Inclusion / It's Not Easy Being Tween
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 10/09/2018 · Last modified 12/11/2019
Veteran special and general education teacher Cheryl Mizerny describes ways that general educators can be most effective teaching all students within inclusion classrooms. She highlights necessary underlying beliefs, key assumptions, and hallmarks of inclusive teaching.
Future of History / Making History Meaningful
by Sarah Cooper · Published 10/08/2018 · Last modified 11/16/2019
Sarah Cooper’s world has expanded since she became a podcast convert. She’s found many podcasts to love: Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, Jennifer Gonzalez’s Cult of Pedagogy and more. Among her top favorites is “Teaching Hard History” from Teaching Tolerance.
Assets Based Mindset / The Unstoppable ML Teacher
by Valentina Gonzalez · Published 10/07/2018 · Last modified 11/26/2019
The phrase “student assets” is heard a lot in education circles. But what does it truly mean to take on an assets based teaching mindset? What does that look like in our classrooms and lesson plans? ELL expert Valentina Gonzalez shares strategies to make it real.
How we start lessons makes a huge difference in learning during the remainder of our class instruction time. Teaching consultant and author Barbara Blackburn shares strategies to employ three keys to beginning lessons with a bang: focus, activation, and excitement.
Teacher Rebecca Crockett writes author Jessica Shumway has given her all the tools she needs to really commit to using number sense routines with her fifth graders, including explaining routine types, building community, and engaging all students in the discussion.
Sarah Tantillo uses an inferential approach, in which students analyze how the grammar works. She follows the Common Core standards to structure the book. ELA teacher Amanda Berry appreciates Tantillo’s insights and humor but concludes the self-published book needed an editor.
Collaboration doesn’t always come naturally (or calmly) for middle level students. Teacher Michael McClenaghan shares his success with three edtech tools (Soundtrap, WeVideo and the free G Suite) in facilitating meaningful teamwork and higher levels of student engagement.
Current Events / Future of History
by Sarah Cooper · Published 09/23/2018 · Last modified 11/13/2019
Current events add immediacy to history class, but with crowded curricula and the challenges of the political climate, Sarah Cooper is fine-tuning the news discussions in her 8th grade classes. She shares several stories and explains what makes them right for fall 2018.
In their newly updated book Michael J. Graham and Jason Borgen have a lot to offer, not just about using Google Tools, but also about integrating technology into the classroom in innovative and thoughtful ways, says teacher and middle school coordinator Jeny Randall.
Close Reading the Media / Literacy and Film
by MiddleWeb · Published 09/19/2018 · Last modified 09/02/2020
Media literacy expert Frank Baker participated in an August conference to introduce educators to a major new curriculum from Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation – “Portraits of America: Democracy on Film” – which will be available free to educators. Here’s his report.
