Students need to know what to expect when they enter our classrooms, writes teacher Kelly Owens. Consistency on the front end paves the way for more student autonomy and engagement throughout the lesson. Three tips can help teachers achieve “the loyalty to learning we want!”
The negative tone and unkind remarks adolescents use with one another make it tough to develop a classroom sense of community. They won’t learn to communicate appropriately without explicit instruction, write Samantha Layne and Susanne Croasdaile. Learn how UDL strategies help.
Lee Hancock’s “Talent Zones” provides a new perspective on developing talent and growing a healthy frame of mind in all our students and children – one that leads to confidence and success. School leader Virginia Hornberger urges teachers, coaches, parents to read it.
Teachers become more effective when they embrace learning for all kinds of kids, including those who are both profoundly gifted and neurodiverse. Teaching coach Stephanie Farley shares ways to use choice, positive emotion, and novelty to engage and challenge every learner.
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.
Responding to text can take many forms, write literacy experts Brenda Krupp, Lynne Dorfman and Aileen Hower. Teachers want to encourage sincere, honest responses where students share their thoughts, feelings, opinions, and insights about the fiction and nonfiction they read.
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.
While integrating imaginative writing into ELA classrooms may seem fanciful in a school culture that prioritizes the expository and analytical, teacher/coach Ariel Sacks shows how regular story creation can become a powerful developmental force in the lives of adolescents.
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.
Eric Saunders provides well-researched neuroscience tips on spaced repetition, interleaving, and retrieval that can quickly advance student learning, says NBCT Megan Balduf. Use “Stick the Learning” to craft brain-savvy curricular experiences and scaffold their implementation.
