In a few weeks, new middle schoolers will encounter challenges unlike any they’ve seen before: a half-dozen teachers making daily assignments, new afterschool choices, more homework. How’s a kid to keep track of it all? Always-organized Frank Buck suggests consolidation.
If you’re thinking about a transition to school leadership, The Aspiring Principal 50 is a must read, writes educator Stacey Knighton. The book’s reflective format allows the reader to think about themselves as an instructional leader and prepare for the key interview.
By blending social emotional learning into writing workshop, we can spark student confidence and commitment. Author and ELA educator Lynne Dorfman describes a class where students feel safe to express themselves, celebrate writing achievements, and self-identify as writers.
Students can follow the trek of early humans toward global expansion through inquiry-based lessons and use resources to hypothesize responses to organizing questions. Ancient History teacher Joanne Bell says the book’s connections approach “is a phenomenal find for me.”
Want to help middle school students improve their reading skills? Mark Weakland suggests providing direct and explicit spelling instruction. Emphasizing syllables – roots and affixes – offers lots of building blocks for students. Weakland includes differentiation tips and activity ideas.
Teaching and instructional coaching weren’t all the prep DeAnna Miller needed when she signed on as a new middle school assistant principal last fall. A year later she looks back at the challenges she faced and the solutions she discovered as she preps for another year.
Raised in rural Alberta, Canada, Brent Gilson set out to broaden his understanding of racial and cultural diversity, both to improve his teaching and to raise awareness among his mostly white middle grades students. Taking part in the #31DaysIBPOC Twitter project has been a revelation.
Ad Techniques / Close Reading the Media
by Frank Baker · Published 06/30/2019 · Last modified 12/02/2019
In the hope that we can help students become better critical thinkers in a world saturated by social media and unreliable sources, media literacy expert Frank Baker calls attention to techniques used by “media manipulators” to persuade consumers and shape public discourse.
Are you a multitasker? Do you use interesting examples to make learning more relatable? Do you teach to learning styles? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be interested in Five Teaching and Learning Myths Debunked, says principal Rita Platt.
Beyond sharing titles, librarians Christina Dorr and Liz Deskins discuss justifications for circulating LGBTQAI+ literature to children and teens and share a brief history and approaches to “dealing with objections.” Sarah Cooper found ideas for her own classroom library.
