Building Relationships / Wide Open Learning
by Megan Kelly Β· Published 11/26/2023 Β· Last modified 08/04/2024
Megan Kelly writes about improvements in her student relationships after trying out strategies adapted from Zaretta Hammondβs Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain. One key insight: talking with kids about their lives and personal interests can boost in-class learning.
Young adult novels with multiple narrators offer kids the opportunity to analyze an engaging writing technique and also experience the social-emotional lives of various characters. ELA teacher Kasey Short includes sample questions, activities, and lots of title suggestions.
Lauren Buellβs 8th grade ELA team works with students on a comprehensive unit that helps all participants develop speaking, listening, writing, reading and life skills as they prepare end-of-year TED-style talks. She shares the unitβs impact once students enter high school.
With examples from all levels of education, The New Classroom Instruction That Works is a useful tool for beginning teachers and lifelong educators alike. Goodwin and Rouleau capture proven researched-based strategies for every classroom, writes teacher leader Hannah Mickey.
Where there are challenges, there are also opportunities for creativity, novelty, and adventure to put a barricade between us and burnout. Stephanie Farley offers strategies to help teachers avoid or at least soften the sense of emotional exhaustion that leads to collapse.
Patty McGee invites teachers to infuse some βHarry Styles magicβ into social-emotional learning. In countless ways, Stylesβ lyrics can be surprisingly fun and effective to build emotional IQ, acting as springboards for exploring and learning about our emotional landscape.
Articles / Teaching the Whole Adolescent
by MiddleWeb Β· Published 09/03/2023 Β· Last modified 11/19/2024
Students in the middle grades think in polarities and will go to great lengths to avoid embarrassment, writes author and school counselor Phyllis Fagell. But with the right supports, they can learn to take risks β asking questions, joining discussions and learning more.
In Changing Curriculum through Stories: Character Education for Ages 10-12 Marc Levitt shows how personal stories, folktales and fairytales can act as catalysts for reflection and deeper comprehension. Dr. Kevin D. Cordi finds his notes to teachers and students quite helpful.
A Learning Culture / Making Questions Count
by MiddleWeb Β· Published 08/30/2023 Β· Last modified 09/16/2024
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 β co-created with students β paves the road to success. Jackie Walsh and colleagues show us how.
A New School Year / New Teacher Tips
by Curtis Chandler Β· Published 08/13/2023 Β· Last modified 07/17/2024
As schools open their doors for a new year, preservice educator Curtis Chandler urges novice teachers to prioritize the two crucial elements most likely to fuel student success in the months to come: teacher relationships with students and clarity about classroom expectations.
