When we give students time to read a book they’ve chosen, time to practice skills and strategies they’ve been taught, time to read for pleasure and intellectual growth, time to talk about what they’ve read, they build reading stamina and endurance, write Dorfman and Krupp.
Patty McGee invites teachers to infuse some “Harry Styles magic” into social-emotional learning. In countless ways, Styles’ lyrics can be surprisingly fun and effective to build emotional IQ, acting as springboards for exploring and learning about our emotional landscape.
A Learning Culture / Making Questions Count
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/30/2023 · Last modified 07/17/2024
What teachers do the first weeks of school has a dramatic effect on student engagement and achievement the rest of the year. Building a classroom culture of learning and questioning – co-created with students – paves the road to success. Jackie Walsh and colleagues show us how.
Articles / Back to School / Mentoring
by MiddleWeb · Published 08/20/2023 · Last modified 07/17/2024
How can seasoned educators improve teacher retention rates? By helping new colleagues address two retention factors – student behavior and classroom climate – says middle grades veteran Sharon Ratliff. “Let’s show them how to manage their school of fish without being a shark.”
Back to School / Back to School / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 07/20/2023 · Last modified 08/17/2023
What’s waiting for you on the other side of the door? Lots of excitement, a few nervous moments, and faces filled with questions. Welcome back! We’ve rounded up lots of useful resources for your first days.
Writing from her background in working with students who were born outside of the U.S and are new to the country, the language, the culture, and the school system, Dr. Stephanie Dewing shares five tips to engage these newcomers. Included: assets-based language development.
There are many reasons for quick one-to-one reading conferences in the middle grades, write Brenda Krupp and Lynne Dorfman. Conferring helps teachers strengthen connections with students as they learn about each reader’s interests, strengths, progress and immediate needs.
Making Questions Count / Questioning Matters
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/19/2023 · Last modified 10/15/2023
Author and expert on classroom questioning Dr. Jackie Walsh partners with instructional coach Emily Brokaw and content-area teacher Anna Salazar for a new blog series exploring questioning strategies that strengthen teaching practice and empower students to self-assess and build knowledge.
Teachers want to create a space for their students to speak with authenticity and agency, writes author and English teacher Marilyn Pryle. She and 7th grade teacher Sharon Ratliff share ways to use Pryle’s Reading Responses strategy to deepen student thinking about literature.
Mentor Texts That Multitask by Pam Koutrakos is a perfect ELA resource for working smarter, not harder. It leads readers through the why, what and how of using mentor texts to design flexible, integrated, multifaceted literacy learning – and includes free online resources.
