Closing the Achievement Gap / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 04/03/2013 · Last modified 11/18/2019
Elizabeth Stein & assistant principal Paul McNeil consider personal, classroom, and school strategies that can help close achievement gaps for students with disabilities, including peer tutoring and support for high expectations. It takes a team approach, and it takes time and patience.
The Collected Writings (So Far) of Rick Wormeli: Crazy Good Stuff I’ve Learned About Teaching Along the Way is a major collection of the author’s columns and articles on middle grades teaching practice and is indeed “crazy good stuff,” says reviewer Elizabeth Stein.
STEM By Design / STEM Teaching Practices
by Anne Jolly · Published 03/24/2013 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Becoming a STEM teacher means accepting the need to change traditional teaching methods and give up some control. Anne Jolly identifies 10 best practices.
Building Community / Two Teachers in the Room
by Laurie Wasserman · Published 03/17/2013 · Last modified 11/23/2019
After years without a homeroom, special educator Laurie Wasserman eagerly volunteered for one — and set out to build a real classroom community.
STEM Launchers — brief activities that introduce the engineering design process and the secrets of good teamwork — can help kick off a successful year.
Lynne R. Dorfman and Rose Cappelli, the co-authors of Poetry Mentor Texts: Making Reading and Writing Connections, K-8, have provided another “must have” resource for teachers of all disciplines – even poetry haters – says reviewer Linda Biondi.
Teacher Mark A. Domeier likes the concept behind Teri Lesesne’s reading ladders in Reading Ladders: Leading Students from Where They Are to Where We’d Like Them to Be, but he says they’ll have to be adapted to the realities of middle school class size.
Reviewer Elisa Waingort finds Ron Berger’s 2003 book, An Ethic of Excellence: Building a Culture of Craftsmanship with Students, timeless and timely, with concrete suggestions for building a classroom culture of excellence.
When students feel they “belong” in school, they are more likely to thrive academically, socially & emotionally, says veteran teacher turned teacher educator Amanda Wall. She details actions that middle level schools can take to assure students are supported, including quality Advisory programs.
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