Involving your students in creating public service announcements (PSAs) not only promotes media literacy, writes Frank Baker, it builds teamwork skills, energizes kids to conduct research into authentic social issues, and gives them opportunities to write with real purpose.
Novels in verse offer quicker reads with instant character connections, vivid imagery, pathways to complex issues, strong narratives, and much more. ELA teacher Kasey Short shares how to use them in class and introduces lots of titles for your middle graders.
In “Life, Literacy, and the Pursuit of Happiness: Supporting Our Immigrant and Refugee Children Through the Power of Reading,” principal Don Vu explores six conditions he believes are necessary to create a schoolwide culture of literacy that includes and engages all students.
MiddleWeb has published about 1100 reviews of professional books for teachers and school leaders since 2012 – each written by a K-12 educator. In this article we’ve curated our 23 most-read reviews posted during 2021. Click on a headline to read our reviewer’s take on the book.
In Making Math Stick, David Costello offers advice to help teachers make the shift from “teach, test, move on” to “teach, connect, apply.” His detailed learning and instructional strategies will help you deepen student knowledge and improve retention, writes Lisa Hudson.
This year Katie Durkin and her fellow ELA teachers will add a Question of the Day – built from state assessment stems – to their whole-class novel unit. As 7th graders discuss best answers they’ll learn to think collaboratively AND prep for mandated tests. See how it works!
A Teacher’s Guide to Mentor Texts offers a winning combination – a structured lesson approach, a range of suggested mentor texts, and an overall message adaptable to specific students. Teachers at multiple levels of experience will find it invaluable, writes Sara Pennington.
Using formative assessment effectively is key to becoming a reflective practitioner who can adjust literacy instruction to meet students’ needs and interests, write Lynne Dorfman and Brenda Krupp, who share their ideas for “breathing life into reading and writing lessons.”
Short-term projects with specific techniques and ample examples fill Shelley Harwayne’s book, Above and Beyond the Writing Workshop. Helene Alalouf recommends the book’s authentic and interesting writing assignments complete with scaffolds and templates.
Middle grades teacher Mona Iehl wants students to be able to “see themselves in math” and be represented in the work they do together. Learn how she uses the images and words of Black Mathematicians to empower and inspire her classes to welcome and master math challenges.
