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.
Arab American Heritage Month / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 02/09/2024 · Last modified 03/18/2024
During Arab American Heritage Month students explore the diversity within the Arab community, its members’ contributions to the United States, and the discrimination many Arab Americans have faced in the 21st century. This resource collection can help with the exploration.
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.“
Many teachers are intrigued by the Socratic method but worry “it won’t work with my students.” A Socratic seminar calls on ALL the big executive skills. Patricia Cook and Susanne Croasdaile found that we don’t need to wait until they’re all “ready” – we can just dive in!
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?
It took Stephanie Farley 21 years to solve the student self-assessment equation. The solution? Teaching students to explain their thinking as they revise and improve. The result was transformational; they gained confidence in their work and were far less anxious about grades.
The question Tan Huynh hears most often from English language development (ELD) colleagues is “What can we do when our co-teacher is resistant to collaborating?” After many years of failing with persuasion, Tan has developed a “Traffic Light” approach that works much better.
Markham Woods Middle School in Lake Mary, FL was searching for a careers-oriented STEM program that would appeal to the “multitude of talents” among its students and help improve the climate of a divided school. Biomechatronics has achieved both objectives, says AP Eric Basilo.
