Women’s history is no longer in hiding, thanks to scholars who are documenting women’s impact on society. Middle grades teachers can help their students trace that history with these resources, just updated and expanded, for Women’s History Month and beyond.
In his fourth post in a series exploring ways that digital literacy impacts teaching and learning in the middle grades, Jason DeHart considers a wide range of digital texts (including music, visuals, film, video) and notes changing trends in engagement among his students.
Red peppers have taken over Katie Durkin’s 7th grade team commons area. This year’s logo, banner and t-shirts result from teachers encouraging students to create artwork that fosters community. Katie shares all the steps in her team’s process and the excellent results.
Brain Breaks / New Teacher Tips
by Curtis Chandler · Published 02/11/2024 · Last modified 05/20/2024
Brain breaks are simple transitional physical and mental exercises to prevent learning fatigue, refocus the attention of the class, and keep students energized and receptive to learning. Curtis Chandler shares 24 break ideas to ease stress and help kids connect with each other.
History & social studies / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 02/10/2024 · Last modified 02/21/2024
African Americans faced severe repression when Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week in 1926. In this updated MiddleWeb resource, we share links that trace the impact of African Americans in politics, arts and sciences, and report on the call to teach Black history throughout the school year.
When teachers effectively implement feedback to make success visible to students, achievement increases and stronger relationships result. Educator and author Miriam Plotinsky suggests having a clear, written set of expectations for assignments and avoiding the “feedback hole.“
Jeny Randall introduces her 6th graders to Shakespeare, first tossing quotes around a circle, then character mapping, and finally prepping and presenting scenes. Keying into themes of Identity and Origin, she rotates among 3 comedies’ mistaken identities. The kids love it!
Alison Dover and Fernando Rodrigues-Valls highlight the gaps in current education policy and practice that affect newcomer and plurilingual students and then offer ways to equitably meet those students’ needs. TESOL educator Kimberlee Elder is grateful for their book.
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?
