Future of History / History & Current Events
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/29/2020 · Last modified 10/15/2024
The antiracist protests occurring across the country since the killing of George Floyd have led Lauren Brown and Sarah Cooper – two white female middle school social studies teachers – to consider even more deeply “how best to teach U.S. history.” Join the conversation.
Rita Platt peruses lots of professional texts, but the books she reads each year to meet her personal Goodreads goal cross many genres. Some are funny. Some are scary. Some examine America’s urgent problems. Not your typical PD books, but they have plenty to say to educators.
When Karen Rubado started reading this book, she hoped to pick up some tips to make “turn and talk” in her classroom work better. Instead she found new perspectives on teaching conversation as a skill and on using talk as a way to deepen knowledge in any subject area.
What are your non-negotiables for teaching English Learners? When EL specialist Valentina Gonzalez asked her Twitter PLN, the response was overwhelming. Read what educators had to say and consider Valentina’s process for teams to confer and agree on a list of your own.
Articles / New Teacher Advice / Teacher Self-care
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/23/2020 · Last modified 06/28/2020
How do we ‘not take things personally’? We take feedback seriously but not to a point of diminishing our value. Teacher educator Victoria Lentfer, author of Keep Calm and Teach, shares ways to prepare for the stress and anxiety novices may encounter in the school environment.
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.
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.
