachers help students enjoy reading and learning during summer following another challenging year? Visit MiddleWeb’s expanded resource for Summer 2023, where you’ll find teacher ideas and heaps of book and online suggestions.
Dina Strasser has noticed a tangible impact when her classroom door is closed on a regular basis, as security suggests. “I am isolated, physically and socially.” Students are less likely to wander in. Teachers to wave or stop by. So she’s leaving it locked but open. Defiantly.
Whether summer means it’s time to relax, bolster your professional know-how, improve your bank balance, or reconsider your profession, we have suggestions from your educator colleagues and other sources that can help. Plan now!
Students need to know what to expect when they enter our classrooms, writes teacher Kelly Owens. Consistency on the front end paves the way for more student autonomy and engagement throughout the lesson. Three tips can help teachers achieve “the loyalty to learning we want!”
Jason Kennedy believes that planning on the front-end will result in better learning for students and more enjoyment by the teacher. Cathy Gassenheimer recommends his no-frills, how-to book that’s full of ideas and Kennedy’s passionate views about engagement and learning.
There’s an immense difference between rote memorization and giving students tools that allow them to work flexibly and thoughtfully with numbers, writes Kathie Palmieri. When kids learn number sense and can use multiple strategies, they have choice in how they solve problems.
The negative tone and unkind remarks adolescents use with one another make it tough to develop a classroom sense of community. They won’t learn to communicate appropriately without explicit instruction, write Samantha Layne and Susanne Croasdaile. Learn how UDL strategies help.
