“Equal parts how-to and shopping list,” teacher Amy Estersohn says Ruth Culham’s Dream Wakers will help any middle grades ELA or social studies teacher add more Latino voices and mentor texts – especially in classrooms with a writer’s workshop teaching approach.
Now that the blizzard of late semester papers has (probably) diminished, do you feel the need for a quick fix to your class organization regimen? Author/educator Roxanna Elden avoids excessive precision in structuring a practical 5-tray process to get you started.
Before middle school students can become lovers of stories and savvy assessors of fake news and false claims, they must be creative readers who comprehend texts at high levels and empathize with characters and people, says literacy expert and advocate Laura Robb.
It's Not Easy Being Tween / Personalized Learning
by Cheryl Mizerny · Published 12/18/2016 · Last modified 11/24/2019
In Cheryl Mizerny’s view, authentic “personalized education” would have skilled teachers navigating as students powered their own learning. It would be a practice and not the product being sold by digital LMS companies as an acceptable substitute for teacher talent.
Every Child a Super Reader can empower students to become lovers of reading who understand what they read. Teacher Linda Biondi says its lessons and resources will help students analyze a text, appreciate the craft, and become voracious consumers of the written word.
Altering Perspective / Future of History
by Sarah Cooper · Published 12/11/2016 · Last modified 11/22/2019
With post-election “vitriol” just below the surface in her classes, Sarah Cooper employs of a familiar history teaching tool: shifting perspective. First students discuss the Hamilton cast’s statement to VP-elect Mike Pence – then Jefferson’s slave ownership.
Christopher Danielson used to hate teaching geometry. Now he sees it as a playground of mathematical ideas for middle schoolers, with opportunities for exploration, wonder, and smart conversations. Here Danielson shares ideas and images teachers can use to begin the fun.
Jerry Burkhart’s explorations into ratios, proportions and similarity are deep, rich, and open-ended, says veteran math educator Mickie Gibbs. Thanks to increasing levels of productive struggle offered for each topic, the book can benefit all of her students.
ELA teacher Kevin Hodgson & his social studies colleague are teaching 6th graders the basics of online research, the art of letter writing, collaborative peer editing, and the elements of argument. One result: letters ready to be sent to the next U.S. President.
Civics Lessons / Kids on the Cusp
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 11/27/2016 · Last modified 11/18/2019
Mary Tarashuk’s perceptive 4th graders take note of the world around them, in fiction and in the news. As they follow and study the US election, they also learn about the power of people helping one another during their Global Read Aloud of Sara Pennypacker’s Pax.
