Kids on the Cusp / Standardized Testing
by Mary Tarashuk · Published 02/11/2015 · Last modified 11/13/2019
New Jersey teacher Mary Tarashuk finds herself in a traffic-snarled “PARCCing lot” waiting for March testing madness to begin. In a new Kids on the Cusp post, she lists her concerns –including a PARCC 4th grade reading test sample that levels at Grade 9.
Teachers who want to combine deep reading of poetry with the joy of discovery will find engaging lessons and activities in Georgia Heard’s Poetry Lessons to Meet the Common Core. Reviewer Linda Biondi praises the book’s strategies to “live with a poem for a week.”
Book Reviews / Teaching in the Middle
by MiddleWeb · Published 01/22/2015 · Last modified 11/30/2019
Even if you think you know all there is to know about middle schoolers, says teacher-reviewer Beth Morrow, you are bound to understand their thinking and behavior differently after you finish reading What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know.
Stressing the need to provide wide fiction and informational text choices, the authors consider the needs of all readers while offering extensive activities for all classrooms. Reviewer Jenni Miller found the book “wonderful” – both informative and encouraging.
Summarizing may seem simple to adults, says teacher/author Heather Wolpert-Gawron, but it’s a cross content skill that many adolescents struggle with. TweenTeacher shares techniques from her classroom, including asking students to create ‘executive summaries’ of information & research.
Call it grit or resilience, it’s a behavior that can serve students well. We’ve gathered advocates’ views, pushback from critics and ideas to build it.
Amp Up Your Year! / The Co-Teaching Relationship / Two Teachers in the Room
by MiddleWeb · Published 12/20/2014 · Last modified 12/05/2023
If you share teaching responsibilities in an inclusion classroom, teaching coach Elizabeth Stein suggests you take time over the holidays to reflect on the three traditions of successful co-teaching partnerships: communication, respect and persistence.
Student disengagement is a major challenge for middle school teachers, says NSF-funded researcher Jennifer A. Fredricks, who offers strategies to build community and craft learning opportunities that encourage students to actively participate and succeed.
The Co-Teaching Relationship / Two Teachers in the Room
by Elizabeth Stein · Published 12/08/2014 · Last modified 11/26/2019
Have you ever been told that teachers in co-taught classrooms shouldn’t be distinguishable? Special educator Elizabeth Stein never felt comfortable with that concept, and a recent workshop with co-teaching expert Marilyn Friend helped her understand why.
Today’s students have never known a time when computers didn’t exist. Many are surrounded by digital options in school as well as at home. But teacher Cheryl Mizerny has noticed her 6th graders are often drawn to low-tech learning experiences. She looks at why that might be.
