Future of History / Understanding Religions
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 08/23/2015 · Last modified 11/29/2019
Teaching about Judaism, Christianity and Islam is a staple in many middle school world history and culture classes. To help counter students’ frequent confusion about these religions, Lauren Brown points out misconceptions and offers resource ideas.
Much of the ISTE discussion this year focused on the best ways to use technology effectively, says MS teacher and tech enthusiast Patti Grayson. To celebrate, Grayson offers 5 examples from her own classroom of the best times to bring out the digital tools.
When you think of Greek and Latin roots, you think high student engagement, right? No? ELA teacher Amber Chandler plans to make all those old roots rock this fall as she introduces the concepts of language development and acquisition to her students.
Plans for Republican and Democratic primary debates are well underway. Media literacy expert Frank W. Baker is ready with guidelines for engaging students in classroom research and discussion. Baker’s first focus: the very crowded GOP debates scheduled for this fall.
Future of History / Tragic Events
by Lauren S. Brown · Published 07/26/2015 · Last modified 12/11/2019
Whether a tragedy is recent or ancient, death is an unfortunate staple in social studies classes, writes history educator Lauren Brown. The challenge for MS teachers is to treat tragic events sensitively while helping students grasp the historical import.
The first step toward gamifying your classroom can be as simple as taking the “ew” out of “review” with these helpful game-oriented apps, selected and described by tech integration expert Curtis Chandler. Included: Quizizz, Kahoot, Classcraft and Class Dojo.
Future of History / History Resources
by Sarah Cooper · Published 07/19/2015 · Last modified 04/17/2024
Sarah Cooper emerged from her summer study of Emancipation thinking about the surprises and challenges presented by primary sources. She explores several options that could help students understand sources with antiquated language and complex structure.
Educator Jennifer Underwood reports Making Number Talks Matter is an excellent read for all math teachers. The book explains both how to do math talks and why these talks are an important means of helping all students become confident mathematical thinkers.
Book Reviews / Common Core State Standards
by MiddleWeb · Published 06/11/2015 · Last modified 11/14/2019
A Non-Freaked Out Guide to Teaching the Common Core is a useful supplement to the primary CCSS document. Teachers will benefit from Dave Stuart, Jr.’s thorough analysis of each anchor standard, says reviewer Susan Schwartz, although she does have one concern.
Formative assessment is good practice, as every teacher knows, says tech consultant Curtis Chandler, but finding time to measure individual student understanding is challenging. Chandler offers seven apps that can make the practice both routine and engaging.
