African American History / Future of History
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 06/19/2020 · Last modified 02/15/2022
The Chicago district where Lauren Brown teaches has wrestled with issues of equity centering around race with new urgency in recent years. Amid the pandemic and the rising Anti-Racist Movement, she believes part of the answer is deepening curriculum and teaching Black history throughout the year.
In addition to offering how-to’s on presenting read-alouds, Rebecca Bellingham shares extensive resources for taking students beyond hearing a story to understanding the story and learning how to share their reactions. Sixth grade teacher Jeny Randall finds lots to use.
We enjoy publishing MiddleWeb articles that team a school-based teacher and a school-focused author/consultant who share classroom strategies they’ve been developing together. We’ve chosen 10 examples from our trove of guest articles to showcase the power of these team-ups.
Future of History / Pandemic Learning
by Sarah Cooper · Published 06/14/2020 · Last modified 10/19/2022
With her eighth graders’ online history podcast project now complete, Sarah Cooper shares six takeaways that have helped her imagine not only how to improve this assignment in future iterations, but how she can continue to grow as a teacher facilitating remote learning.
After explaining how stress affects the brain, Thomas Armstrong shows how mindfulness promotes concentration, compassion and calm in students and teachers. Teacher Nicole Warchol explains the book is just what she needs as she seeks to bring more focus into her classroom.
Video documentation is a powerful tool in news reporting, whether it’s done by professional journalists or by ordinary people with instant access to video cameras. Frank Baker looks at the history of news video as a “primary source” for historians and middle grades teachers.
STEM educator Anne Jolly reflects on the core skills embedded in an Education 4.0 vision for future learning – a vision that reshapes the way we think about the rapidly changing job market and calls on schools to be intentional in helping students acquire these skills.
Class Apps / Feedback from Students
by Curtis Chandler · Published 06/07/2020 · Last modified 07/18/2020
Collecting feedback from students about how his teaching can improve is often “eye-opening and sobering,” says Curtis Chandler, and that’s certainly been true during remote learning. Find out about the polling tools and questions he uses – and what students have to say.
Self-confidence is hugely important in learning math. Amanda Jansen shows how teachers can help students embrace a “revising to learn” approach, gaining confidence and understanding. Teacher Michael Hernandez says the book will help him create a safe space to make mistakes and grow.
How can we keep a positive school climate and culture during remote learning? Chris Edwards, the 7th grade assistant principal at Kreps Middle School, created a grade-wide Google Classroom for students and teachers and staged weekly competitions best described as crazy and fun. It worked!
