After 20+ years of teaching, Dina Strasser has found one thing almost never fails to connect with adolescents: the positive reaction you get when you genuinely compliment a kid on their appearance. Check out the strategy she’s developed to help reap smiles and build rapport.
As she describes some ways she’s begun to work fun, ethical AI components into major assignments, Sarah Cooper wonders how the nature of learning and teaching will evolve in tandem with the evolution of Large Language Models. How do we best prepare our students for the future?
Jennifer Bogard and Lisa Donovan share ways to humanize social studies and bolster student engagement with history by pairing Library of Congress primary sources and arts-integration strategies. Try their lesson plans for altered text, soundscapes, and sketching to observe.
Markham Woods Middle School in Lake Mary, FL was searching for a careers-oriented STEM program that would appeal to the “multitude of talents” among its students and help improve the climate of a divided school. Biomechatronics has achieved both objectives, says AP Eric Basilo.
With so many daily classes, the working memories of adolescents get overloaded. Their evolving brains have not yet developed fluent coping strategies. To teach students to handle all the inflow, two experts share UDL strategies that build executive function and self-regulation.
Math Activities / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 12/05/2023 · Last modified 12/07/2023
Students are more engaged when they’re talking and moving around, says math teacher Michelle Russell. “I won’t lie – it’s hard. But I believe a louder class that’s somewhat engaged in the concept is better than a quiet one.” She rates three engagement strategies she’s tried.
The authors of Shifting the Balance (Grades 3-5) invite literacy educators in the upper elementary and early middle grades to “engage in both the headwork and the heartwork required to ensure our practices are science-aligned and student-centered.” And do it in a safe space.
Learning focused schools have a collective growth mindset and a shared belief that every student can learn and grow. Education leaders Ron Williamson and Barbara Blackburn share six characteristics that define such schools and offer ideas about how to accomplish each one.
Author and master teacher Debbie Silver begins her case for spirit-building humor and laughter in classrooms and schools with a personal story from her years as a middle level educator. “Pay attention to how much you laugh together. Teachers and school leaders who laugh, last.”
While most middle schoolers can decode text, the crux of any worthwhile lesson is assuring they understand what they’re reading and how it might impact them or the world around them. Peg Grafwallner shares strategies to help embed these literacy skills across the content areas.
