A recent study found drawing can improve our memory more than re-writing or visualizing because it activates more areas of the brain. With this in mind, Megan Kelly set out to incorporate sketchnotes into her English class without it becoming “Language Arts and Crafts.”
Articles / Teaching the Whole Adolescent
by MiddleWeb · Published 12/08/2019 · Last modified 07/17/2024
It’s hard to strike a balance between nurturing a middle schooler and fostering independence, but they need both from adults in their lives as they toggle between childhood and adolescence. Author and middle school counselor Phyllis Fagell shares 10 ways we can help.
Matthew Kay shows how to establish and maintain a positive classroom community that allows teachers to begin to broach racial discourse with our students in a healthy and productive way. Teacher Nicole Warchol finds Not Light, But Fire “smart, supportive, and necessary.”
It can be hard to convince students that math mistakes are a good thing, when they are punished on standardized testing for every single error. But our intrepid math blogger Michelle Russell is coming up with ways to help her classes turn math missteps into better performance.
Wondering how to differentiate the format of the standard paper-and-pencil summative assessment to meet the needs of English learners? Tan Huynh shows how word banks, visuals, single-task questions, sentence starters, and synonyms can help ELs convey what they know.
Adolescent Development / Book Reviews
by MiddleWeb · Published 11/21/2019 · Last modified 12/07/2019
Both parents and teachers will find a refreshing look at how to help middle schoolers thrive in Phyllis Fagell’s Middle School Matters. She provides practical, straightforward advice informed by experience and research, writes middle grades teacher Cheryl Mizerny.
Why is NBCT Marilyn Pryle’s “never-fail” Character Sketch activity so effective? Because it asks students to use the people in their own lives as inspiration – a parent, grandparent, sibling, or friend. Pryle provides the teacher’s script, complete with student prompts.
At its best, annotation starts a dialogue between our English and History students and thoughtful writers past and present. But that doesn’t mean adolescents are eager to do it. Sarah Cooper shares ideas and online resources to make the process a true learning experience.
In The Right Tools Towanda Harris has created a system to review the literacy materials at a teacher’s disposal to decide which are strongest and weakest. She also includes strategies for finding fresh resources that better match student needs, says Erin Corrigan-Smith.
Writing for authentic audiences motivates students to do their best work, says English department chair Kasey Short. Public audiences offer a practical reason to revise and edit and allow students’ ideas to have real impact. See her tips to transform routine assignments.
