Embracing Technology / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 07/16/2014 · Last modified 11/16/2019
This summer middle grades teacher Mary Tarashuk is diving into the deep end of the technology pool, accepting a challenging online leadership role. Yet she’s determined to protect the beach time she needs for family and reflection on the school year ahead.
The new book Motivation to Learn doesn’t just talk about the theories behind motivating learners. Using a fresh metaphor (river rafting), it gives new & veteran teachers “concrete strategies for creating a classroom culture that maximizes student engagement,” says reviewer Tasha Kirby.
In this helpful how-to article Judith Wencel, founder of SUCCESS in the Middle, distills 20 years of experience effectively recruiting and preparing community tutors and mentors – dispelling the myth that “nobody will volunteer in middle schools.”
Standards-driven reading lessons often force students to “take” rather than “make” meaning from complex texts, says educator Dorothy Barnhouse. To deepen understanding, she recommends letting students first “notice” and think about the textual layers.
Kids on the Cusp / Teaching writing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 05/27/2014 · Last modified 11/30/2019
Having helped her students visualize scenes and characters during read alouds, Mary Tarashuk tries the same idea with writing. She and her students “write aloud” as they create text to match the opening illustrations from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Then they envision their own stories.
Book Reviews / Personal Learning Networks
by MiddleWeb · Published 05/16/2014 · Last modified 05/19/2014
Organized and user friendly, Professional Learning in the Digital Age by Kristen Swanson provides educator cases, face-to-face protocols, research snippets and to-do lists to help teachers move through the process of developing their PLN, says reviewer Nicole Miller.
Future of History / Teaching strategies
by Aaron Brock · Published 05/11/2014 · Last modified 11/12/2019
While inner-city history teacher Aaron Brock agrees that lecture has been chronically abused in the middle grades, he uses short flexible lectures and image-heavy slides to help prepare students for deeper learning in his diverse classroom.
STEM By Design / STEM Communications
by Anne Jolly · Published 05/04/2014 · Last modified 12/05/2019
For STEM programs to realize their ambitions, kids need to communicate with the world about their projects. Science educator Anne Jolly says social media tools can help STEM students collaborate, tap expertise, and build key communications skills.
Teachers can help students explore important connections across different genres and subjects using “text sets” – collections of books and other media with a common theme. In this MiddleWeb article, teacher educator Amanda Wall details an assignment creating text sets for ELA and math.
Book Reviews / English Language Learners
by MiddleWeb · Published 04/13/2014 · Last modified 12/05/2019
Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners by Jane E. Hill and Kirsten B. Miller is valuable for ensuring that English learners are challenged at Bloom’s higher levels of thinking and understanding, with the appropriate scaffolding, says reviewer Jennifer Underwood.
