Class Discussion / Heart of the School
by Rita Platt · Published 09/09/2019 · Last modified 11/27/2019
Students love to talk! And that’s mostly a good thing, if teachers can harness the natural social drive of tweens and teens “and use it to pull the wagon of content learning through whole-class discussions.” Try Rita Platt’s proven step-by-step map to discussion success.
Create Compose Connect / The Reading Problem
by Jeremy Hyler · Published 09/04/2019 · Last modified 11/17/2019
Teachers and literacy coaches have to realize there really are middle level students who refuse to read a book, says ELA teacher Jeremy Hyler. “As we look for answers, we have to first understand students today read differently and communicate differently than we did.”
First Days of Math Class / Meaningful Math
by Michelle Russell · Published 09/01/2019 · Last modified 11/25/2019
From get-acquainted activities like “Superhero registration” to first-week math games like “Four Fours,” teacher Michelle Russell takes readers through the steps of a new plan to start slow, welcome her students individually, and reassure the anxious ones that math can be fun.
By using visual texts, The Art of Comprehension provides a way for nonreaders and striving readers to participate in the same rich, authentic thinking tasks that their reading classmates are doing, even if they have difficulty decoding written words, writes Pam Hamilton.
How We Read / Teaching with a View
by Brent Gilson · Published 08/28/2019 · Last modified 11/25/2019
Brent Gilson teaches grades 7-9 in rural Alberta. “I’m a believer in balanced literacy, voice and choice, and the need to use literacy studies to help students explore what it means to be human.” In a new blog, Brent details how these ideas shape his yearly reading plan.
Just how do you build a STEM lesson around a real-world challenge? While there’s no single answer to that question, STEM expert Anne Jolly shares a STEM lesson she and a math colleague designed around a local environmental challenge. Helpful tips and resources included!
In the new school year ELA teachers are looking for fresh ideas to encourage students to read closely and think deeply. Here are five adaptable activities from teacher-author and NBCT Marilyn Pryle to add to your toolbox and keep students creatively interacting with texts.
From the classroom to the whole school, Dr. Myles Cooley’s revised Practical Guide for Mental Health and Learning Disorders will help new and veteran educators understand specific student challenges and support kids affected by them, writes educator Elizabeth OBrien.
ELA and Equity / I Will Screw This Up
by Dina Strasser · Published 08/21/2019 · Last modified 09/03/2020
Meaning well and teaching well are not the same – a painful truth that ELA teacher Dina Strasser’s exponential learning about race has helped her realize. She uses the story of her unit based on Gary Paulsen’s “Nightjohn” to underscore the difference between intent and impact.
Boundaries and Consent / It's Not Easy Being Tween
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 08/20/2019 · Last modified 11/17/2019
Teaching about empathy, boundaries, and consent needs to begin in middle school if not before, writes teacher leader Cheryl Mizerny. She talks us through the problems and suggests age-appropriate approaches. Her resources include RAINN network and Laurie Halse Anderson.
