Gholdy Muhammad’s Unearthing Joy offers ways to elevate meaning, reflection and joy so readers can offer cultural and historically responsive teaching most effectively. Sarah Cooper calls it “one of the most beautiful, inspiring, actionable books about pedagogy I’ve ever read.”
American Indian Heritage Month / Resources
by Susan Curtis · Published 10/31/2023 · Last modified 11/24/2023
Native Americans’ thousands of years of history are filled with achievements and challenges. In recent years the United States has commemorated their history in November. MiddleWeb’s resource collection can help students understand this rich and complex heritage.
Kelly Owens suggests ways to promote more engagement and motivation in class by using a HEAD, HEART, HANDS lens. She includes her team’s strategies for creating a student-centric learning environment, increasing opportunities for self-reflection, and decluttering the classroom.
Lauren Buell’s 8th grade ELA team works with students on a comprehensive unit that helps all participants develop speaking, listening, writing, reading and life skills as they prepare end-of-year TED-style talks. She shares the unit’s impact once students enter high school.
The Unstoppable ML Teacher / Videos in Class
by Tan Huynh · Published 10/23/2023 · Last modified 11/13/2023
Explainer videos are challenging for multilingual learners because of the dense academic language, the rapid speaking pace and the large amount of content covered. Language specialist Tan Huynh shares strategies he uses to help MLs maximize the ‘learning gold’ videos offer.
Recounting her visit from a grandfatherly apparition grabbed the attention of Stephanie Farley’s students and launched a study of storytelling. Putting “stunt teaching” into action – sometimes with colleagues – builds engagement and opens the door to choice, challenge and play.
This fall with some tweaks and fresh online tools and resources, Halloween can be fun and packed with learning. Check out MiddleWeb’s updated resource collection for ideas across the content areas.
Lesson design differs from lesson planning, says this teacher/coach/consultant team. While both are essential, design is a creative process that makes sure we consider the learning needs of both students and teachers. Included: design template; questioning and feedback charts.
Middle schoolers encounter and process information in ever-changing ways, writes teacher Jason DeHart, who uses podcasting opportunities in his ELA classroom to teach fluency, explore genre, and engage with authors and authentic audiences. Learn about his six-step strategy.
Prior to 9/11, Barbara Blackburn’s first choice when crisis and tragedy impacted the classroom was to allow an open discussion. After an inappropriate statement by a student shut down communication, she began to develop more tractable writing strategies, which she shares here.
