STEM Beyond the Classroom / STEM By Design
by Anne Jolly · Published 06/25/2017 · Last modified 11/24/2019
Informal STEM learning – whether it’s after school, in summer settings, or at home – is a major factor in getting adolescents on a path toward STEM careers. Anne Jolly describes the why, where and how, and shares online resources for program and curriculum planning.
Book Reviews / Social & Emotional Learning
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/08/2017 · Last modified 11/12/2019
Carla Tantillo Philibert’s Everyday SEL in Elementary School gives inspiring, practical advice and lessons to help educators in classrooms and schoolwide meet their students’ social and emotional needs, says upper elementary teacher Linda Biondi.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Social-Emotional Learning
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 06/04/2017 · Last modified 11/25/2019
With so much focus on high stakes testing, teachers recognize their students are at risk of not gaining the “soft skills” they need to succeed in school and life. Cheryl Mizerny shares her do-it-yourself solution: easy to use activities she blends into her curriculum.
Teachers at Florence (AL) Middle School use common planning time to discuss many instructional strategies. Once a month they look at student work together, across grades and subjects. Here, instructional coach Jill Edwards shares six video clips and related resources.
Future of History / Teaching with Movies
by Sarah Cooper · Published 05/29/2017 · Last modified 11/27/2019
Showing short video clips to her history students is easy for Sarah Cooper to justify, but with full-length movies she is more cautious about the time investment. Here she shares three films that make the cut: Iron Jawed Angels, Glory, and All the President’s Men.
A book to treasure! All of Jennifer Serravallo’s engaging 300 lessons are fully developed and easily adaptable for differentiation. The premise of the book is to meet the students where they are and not to teach each of the skills in isolation, writes Linda Biondi.
“Since many students are in my class multiple times,” writes ELL teacher Wendi Pillars, “I’m always seeking new topics to tie literacy skills together.” This year one theme was “Zero Hunger” through sustainable agriculture. A perfect hook for a unit on eating insects.
Relating to Students / The Flexible Classroom
by Amber Chandler · Published 04/23/2017 · Last modified 11/29/2019
Fresh from her middle school’s Falcon Pride Day, Amber Chandler celebrates the joy of a pre-Spring Break event that’s one part competition, one part team building, and one part controlled chaos, noting that kids’ SEL needs are at least as important as curriculum.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Poetry
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 04/09/2017 · Last modified 03/30/2024
Over the years Cheryl Mizerny has crafted poetry experiences that her students really enjoy. Her reading and writing ideas enable kids to understand poems without dreading the annual “poetry unit” she herself disliked as a tween. She shares 10 of her favorites.
Jennie Magiera urges teachers to launch edventures, pursuing innovations that boost student engagement, build class culture, differentiate, promote digital citizenship and more. Laura Von Staden also likes Magiera’s plentiful ideas about professional learning.
